Matalan Employee Handbook

Welcome
to the family.
Our Colleague Handbook

Welcome to the family
All about us
Contents
Joining the family
Setting you up
to succeed
Colleague Benefits
A-Z Glossary

Welcome to
the family
Whether you’re new to the business, or a long standing
member of the family, you’ll find everything you
need to know about life at Matalan in our colleague
handbook. The handbook has been especially
designed with you in mind and it’s full of essential
information to help you in your role, and also
to support you in your day to day life here at Matalan.
Each section of this handbook is equally important,
but my favourite is ‘All about us’ as I believe our
culture is what makes us! We’re down to earth -
definitely not corporate or stuffy, and we live by
4 simple but effective values: Think Customer;
Think Family; Be Real and Be The Best. These
values were created by our colleagues and underpin
everything we do here at Matalan.
We’re one big family, everyone has a voice and
we’re always happy to hear it. Whether that’s
through our Your Voice Colleague Forum, or our
‘Proud to Be’ idea sharing initiative, we always
want to hear from you.
I’m sure you’ll get great use out of the handbook
throughout your Matalan career. However, if there’s
anything you need to know but can’t find, don’t panic,
you’ll find we’re a friendly lot here at Matalan
- so feel free to ask anyone!
Emma Crossland
HR Director
4

Matalan was founded in 1985 when John Hargreaves,
opened a market stall in Liverpool selling M&S clothing
seconds. It soon grew into a much bigger vision which
was to bring quality fashion and home products
to families at an affordable price - in fact, we’d say
we invented value retailing.
We opened our first store in Preston, taking inspiration
from the outlet malls concepts in the USA. More stores
quickly followed with our out of town retail park locations,
which made Matalan a household name.
about us
We’ve grown over the years and we’re no longer just in retail
parks, we’re on the high street and online too. We’ve also gone
global with stores in Europe and the Middle East which means
we now have over 250 Matalan stores in our portfolio!
As well as our Head Offi ce here in Knowsley, our stores
are supported by our National Distribution Centre
and Logistics hub right next door, plus we also have
a Distribution Centre in Corby.
Together we’ve got almost 12,000 family members
(which increases during peak), and we’ve got
ambitious plans to keep on growing with the
help of our Matalan strategy!
6

Head Office
In 2015 we moved to our new state of the art Head Offi ce
and Distribution Centre in Knowsley, Liverpool. Housing all our
functions from design to retail operations, we have over
650 of our colleagues under one roof.
8

John Hargreaves
Founder
John started in clothing aged 15,
he was running his own business at 19, and has
been involved in the retail and clothing industries
ever since. Opening the first Matalan in 1985 in
Preston, John’s aim was to create a business that
gave great value and quality, combined with
excellent service.
Over 58 years later, from his humble beginnings
on a market stall, those values are still at the heart
of the business and Matalan has grown to be a
multi-million pound business not only in the UK
and online, but also Internationally.
In 2015 John was awarded the Drapers Lifetime
Achievement Award in recognition of his successful
career within the fashion industry.
10

1. Brand
Jason Hargreaves
CEO
Jason has been part of the Matalan business since
it’s inception. Before taking the reins in 2013,
Jason was sourcing director driving the Supply
chain of the business.
Jason’s wealth of knowledge, passion and drive
has helped the business to continue to grow,
whilst still remaining true to its roots and values;
maintaining key partnerships, some of which have
been with the business since its start.
Inspiring his teams to deliver amazing product
means that Matalan is still delivering what its
customer needs, even in today’s competitive
retail marketplace.
Matalan - Brand Overview
12

Meet The Board
meet the BOARD
Greg Pateras
Deputy CEO
Mike Jeans
Retail Director
Steve Johnson
Executive Chairman
Richard Kirk
Supply Chain Director
Steve Johnson
Executive Chairman
James Brown
Commercial Director
Stephen Hill
Chief Financial Officer
James Brown
Commercial Director
Stephen Hill
Chief Financial Officer
Emma Crossland
HR Director
Howard Reed
Chief Technology Officer
Emma Crossland
HR Director
Stephen Hill
Chief Financial Officer
Emma Crossland
HR Director
Mike Jeans
Operations Director
Dave Mellett
Technical Services &
Sourcing Director
Mike Jeans
Operations Director
Dave Mellett
Technical Services &
Sourcing Director
Paul Solly
Trading Director
Dave Mellett
Technical services &
Sourcing director
Howard Reed
Chief Technology Officer
Damien Hopkins
International Director
Howard Reed
Chief Technology Officer
14

100 th
1985
Matalan launches
first store in Preston
1997
Head Office moved
from Preston to
Skelmersdale
2000
100th Store opens
2001
Matalan launches
partnership with NSPCC
2006
200th store opens
2007
Hargreaves Centre
opens in Liverpool
GOLD
WINNER
2013
GOLD
WINNER
2014
2014
First high street store
opens in Cardiff
2014
Partnership with
Alder Hey
2013
Jason appointed
as CEO
2009
First overseas store
opens in Jordan
2008
matalan.co.uk became
transactional
2015
School of Hope
launches
2015
Oxford Street
store opens
2015
Head Office and
Distribution Centre
moves to Knowsley
2015
John receives the prestigious
‘Lifetime Achievement’ award
from Drapers magazine
200 th 2017
2016
The introduction of our
furniture range brings
a complete Homeware
proposition to Matalan
2016
Matalan launches online
education platform ‘Me’
2019
Our new Matalan App
launches
2018
Our 30th international
store opens
2018
Since partnering with Alder
Hey and NSPCC we’ve
raised over £12.4 Million
Our refresh programme
launches across stores
16

Being a
Value Retailer
We’ve always been true to our roots as a Value Retailer, after
all we can’t have a value led vision without being careful with
our spending! To make sure any investment is going where its
needed most, we’re all encouraged to speak up if we think we
can make a difference and add more value.
To help support with this, we’ve introduced our ‘Proud to be
a Value Retailer’ Initiative. Proud To Be, is a website where
anyone can submit ideas, observations and suggestions which
will help make a difference to our Value Culture.
Jason regularly reads through all of the suggestions and picks
the ones he wants the business to look at in more detail.
He’s a great believer that it’s often colleagues who come up
with the best ideas as teams are closer to any impacts
when we are not adding value.
18

Proud To Be
The four areas we focus on through Proud To Be are:
• Forward thinking & Innovation
• Time & Efficiency
• Finance/Cost Saving
• Change in Culture/Living our Values
Although the ultimate aim of Proud To Be is to help
drive our Value Culture, as you can see, this doesn’t
just mean saving money and cutting costs.
No matter how big or small, whether it benefits you,
your team, our customer or everyone, ‘Proud To Be’
is the place for your ideas and suggestions.
Simply log on to proudtobematalan.co.uk
from a computer, tablet or phone and complete
the form. Or click the link on the Matalan
Hub homepage. If you need any help, please
speak to your Line Manager.
Manager or a Your Voice Rep.
20

Our Vision
We’ve got a clear Vision and Strategy in place to help us keep
growing and moving forward as a business. This, along with
our Values is what we live and breathe every day.
Our Vision is…
‘To Be The Most Trusted Omni Channel
Retailer of Family Value’
Our strategy underpins this and helps us focus on our
‘Big Deals’ which you’ll hear about regularly here at Matalan.
We all have a role to play in helping to achieve our strategic
goals. Whether it’s at one of our Director Business Briefings,
a Big Deal Briefing, a Team Meeting within your own area
or one of our Leadership Conferences, you’ll always
be kept up to date with how we’re doing. You also have
the opportunity to ask one of our Board Members
a question, in our Board Q&A sessions.
In addition to this, each team has their own Strategy which
supports our overall Business Strategy. To help achieve
it we also set individual colleague goals each year as part
of our Personal Development Review (PDR) process,
so we’re all working to the same common goal.
22

Our Values
Our values are more than just words, they support our vision,
shape our culture and are the essence of our identity.
They were created by our colleagues, for our colleagues
and are simple, but effective.
If it doesn’t add value to our
customers, we won’t do it.
We put our customers
first in everything we do.
Our people make us who
we are, we know together we’re
stronger and we’re proud to be
part of the Matalan Family.
We treat others as we’d like
to be treated. We’re down
to earth and show trust
and respect.
We take responsibility,
learn fast when things could
be better and challenge
ourselves to be the best
we can be.
24

Our people are what make Matalan stronger,
so it’s important that everyone has a voice so we
know just how we’re doing. As well as speaking
to your Line Manager, we also have a regular
Your Voice Colleague Forum. Every team or
department nominated Your Voice Reps to ensure
you always have someone to give your feedback
to. So make sure you find out who your Reps are
as they play an important part of family life
here at Matalan.
Our Your Voice Forums take place throughout the
year and are attended by reps from across Head
Office. We also have a number of National Joint
Forums where we get together with reps from our
Retail and Logistics areas too, to share ideas and
learn about what other parts of the business
are doing to make Matalan an even better place
to work for everyone.
Our Forums are a way for our colleagues to
discuss things which are important to their teams/
area and look for solutions if there are any concerns.
It’s also a working forum where common topics
are discussed with other colleagues. In addition
to our Forums, we also ask for feedback through
our Engagement Surveys. These surveys take place
periodically across the business and give you the
chance to have your say about things which are
important to you.
26

Giving
Something Back
As well as our regular charity support we also have lots
of fun events throughout the year whether it’s a bake
sale, raffle, dress up days, or it’s a knockout assault
courses everyone can get involved.
We also have a charity committee who meet once a
month to discuss fundraising ideas for other charities
which their teams may want to support.
In 2018 after fourteen years of fundraising for the
NSPCC we broke through the £10million barrier.
The money raised has been used to make
a difference to hundreds of thousands of children’s
lives, both in Merseyside and across the UK,
by investing in Childline and services dedicated
to helping young people recover from
abuse and neglect.
The NSPCC is such an amazing charity and we are
really proud of all the for the efforts and hard-work
that has gone into fund raising to support such
a great cause. From in store fundraising events
to sponsored mountain climbs and sales of
NSPCC products. Our staff and customers have
helped us to raise millions of pounds for
NSPCC over the past 14 years.
Our aim is to raise much needed awareness and
funds for the hospital to support the children who
are spending time there. Our campaigns have huge
support from celebrities and customers alike, to
help drive our campaigns. With 100% of the profits
going to the charity. From ‘Alphabet Scarves’,
to ‘Bobble v’s Beanie’, ‘Get Your Stripes
Pyjama’s’ and ‘Superstars’ we have raised over
£1.6m to date, with lots more to come!
28

Ethical Sourcing
As well as our amazing charity work, good strong ethics
are important to us too. We sell style at great value,
but that doesn’t mean our product sourcing and purchasing
is anything other than 100% ethical.
All of our products are designed, made and delivered
in a way that exceeds our social and environmental
responsibilities. Our standards are based on the
Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) base code, and all our
suppliers must sign legal documentation to make sure
they are compliant with our strict Sourcing Policy.
As part of our ethical commitment, we also want to make a
difference in local communities overseas, and back in January
2015 we took our first admissions into a brand new school in
Dhaka, Bangladesh – the ‘Soham for All School of Hope’.
This school has been built to offer children in communities
in and around our ethical supply chain a better start in life.
It gives children and young adults the opportunity to learn
and train in a safe environment, allowing them the chance
to gain better employment prospects when they leave.
The school has gone from strength to strength with
some of the pupils being sponsored by our Matalan
colleagues to give additional help and support
– quite simply we love to make a difference!
You can find out more about our Ethical Sourcing
on our website:
matalan.co.uk/corporate/ethical-sourcing-policy
30

We know that joining a new business can be a daunting time,
don’t worry we’ve all been there, and as a member of the
Matalan Family there’s lots of help and support available for
you from the moment you step through the doors
Upon joining, you’ll complete our company
induction, where you’ll experience a variety of interactive
and informative activities giving you further insight into the
business, as well as, all the exciting opportunities ahead,
throughout your career with us.
family
Over the coming weeks and months, we have lots of support
and development activities in place, to help you settle in and
succeed in your new role. Your Line manager (supported by our
Learning and Development Team) will take you through your
personalised onboarding programme, relevant to your role
and business area.
You’ll also find some handy links through this handbook
and on our My Matalan Intranet to anything that might help
you in your first few months.
32

Your first
12 weeks
Weeks 1 & 2
• Induction – Learn about Matalan
/Rewards & Benefits/Learning & Development
• Get to know your Team
• Compliance Requirements
• Outline Initial expectations / Objectives
Weeks 3-12
• On the job development (Me. Offer)
• Get to know your Customers/Stakeholders
• 121s and ongoing feedback
• 6 & 12 week review
Weeks 12+
• Agree new objectives
• 121s and ongoing feedback
•Performance Development Review (PDR)
at 6 & 12 months
• Continuous development (Me. Offer)
34

Being part of the Matalan Family has its rewards, we have
great benefi ts, award winning development and dedicated
recognition programmes for you to take advantage of.
benefits
This section tells you about some of the great benefi ts we have
on offer - they’re not all detailed here, as some are
bespoke to certain job roles. Check your contract
of employment for more details.
36

Benefits
Being part of the Matalan Family has its rewards, we have
great benefits, award winning development and dedicated
recognition programmes for you to take advantage of.
This section tells you about some of the great benefits we
have on offer - they’re not all detailed here, as some are
bespoke to certain job roles. Check your contract
of employment for more details.
Colleague Discount
You’ll get an amazing 20% discount in store and online
and you can also nominate an additional family member
or friend to benefit from this discount too!
When you start with us we will provide you with a temporary
discount card until your permanent one is ready (we aim to get
this to you as soon as we can as your employee number helps
to create your discount card number). Permanent discount cards
can take up to 8 weeks to arrive, and the Rewards Team
will contact you when it’s ready to collect.
When you reach 10 years service your discount increases
to 30%, at 20 years you’ll receive 40% and when you reach
your 30 year milestone you’ll be able to take advantage
of a fantastic 50% discount.
More information including the terms and conditions
of the scheme can be found in the Policies, Forms and
Guidance section on our My Matalan Intranet.
38

Benefits
Pension Scheme
Our scheme is open to everyone and is provided by
Legal & General to help you save for retirement, it’s an
Auto Enrolment scheme and we follow the recommended
government guidelines for contributions.
All eligible jobholders will be Auto Enrolled, this means if you’re
aged 22 and over and earn more than £10,000 per year
you will be automatically enrolled on to the scheme.
More information can be found in the Policies, Forms
and Guidance section of our My Matalan Intranet , or you can
call Legal & General on 0345 070 8686
Life Assurance Scheme
We have a life assurance scheme that covers all our
colleagues between the ages of 16 and 75, and provides
nominated friends or family with a tax free lump sum should
the worst happen. This information is useful to know if you
are applying for a mortgage or creating a will.
For more details about your cover please check
your contract of employment.
40

Wellbeing at Matalan
Looking after our Matalan Family Members is really important
to us and supports our ‘Think Family’ value. A few of the
benefi ts we have at Matalan to help colleagues look after their
physical and mental wellbeing are:
Our Family Extras
We’ve got a great online scheme called Our Family Extras.
This scheme offers a huge number of retail and leisure
savings, from supermarkets and household retailers,
to days out and holidays!
If it’s used regularly you could save hundreds of pounds
each year. All you need to do is log on to our website:
www.matalanfamilyextras.co.uk, using your employee
number (without the zeros) and your initials, e.g. 12345AB
or 123456CD and enter the password ChangeMe.
Retail Trust - Employee Assistance
Programme (EAP)
The Retail Trust have developed their services specifi cally
for colleagues working within Retail and include
Wellbeing Services through www.myrtwellbeing.org.uk
for those times where a little extra support can make a world
of difference. The Retail Trust is there to listen and provide free
and confi dential support and help when it matters the most.
The number for our Retail Trust EAP is 0808 801 0808.
Discounted Gym Membership
We have discounted Gym Membership Schemes
with DW Fitness First and Anytime Fitness.
DW Fitness First offer an amazing 10%+ discount
for colleagues at Matalan, they operate a tiered membership
system and discount varies depending on the tier which your
chosen club sits. All you need to do is show your employee
ID card or payslip at your local DW Fitness First club
to access this great discount.
Anytime Fitness is one of the fastest growing global fi tness
chains and through our partnership with them, Matalan
colleagues can benefi t from a 10% discount on a standard
12 month membership. To join, and benefi t from the discount,
you can either visit www.anytimefitness.co.uk/matalan
and enter the promotion code “NCAMAT” at the point
of purchase, or visit your local Anytime Fitness
and sign up in person.
42

Our performance will only ever be as good as the
performance of our colleagues; with this in mind
it’s vital that we set everyone up for success.
This section includes information on the Learning
& Development opportunities that are on offer to you
and our Performance Development Process (PDR) that
helps us to ensure everyone is playing their part and
getting any help or development they may need be
the very best they can be.
succeed
We’re committed to helping colleagues progress their
career with us, and we’re proud to say that many of our
vacancies are filled internally. It’s something we think
makes us unique and is a great way for us to be able
to support our talented colleagues.
44

Knowing how
your doing
As well as the 6 weekly reviews during probation, and the
regular 121’s you’ll have throughout the year, our annual
Personal Development Review (PDR) is a chance for you to
discuss your performance over the past 12 months in detail
with your Line Manager.
Your Manager will set aside time to discuss your performance
and understand your career aspirations. It’s important that
you prepare for these reviews so you can talk about how you
feel the year has gone, and your Manager can give you their
feedback too. As well as reviewing the past 12 months,
you’ll also agree some objectives for the year ahead which
you should continually review to make sure you’re on the
way to achieving them.
In addition, we also have a further review half way
through the year called “How’s It Going”, so you and your
Manager can review your performance against your set
objectives and identify any development support you may
need. For more information log on to the Me. website
matalaneducation.co.uk and go to
“What Do I Need To Learn”
46

Learning &
Development
Whether you’re joining us as at the start of your
career, or in an established role, we pride ourselves
on having development solutions to support you
on your career journey.
Matalan Education (or Me. as we know it), will give
you the chance to drive your career in whatever way
works for you. Whether you want to be at the top
of your game, broaden your skill base or have the
ambition to go from entry level all the way to the
Board. Matalan Education will help you to
gain clarity on WHAT you need to learn and once
you know that, help you to choose HOW you
want to learn it.
When it comes to planning your career development
and the next steps, it helps to see the scope of
your role as well as that of others.
We can help with this too, We currently have career
paths in place in many roles at Head Office, and
we’re working on designing more to support other
roles across the business.
To find out more about career paths for your area
or role, speak to your Line Manager or log onto the
Head Office section on our Me. Website using the
details below:
User Name: Employee Number (without the zero’s)
Password: Matalan
www.matalaneducation.co.uk
48

Accidents
We take the safety of our colleagues and customers very
seriously, however from time to time accidents may happen.
All of our colleagues are given training on what to watch out
for to minimise the risk of an accident. If an accident happens
your Line Manager must be informed immediately to make sure
the area is made safe and there’s no risk. If you witness an
accident or are involved one, you’ll be asked to complete
a statement to explain what happened.
You must also let your Line Manager know if you
spot any safety hazards, such as defective equipment
and warn others if necessary.
Anti-Bribery
We’re committed to conducting business in an open, honest
and ethical manner. We take a zero tolerance approach
to bribery and corruption and are committed to acting
professionally, fairly and with integrity in all business dealings
and relationships. A bribe is reward offered, promised or
provided in order to gain any commercial, contractual,
regulatory or personal advantage. Gifts can be disguised
as bribes, or misinterpreted as bribes so you must not accept,
keep, or offer any gifts from any person.
50

Anti-Slavery
Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental
human rights. It takes various forms all of which involve the
deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit
them for personal or commercial gain
We’re committed to:
A) Acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings
and relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective
systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking
place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply
chain; and
B) Ensuring there is transparency in our own business and in
our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply
chains, consistent with our disclosure obligations under the
Modern Slavery Act 2015.
We aim to encourage openness and will support anyone who
raises genuine concerns in good faith, even if they turn out to
be mistaken. We’re committed to ensuring no one suffers any
detrimental treatment as a result of reporting their suspicion
that modern slavery, in whatever form, is or may be taking
place in any part of our own business or in any of our supply
chains. You have a responsibility to report anything you
feel is suspicious, either in the UK or whilst travelling overseas
on company business, to your Line Manager or a member
of the Ethical Team.
Attendance
At Matalan we manage attendance in a fair and consistent
way Your Line Manager will note any non-attendance
and you may be invited into an absence review meeting
if your attendance becomes a cause for concern.
Bereavement Leave
We know that you may need to take additional time off
in the form of Bereavement Leave in the event of a death
in the family. Matalan’s Family Friendly Policy allows both
paid and unpaid bereavement leave including a longer
period of unpaid time off if needed, which will be at the
discretion of your Line Manager.
The Company will try to be as flexible as possible when
it comes to Bereavement Leave. When you’re ready to return
to work a self-certificate form should be completed.
Bistro
We have an on-site Bistro at Head Office which serves
a full breakfast menu from 7am - 10.30am along with
a selection of hot and cold food, sandwiches and soups
from 11.30 - 2pm every day.
Outside of these hours, the Bistro also has a Costa Coffee
counter where you can purchase a hot drink at a reduced price
throughout the day. You can also purchase cold drinks and
snacks from this counter too.
The menus for the week are available on our My Matalan
Intranet - Knowsley or via the Knowsley Bistro Group on our
Matalan Yammer page (you’ll find out more about Yammer
later on).
As well as the Bistro, each floor has kitchen areas
equipped with microwaves and fridges, in case you
52

Change in Personal Details
If any of your personal details such as name, address,
telephone number, marital status, emergency contact or bank
details change, please inform your Line Manager or HR as
soon as possible. It’s your responsibility to keep us up to
date with your personal information.
Click & Collect
We love our colleagues shopping with us both in store
and online. To help with online purchases, for convenience,
you can arrange for your Matalan orders to be
delivered free to Head Office. Simply enter the Head
Office postcode L33 7SZ as your location and select
“Staff Collection Point – Head Office”.
Company Car
If you drive more than 12,000 miles a year on company
business you will be eligible for a company car. Depending
on your grade, you will either be classed as an essential car
user (MT3 and below) or a company car user (MT2 and
above), and those colleagues at MT2 and above also
have the option to take a cash alternative.
All car users must have a current, valid full UK driving
licence and will undergo a Driver Licence Check and
mileage review every 12 months.
Data Protection
Matalan is committed to protecting all colleague and customer
details in line with Data Protection Legislation. You may handle
personal data as part of your role and this should be managed
in line with legislation. All colleagues will receive training
on General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and what
your particular roles and responsibilities are as part of your
induction. If at any point you come across any information and
are unsure what to do with it, or you lose some personal data,
you must inform your Line Manager immediately.
If at any point you come across any information and are
unsure what to do with it, or you lose some personal data,
you must inform your Line Manager immediately.
• You’re responsible for protecting the personal data we hold
• You must follow all procedures we put in place to maintain
the security of all personal data from the point of collection
to the point of destruction
• You must exercise particular care in protecting
sensitive personal data from loss and unauthorised
access, use or disclosure
More information can be found in the Data Protection
Policy in the HR Info folder on the Scratch Drive.
Discipline
It’s important to us that all colleagues conduct themselves in
the right way, but where we feel those standards are not being
met, we have a disciplinary policy to ensure improvements
are made. Before any disciplinary action is taken, a thorough
investigation will be conducted to determine whether the matter
needs to be referred for a disciplinary hearing.
There are many possible outcomes of a disciplinary hearing,
depending on how serious the incident is, and colleagues have
the right to appeal against any formal action that is taken.
More information can be found in our Disciplinary Policy
in the HR Info folder on our shared ‘S’ Scratch Drive
S:\HR Info\Policies & Guidance
54

Disclosing Company Information
As a colleague, you’ll come into contact with information
about Matalan such as sales performance, upcoming marketing
activity and other information. This information must not
be shared with anyone outside of Matalan or other
colleagues unless authorised to do so as stated in
your contract of employment
Dress Code
We love to support the Matalan brand and encourage you
to be creative with the way you dress, to be relaxed at work
and ultimately perform to your best! It’s so important that
our appearance and clothing reflect the professional yet
fashionable image that Matalan is known for.
Your overall appearance goes wider than just what you’re
wearing; it includes being clean, neat and tidy with your
general hygiene, hair/beard etc and make up.
Early Finish Friday
As part of our commitment to agile working across Head
Office, all colleagues can benefit from an early finish on
Fridays. As long as you’ve made up the hours that week,
and there is sufficient cover in your team or department,
you can finish at 3pm on a Friday.
Employee Number
Your employee number will be generated automatically when
all your new starter documentation has been sent back,
and you will receive an e-mail from HR once it’s available.
Expenses
There may be times when you need to claim money back
for something you’ve done on behalf of Matalan. If you’ve
travelled somewhere for business outside of where you’re
normally based you may be entitled to claim the expense
back, provided you keep all receipts.
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Equality & Diversity
At Matalan we aim to ensure all colleagues, job applicants,
suppliers and customers are treated fairly and in line with
our Equality & Diversity Policy.
Any discrimination based on race, sex, religion, marital status,
disability, gender, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy or
maternity is unacceptable and will be addressed in line
with the disciplinary Policy.
Expenses
There may be times when you need to claim money back
for something you’ve done on behalf of Matalan. If you’ve
travelled somewhere for business outside of where you’re
normally based you may be entitled to claim the expense
back, provided you keep all receipts. More information can
be found in our Travel & Expenses Policy in the HR
Info folder on our shared ‘S’ Scratch Drive
S:\HR Info\Policies & Guidance.
We use a system called “Concur” to record and
submit expenses, and you will find a helpful Concur User
Guide, along with a New User Request Form in the
HR Info Folder on our shared ‘S’ Scratch Drive
S:\HR Info\Head Office\New to the Matalan Family\New
Starter Information\Claiming Expenses
Eye Tests
If you use Display Screen Equipment regularly and need an eye
test due to this, you can claim your money back for the test up
to the value £20. If the optician says you need glasses for DSE,
you can also claim up to £50 off your first prescription
for glasses or lenses.
Family Friendly
We want to offer a working environment that is friendly
and enjoyable and supports our “Think Family” value,
one which helps colleagues to combine their home life
with the demands of work.
We’ve got detailed policies in place for maternity, paternity,
adoption, and shared parental leave, as well as time off for
fertility treatment, and because we know how important your
family is to you we also allow time off to deal with unexpected
or sudden emergencies at home.
We’re committed to creating a flexible and agile culture
for everyone (which may differ from team to team).
In addition, we know that your personal circumstances can
change, you can also formally apply for flexible working
to make your work life balance even better. This option is
particularly useful for those colleagues with young families
or caring for relatives.
Fire Safety
You’ll receive training on what to do in the event of a fire,
including where the exit routes are, meeting points and the
location of fire alarm call points. You should make sure you
know what to do in the event of a fire, who your Fire Warden is
and how to raise the alarm Each Friday at 10.00am we have a
fire alarm test at Head Office. If you hear the fire alarm at any
other time, please evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit.
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First Aiders
We have trained first aiders in every area of the business that
are there to assist colleagues in the event of an accident.
First aid equipment is also available around the building in
case of an emergency. Your Line Manager will inform you
of where this is located.
Grievance
We want to maintain a working environment that is friendly,
open and enjoyable, so our aim will always be to try and
resolve your concerns informally wherever possible. If you have
an issue or concern, raise it informally with your Line Manager
in the first instance as thankfully most things and can be
resolved amicability with the help of your Manager.
We know that sometimes, for whatever reason, you may
not be happy at work. All colleagues have access to
a procedure where work related grievances can be
resolved fairly and consistently.
Health & Safety
We all have an obligation to make sure we look after
both ourselves and our colleagues and maintain safe premises
and equipment as well as providing any necessary training/risk
assessments where needed. Any concerns should be raised with
your Line Manager or a member of our Health & Safety Team.
Holiday Entitlement
Our holiday year runs from 1st April to 31st March. If you start
with Matalan part way through the leave year, or you work part
time, you will receive a proportion of your full year’s holiday
entitlement based on the hours you work, or your start date.
As you know we reward loyalty, so the longer you stay with us
the more holidays you get! You’ll start with 25 days when you
join, increasing to 26 days after 6 years service, 27 days after
7 years service and so on, up to a maximum of 30 days.
We want all colleagues to spend time with their families and
plan their holidays effectively. Any holiday not taken won’t be
paid so please make sure to use all of your holidays each year.
Only in exceptional circumstances can you carry days over
into the next holiday year. Any time off must be recorded and
approved by your Line Manager.
Holiday Extras
For those of you who want a little extra holiday, we also
have a scheme that allows you to buy additional holidays
up to the equivalent of your weekly contracted hours.
You can join the scheme any time from March up to October
and any holiday you buy will be reduced to reflect how much
of the leave year is left. This means that if you join Matalan
part way through the holiday year, you can still take part!
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In The Know
To help keep you informed of what’s going on at Head Offi ce
and across the business we have a fortnightly email newsletter
called In The Know. If you have something happening in your
area and want to let the rest of the business know you can
email the team at peopleinfo@matalan.co.uk and send them
your story to feature in an upcoming edition.
IT Code of Conduct
As part of your role it’s likely you’ll be required to use IT
equipment. IT Resources are provided for company business
only, and non-business use is not permitted. You’re responsible
for taking all reasonable steps to protect any equipment you’re
issued with or have access to.
IT Support
All colleagues have virtual assistant on their desktop called
EVA, which should be your first point of contact for any IT
related queries. If EVA is unable to help you she will let you
know, and you should then direct your query to the IT Service
Desk e-mail: ITServiceDesk@matalan.co.uk or call our IT
help desk on ext 6529
Job Descriptions
We believe everyone should be clear about what’s
expected of them in their role, which is why every role at
Matalan has it’s own job description to provide the detail
and clarity you need. If you don’t yet have a copy of
yours, speak to your Line Manager.
Jury Service
if you’re called up for jury service, you should contact your Line
Manager at the earliest opportunity and provide a copy of the
court summons and any other relevant documentation.
Jury service normally lasts for 10 working days, but may vary,
and if you’re not required for any part or whole court day you’ll
be expected to return to work for the remainder of that day.
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Long Service
As well as the increased Reward Card discounts and extra
holidays, we offer Career Celebrations which recognise
colleagues for their contribution and loyalty starting at just 10
years service up to 30 years. Colleagues are awarded between
£100 and £300 in Matalan vouchers.
Maternity
All employees are entitled to maternity leave when they’re
pregnant or have given birth. We understand you may also
need time off for scans/appointments at this exciting time in
your life, so please inform your Line Manager as soon as you’re
aware that you’re pregnant. A member of the HR Team will
meet with you to complete a risk assessment to make sure you
remain safe at work during your pregnancy, and to explain
your maternity entitlement in more detail.
Medical Appointments
Ideally, all medical, hospital or dental appointments should
be made outside of your normal working hours.
We appreciate that this isn’t always possible, so if you have
an appointment during working hours let your Line Manager
know so that they can re-arrange your working day and
approve the time off. You should return to work as soon
as possible once your appointment has finished.
Notice Period
If you decide to leave us then you will be required
to give, and work, your contractual notice period.
This can vary depending on your length of service
and role, and further details can be found in your
contract of employment.
On-Site Vendors
We frequently have external companies visiting Head Office,
selling their products and promoting offers they have (many
of them are bespoke to Matalan colleagues). All vendors give
a donation to our Matalan charities as well. You can find out
details of who is on site, via our fortnightly In The Know emails
or during the weekly 4pm Trade Briefing.
Paternity
Great news! All eligible colleagues can take paternity
leave in relation to the birth or adoption of a child, however
it’s not available to colleagues who have decided to take
adoption leave. You can take either one week’s leave or two
consecutive week’s leave, and must inform your Line
Manager in writing as soon as possible if you want to
take advantage of this entitlement.
Payslips
All payslips are available electronically via the e-pay website.
When you start with us, you’ll be sent an email to the email
address you provided us with when you joined, which will
include a link to the e-pay website.
Your user name will be your full employee number
(including zeros) so you’ll need this to hand when you log in.
You’ll also receive a temporary password when you first log
on, but you’ll be prompted to create your own and set
up 3 security questions to secure the site for you.
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Performance
Our aim is to encourage a high performance culture, and an
environment where all colleagues are the best they can be.
You’ll be provided with the development support you need to
achieve your performance and career goals, and will have
regular feedback and 121’s with your Line Manager to help
you grow your career with Matalan.
Policies
We want to make sure everyone is treated fairly at Matalan,
and that we have an environment that is open and friendly,
where everyone feels supported. We have a full set of Policies
and Guidelines (some of which are covered in this A-Z) to make
sure everyone is treated fairly You will find all of our company
Policies and Guidelines in the policies, guidance and
forms section of the My Matalan Intranet
Probationary Period
Within your probationary period you’ll have reviews with
your Line Manager every 6 weeks to see how you’re getting
on, give you feedback and highlight what’s going well and
any areas you need to focus on. If you need more time to
achieve your objectives, we can consider extending your
probationary period to give you every chance of
achieving success in your role.
Relationships at Work
We understand that as a large business, we have members
from the same family who work for Matalan or colleagues
who are in personal relationships. We spend a lot of
time together, so appreciate there are also times when
professional relationships may naturally develop into
a more close personal relationship.
In some circumstances it may not be appropriate for individuals
in the same family or who have a close personal relationship to
be working together so please make your Line Manager aware
of any relationship you feel could be a conflict of interests.
Searches
The Company has the contractual right to search you or your
belongings (including vehicles) at any time when entering,
occupying or leaving the premises. Ad-hoc vehicle searches
take place at Head Office and you must give your full
co-operation to security staff if stopped. If you’re taking
any items of product off the premises, you must first obtain
authority from your Line Manager to do so.
Recognition
Being recognised for your contribution and what you do at
work is important to us all, there’s nothing better than being
thanked or praised for a job well done. Our Big Thank You
scheme has been designed to let both Line Managers and
Peers recognise colleagues within their teams and across the
business whether that’s through non-financial recognition
or a small financial reward where it fits. Your Line Manager
can give you more details on these schemes and
how you can participate.
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Sickness Absence & Reporting
If you’re unwell and can’t attend work, you should contact
your Line Manager (or a suitable member of the Management
team) by telephone as early as possible on the first day
of absence. You should make every effort to talk to your
manager if you can’t attend work, but in exceptional
circumstances and when it’s not possible for you to make
contact personally, you can let someone else notify us
on your behalf. If you’re off for less than 7 calendar days you
will need to fill out a self certificate when you return to work,
anything longer than 7 days you will need a note from your GP.
Your Manager will carry out a return to work interview on
your first day back, so that we can understand if you’re well
enough to be in work, if you need any ongoing support, and
also if there are any concerns over your level of absence.
Smoking
Head Office is a no-smoking site, colleagues who want to
smoke or use an E-Cigarette must use the designated
smoking area at the back of the building, outside the Bistro.
Social Media
We know that many people enjoy using social media to keep
up to date with family and friends and what’s going on in the
world and we encourage you to follow Matalan and share
our good news stories on Social Media. However, we ask
that personal use of social media is restricted to breaks
and/or lunchtime.
We do have a social media policy in place which we would ask
you to read in detail as this covers information as to what is
and isn’t acceptable to post about us on social media.
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Time off for Dependants
All colleagues are allowed to take a reasonable amount
of unpaid time off work to deal with certain unexpected or
sudden emergencies involving a dependant and to make any
necessary longer term care arrangements. You must inform
your Line Manager as soon as possible of the reason
to take unpaid leave off work.

Trade Briefing
Each Monday at 4pm we hold a weekly Trade Update hosted
by a member of our Exec Board. Please make sure to check
within your team where your nearest briefing will be taking
place as it’s not always within the area you work in.
Travel on Matalan Business
If you need to travel anywhere as part of your role, not just
in the UK but overseas too, we have a central Travel Team
that book all of our travel and accommodation. They have
relationships and agreements with external providers and can
source the most efficient way of travelling that aligns to our
value retailer culture. They will also print your tickets for you so
you can collect everything you need before you travel! Please
make sure you e-mail your travel requirements to them at
travelteam@matalan.co.uk as early as you can so they
can arrange everything for you.
Vacancies
We always make our internal vacancies available to all
colleagues via our bespoke Matalan jobs website supported
by our Matalan Jobs emails. So if you see an opportunity that
you’d like to apply for, just visit the internal careers website
www.matalan.jobs/internal and inform your Line Manager
who must support your application.
Visiting Stores
You may need to visit one of our Stores as part of your role and
if so, you will be required to sign the Visitor’s Log when you go
in. You will also need to notify the Store Manager of your car
registration number in advance of your visit so you can park in
the car park without being at risk of getting a parking ticket.
Plus don’t forget our values and say hello to our colleagues
and customers whilst you’re there!
The team work core hours of 8:30am to 5:00pm, but if you
have any urgent travel issues or need support outside of
these hours, you can contact our travel partner Clarity Travel
Management on 0330 102 156.
If you are travelling on business and need any emergency
medical assistance please call 0207 173 7796.
We also offer frequent travellers access to a system which
provides important information on 230 destinations worldwide,
let’s you set up travel alert notifications, and view safety
briefings on potential travel risks. The website is
www.intel.worldaware.com, and you’ll need the
Registration Code 7796.
Always remember when travelling on business you are
representing Matalan and should always conduct
yourself in a manner which is appropriate. This is particularly
important when travelling overseas, where local cultures
are often different to ours.
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Whistle-Blowing
It’s important to everyone at Matalan that any fraud, misconduct etc.
by employees or officers of the company is reported. We encourage
colleagues to raise any concerns you may have with your Line Manager
in the first instance wherever possible, or via one of the following:
• By telephoning the Whistleblowing /
Confidential Hotline on 0151 556 6996
• By e-mailing the Confidential Inbox
at confidential@matalan.co.uk
• In writing to the HR Department at Head Office Any concerns you
raise will be treated with the strictest confidence, including your
identity (unless you have given your consent to disclose it).
Your Voice Reps
As we mentioned earlier in the handbook, we have an amazing
Your Voice Forum which gives colleagues a great opportunity to
have a say and be able to influence how we do things not only at
Head Office but across the wider business. Every department has
at least one Your Voice Rep, these are the people you can go to
with your feedback. Please make time to find your Rep, introduce
yourself, and give them any feedback as and when you want to -
both the reps and Matalan really value it! Our Your Voice rep list
is available in the useful links section of our My Matalan Intranet
Yammer
We know that communication is key in any business, so we’ve
introduced an online collaborative information tool called Yammer.
Yammer is like a private Facebook page which only colleagues with
a Matalan email address and registered on Yammer can see.
You can access it at www.yammer.com, via the homepage
of our My Matalan Intranet , or by downloading the Yammer App.
You can post an update, praise a colleague, share a picture, or tell
us about a birthday or something which is happening in your team
plus, just like other social media channels you can like, share and
comment on a post. Your log in and password will be the details
which you use to log onto your PC
For details of the policies, guidelines and forms detailed
throughout this A-Z visit the My Matalan Intranet shortcut on
your desktop and click the policies section.
We hope you’ll use this handbook throughout your Matalan
career, and find it a useful tool to guide you.
This Handbook supersedes all previous Handbooks and any reference to a Handbook in your offer letter must
now be treated as a reference to this edition. Most of the information isn’t contractual and reflects our current
guidelines for working together and doesn’t form part of your contact of employment. Your offer letter and
summary of employment terms will take precedence over the handbook. If you have any queries or questions,
please speak to your Line Manager or a member of the HR Team. This handbook is the July 2019 Edition; we
reserve the right to review, revise, amend or replace any part of this Handbook and introduce new things from
time to time. We’ll let you know about changes either by letter or using our company communication channels.
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