Charlie Mullins from Pimlico Plumbers might just have been chasing publicity again when he announced that he would be imposing a ‘No jab no job’ rule on his staff; but he has nonetheless raised an issue which almost all employers who send staff to work in people’s homes must surely been considering over recent weeks.

Following the government’s latest announcements, we’d like to reassure customers that we are able to operate as normal during the current lockdown. Our installation teams will continue to follow all the Covid-19 secure working protocols to keep themselves and our customers safe.

For most of us, 2020 isn’t a year we’ll particularly want to look back on. Who would have thought that, at the start of the year, our biggest worry was the impact of Brexit – although, come to think of it…

The Pandemic has obviously wrought untold misery and heartache and, while the vaccine is a light at the end of the tunnel, more than 30 million of us are still facing Christmas and the New Year under Tier 3 restrictions.

Tomorrow is International Volunteers Day (IVD) so, in honour of that, we’re shining the spotlight on our Commercial Director, Mark Crane, who quietly and modestly gives up his time to help others.

Every year from November to March, Mark volunteers at a homeless shelter in Hertfordshire cooking dinner, offering support, helping the guests with clean clothing and sometimes just being someone to sit in the warm with and watch TV. He is also a regular helper at his local scout’s group.

We’re a family business built on family values of taking care of each other and looking after our neighbours. That’s why we’re really pleased to be able to support the work of our local Chelmsford foodbank which provides food and support to people in crisis.

The pandemic has probably been cruellest to those who were already struggling; but there have also been many who have fallen through the cracks of the government support schemes and are now having to turn to foodbanks for the first time in their lives.

We thankfully find ourselves on the right side of the coronavirus lottery, but there are many who have not been so fortunate and as individuals and as a business, we want to do our bit to help.

In National Living Wage Week, The Window Company (Contracts) is proud to be among the 800 businesses that have been accredited with the Living Wage Foundation since the start of the pandemic in March.

We’re now one of nearly 7000 employers across the UK who, even in these extraordinary times, guarantee to pay the ‘real living wage’ of £9.50 per hour rather than the compulsory National Living Wage of £8.72.

Of course, the vast majority of our staff earn significantly more than that, but our commitment makes sure that every single person at The Window Company (Contracts) knows that they will earn a wage which meets the real cost of living and covers their everyday needs.

We’ve just received our Certificate of Accreditation as Members of the Good Business Charter. Alongside the likes of Richer Sounds, Brompton Bicycles and Deloitte, back in March we were one of the first businesses in the UK to sign up to this brand-new CBI and TUC-backed initiative created to encourage better business practice.

Little did we know then just how important it would potentially turn out to be. Accreditation is awarded only to companies that can prove they treat their staff, customers and suppliers well. That means paying the real living wage, delivering consistently responsive service and, even during the current crisis, paying suppliers on time.

We’ve just been recognised with a Silver Award in RoSPA’s coveted Health and Safety Awards. It was the first time we’d entered what is widely acknowledged to be the toughest health and safety programme in the UK, so we were genuinely thrilled to come away with a Silver.

As with all Awards, the ones worth winning take a lot of effort and Katie, our Director of Compliance and Administration, spent a good week during lockdown collating and submitting our entry.

For us, our Health and Safety performance is integral to our operation. Not only do we have a fundamental duty to every single member of our workforce and every single customer to keep them safe, it is ultimately also good for business.

Hopefully, all of our customers will by now have seen our video showing how we prepared our workplace and our workforce to get back to work safely at the end of lockdown. The feedback we’ve had has been great and it’s been widely viewed already.

We’ve reconfigured our warehouse space so that it complies with the social distancing requirements and, in our office, we’re now working safely behind screens.

For our teams working out on new build sites, we’ve invested in training and additional PPE and, for those surveying or installing in people’s homes, we’ve gone a step further with a package of reassurance for homeowners and residents designed to make them feel safe and comfortable.

Ahead of the ongoing consultation around changes to Part F of the Building Regs in England and Wales governing ventilation, The Window Company (Contracts) has begun upgrading its installations with uprated trickle vent solutions.

The award-winning commercial window and door specialist has switched to the new generation of 5000mm² trickle vents for all of the windows it now installs, so that it can easily comply with the draft recommendations in the consultation document which are likely to come into force in June.