Greene King launches staff support scheme
Pub company Greene King is this week launching a new Team Member Support Scheme, offering a one-off grant of up to £5,000 for employees in financial need.
The long-term initiative has been established to help team members experiencing an unexpected personal emergency – such as a threat of homelessness, loss of income due to sickness, relationship breakdown or bereavement – which could lead to financial hardship.
The scheme will be managed independently by the Licensed Trade Charity on behalf of Greene King, where team members can access support through its 24/7 helpline.
Calls to the helpline are confidential and will be answered by a trained expert from Care First, who will offer advice and guidance, and triage each circumstance against a set of criteria to see if the applicant is eligible for financial support. A formal application process will then follow to access the cash grant.
This follows the success of two Covid-19 emergency funds launched by Greene King and managed by the Licensed Trade Charity, which supported team members experiencing financial shortfall while furloughed with essential shopping and retail vouchers.
A total of £1.1m was distributed through these schemes, funded from a combination of voluntary salary sacrifices from the Executive Board and leadership team at Greene King and a company donation.
Nick Mackenzie, chief executive officer of Greene King, comments: “As a people business, we are continually striving for new ways to be a pillar for our team members. But we recognise life can sometimes take us by surprise, in good ways and bad. So, this new scheme will be a safety net for team members knowing Greene King is there for them, if and when they need it most.”