Our Commitment to Good Employment: Dr Alice Kerly Shares Why We’ve Joined the Good Employment Charter
We’re excited to announce that The CAI Company is a supporter of the Good Employment Charter, a West of England Combined Authority initiative that aims to raise employment standards across the region. This decision reflects our ongoing commitment to our team, and to creating a thriving, innovative, and socially responsible workplace.
What is the Good Employment Charter?
The Good Employment Charter promotes seven key characteristics of good employment:
- Secure Work: Providing fair and equal pay, regular pay cheques and only using zero-hour contracts when mutually agreed.
- Flexible Work: Offering flexibility regarding work duration, location and schedule.
- Real Living Wage: Committing to paying the Real Living Wage to ensure employees feel valued.
- Engagement & Voice: Open communication, empowering employees to voice their opinions, recognising contributions and enhancing trust and transparency.
- Recruitment: Implementing fair recruitment practices, such as inclusive language, diverse hiring panels and fair selection criteria.
- Developing People: Investing in training, development, and inclusion to nurture talent and boost business.
- Health & Wellbeing: Improving and supporting employee physical and mental health and overall well-being.
We pledge to meet these standards, and join a community of employers who are committed to supporting good work practices.
It’s a free, voluntary membership and accreditation scheme designed to support organisations enable more inclusive, equitable and sustainable working practices, positively benefiting people, society, and the wider economy.
Why We Joined
When we heard about the Charter, we were delighted to see how closely it fits with our ethos for The CAI Company. We want to be an employer of choice for people, where our team members feel valued, motivated, and able to reach their full potential. We believe that a good employer gets a committed workforce, top talent, increased profitability, a healthy workforce and better productivity. By joining the Charter, we are demonstrating our dedication to these values and to continued enhancement of our workplace practices.
Benefits for Our Team
Our support for the Good Employment Charter will have a number of benefits for our team, including:
- Job satisfaction and motivation due to fair pay, secure working conditions, and opportunities for development.
- An inclusive and diverse workplace that encourages open communication and feedback.
- Increased wellbeing and support for mental health.
- Excellent opportunities for career development and training.
- A productive and positive workplace environment.
Our Journey
We are committed to continuously improve our practices and work towards the seven Charter characteristics. Access to the Charter’s resources, support, and events means we’re helped on our journey to success.
Our hope is that this commitment to good employment will not only benefit our team but also contribute to the growth and success of our business and the broader regional (and ultimately global!) economy. We’re proud to be a part of the Good Employment Charter and look forward to continuing to create a great place to work.
Our Company Values
Learn More – and get involved too?
Looking after our team is not just the right thing to do, but it also makes good business sense: the Charter supports organisations to become ‘employers of choice’, so they can achieve better productivity and growth, staff retention and recruit top talent.
We encourage other businesses to join us in support of good employment standards. Together, we can create a better working environment for all (there are other regional, national and global schemes that may well be more relevant for your organisation).
To learn more about the Good Employment Charter, if you’re also based in the West of England, please visit their website.
