Social housing provider becomes member of charter

Posted by on 14 Apr 2021

Social housing provider Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) has become the first Rochdale organisation to become a member of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.
The charter was developed by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Mayor of Greater Manchester.

RBH became a supporter of the charter in 2020 and joined the likes of Bruntwood, Electricity North West, KPMG and The Co-operative Bank as a full member. The charter outlines seven key characteristics of good employment: Secure work; flexible work; paying the real living wage; engagement and voice; good recruitment; positive people management; and employee health and wellbeing.

To become a fully fledged member, employers have to demonstrate a full commitment to improving practices in all areas of good employment.

RBH chief executive Gareth Swarbrick said: “I am extremely proud of receiving this accreditation. The events of the last 12 months have really highlighted that it is vitally important to be a good employer and to protect and support the health and wellbeing of employees, customers and local communities. We have collectively got through this by helping and supporting each other.

“I am delighted that the charter team have judged that we meet the seven key characteristics of good employment. This gives us a strong foundation upon which we can continue to improve.

“RBH is committed to using our role as a community anchor and mutual employer to be more than just a landlord. We want to contribute positively to sustainable employment in Rochdale, including providing opportunities for apprenticeships, training and volunteering directly and through our supply chain.”

RBH is a housing provider with a stock of 12,000 homes across Rochdale borough. It’s jointly owned by its 600 employees and its tenants. RBH’s communications manager Iain Lindley said he hoped their success would encourage other Rochdale businesses to follow suit.

“We want to show leadership in our sector and in Rochdale”, he said. “The challenges of the pandemic have underlined the importance of employee and community wellbeing. “It’s been essential that both our colleagues and our customers have supported each other and felt safe. In addition to our support for employees, we also made 50,000 welfare calls to tenants during the pandemic. We’re proud to be the first Rochdale employer to become a member but we’re sure we won’t be the last.

“In this regard, we would be happy to share our experience of becoming a member and help and advise other employers who may be interested in receiving the accreditation.”
Sophie Wilkinson, who is an apprentice at RBH said: “I love the sense of community here, and you can tell RBH appreciates everyone who works here because even apprentices are paid the real living wage. I feel really lucky to have this opportunity and I am proud to be part of it.”

Ian MacArthur, head of the Good Employment Charter, said: “RBH has demonstrated excellent employment practice and moreover have set a culture that seeks to continually develop as an exemplar.”
The GM Good Employment Charter also strives to develop diverse, equal and inclusive working conditions across Greater Manchester. To find out more about the good employment charter please click here for more detail https://www.gmgoodemploymentcharter.co.uk/