Stockport based musicMagpie is an early adopter of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter Supporters’ Network, the first of its kind in the UK.
The programme has launched with more than 60 businesses signing up to the aims of the Charter including cereal giants Kellogg’s, global accounting firm KPMG and national TV network ITV.
The Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter encourages and supports employers to develop good jobs, deliver opportunities for people to progress, and help employers in the city-region grow and succeed.
Rachel Coxon, Group HR and Talent Director at musicMagpie attended the launch of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter:
“It was great to see so many likeminded employers at the launch of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.
“Attracting, engaging with, developing and retaining talent is key for Entertainment Magpie’s continued successful growth and we are proud to be early supporters of the Charter. By supporting the Charter, we demonstrate our commitment to become one of the best places to work and our involvement as part of a forward-thinking business community, which champions responsible employment practices and supports sustainable growth.
“We fully support the Charter’s seven Good Employment Principles which set out what good employment practice, effective employee engagement and good and fair employment looks like.”
The model for the Charter has been co-designed by business owners, employers, trade unions and employees from across Greater Manchester, and involved two public consultations to develop and agree the proposals.
The three tiers of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter are:
Tier 1: Supporters – for those employers who support the aims of the Charter and Greater Manchester Strategy, but are not yet in a position to meet the requirements of accreditation.
Tier 2: Membership – requiring employers to demonstrate excellent practice in key characteristics of employment practice, these are:
- Secure work;
- Flexible work;
- A real living wage;
- Workplace engagement & voice;
- Excellent recruitment practices & progression;
- Excellent people management;
- A productive & healthy workplace.
Tier 3: Advocates – employers who meet high standards in all the key employment characteristics to be Members, and then go out to other employers to encourage them to raise employment standards and join the Charter process.
Employers will be supported to raise standards across a number of areas, including secure work, a real living wage and excellent recruitment and progression, with a tiered approach to help them progress. The Supporters’ Network is the first of those tiers.
The Charter will be embedded in public procurement through the city region’s social value framework – which gives additional weighting to bids delivering social value in procurement processes. Businesses receiving investment through the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s investment funds will also now be required to become Charter supporters.
Katrina Shawcross, Business Development Manager at Damar Training said:
“We welcome today’s news about the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter. It’s fantastic to see a focus to support employers to reach best practice, help them to grow and provide great employment opportunities.
“As an independent training provider, focused on apprenticeships, Damar see many employers of all sizes, grow their business through apprenticeships. This can be through recruiting apprentices into their business or upskilling their existing workforce. We’ll be encouraging the employers we work with to be supporters of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.”
The Charter was identified by the Independent Prosperity Review as a key way of raising business growth, and was one of the key actions recently agreed with Government in Greater Manchester’s Local Industrial Strategy.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said:
“Greater Manchester is once again leading the way with the launch of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter Supporters’ Network.
“We have proud history of ensuring that economic progress goes hand in hand with social progress and that is the basis of this Charter. We know that those employers who are best at engaging and supporting their employees are the most successful. Providing good employment is a win-win for Greater Manchester businesses.
“Through working together, business owners, employers, Trade Unions and employees from across Greater Manchester have developed a journey that we want employers to take towards good employment. Employers will be supported to provide jobs which are secure, fairly paid and fulfilling, with opportunities to progress and develop. As employers move through the journey we will make Greater Manchester an area of excellence.
“More than 60 employers will begin the journey today and I’ve now doubt that many more will join them soon.”
Employers interested in being involved in the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter Supporters Network can contact: goodwork@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk
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