In 2021 with pladis, we established Hybrid Working in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Türkiye, U.S.A. and developing markets, facilitating colleagues who are able to perform some of their duties at the office and other duties remotely to work in an agile way, allowing for a better balance for its employees, particularly those with dependents and family responsibilities, of which many continue to be women. Additionally a suite of policies related to colleague work-life balance are in place to support colleagues in three area in the United Kingdom and Ireland:
- A comprehensive family friendly policy enabling parents to request specific flexible working arrangements to support care for dependents.
- A maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave toolkit for managers to support colleagues prior to, during and returning to work following their leave. In addition, a buddy scheme has been created to help individuals stay connected to the business and receive support and guidance, if required.
- Creating a dedicated lactation room for women colleagues to express breast milk and store it appropriately supporting their return to work following maternity leave at the pladis Global HQ.
The pladis academy E-learning platform has been established to provide mobile and desktop access to learning for 3500 colleagues. This is a highly inclusive approach particularly for colleagues who have adopted hybrid working as learning and development can now be accessed both in the office and remotely by all colleagues. The pladis Academy also provides all colleagues with access to dedicated Inclusion, Diversity and Equality training modules to further their understanding and knowledge in their area.