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National Express Bus wins top safety award

National Express Bus has won the coveted Sword of Honour from the British Safety Council (BSC).

It is the fifth time the company has been endorsed as one of the best of the best for safety.

The BSC says that the Sword of Honour represents “the pinnacle of health and safety management”. Before they can even compete for the Sword of Honour, companies around the world must have first achieved a maximum five-star rating as a result of an intensive two-week audit by BSC.

National Express Bus has successfully held its five-star rating since 2016. The bus company’s latest audit score also topped 2020 with an impressive 97.86%. The five-star rating confirms National Express’s proven track record and culture of excellence in occupational health and safety management, including wellbeing and mental health at work.

Mark Heffernan, National Express operations and safety director, said: “We’re very proud to have again been recognised as one of the very best. This is a testament to all of our employees’ dedication and relentless focus on health, safety and wellbeing during what have been some uniquely difficult times.

“Every single one of our employees has played a part in achieving this award through their hard work, enthusiasm and commitment to doing the right thing in all areas of our business – keeping our people and our customers safe and well.”

Mike Robinson, chief executive of the British Safety Council, added: “I’d like to congratulate National Express Bus on their achievement and applaud them for keeping their workplace safe and healthy. I pay tribute to National Express and all of its workforce for their hard work and commitment.”

Serco helps Midlands firms to find talent and save money

Tom Beard, employer engagement manager for Serco’s Restart Scheme, explains how his team is supporting businesses to find, attract and retain the right people…

“We're a funded employability programme that’s helping businesses in the Midlands to streamline recruitment and significantly reduce the cost per hire.

“Collectively, we have more than 30 years' recruitment experience in the region and understand the unique business landscape we operate in. As a way of reinforcing our local expertise, each of our coordinators has a specific patch where they continue to build their knowledge of the opportunities and challenges presented to each industry.

“In practice, our Coventry coordinator, Yasmin Brotherson, works with employability specialists who help her to source local candidates with the technical or soft skills that a business requires.

“She offers businesses a five-step package, which is tailored to their specific objectives. As her support is free and geared towards streamlining the interview and onboarding process, it helps to minimise the administrative burden of recruitment.”

Yasmin explains how she has helped local businesses to reduce costs and time: “My support starts at our initial needs-assessment meeting where I determine the issues I can help resolve. For example, a business could be struggling to find the people with the right skillsets for the role, and maybe the training costs on top of recruitment prove prohibitive.

Once an action plan is agreed, I act as their single point of contact to a wider pool of talent sourced through our networks and streamlining begins.

For the business, I can arrange group interview and assessment days. Once your new employee is in place, the Restart Scheme and the many partnership organisations we work with are still on-hand to support you. This could be to provide individual coaching and mentoring; or funded, accredited upskilling packages for your whole workforce.”

For more information visit https://www.serco-ese.com/restartscheme/employers

German heating, industrial and refrigeration systems manufacturer Viessmann has bolstered its heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) expertise with the acquisition of Durham-based Pacifica Home Services (PHS) – with the support of Midlands law firm Shakespeare Martineau.

Viessmann acquires heat pump expert

PHS is a specialist in the installation and maintenance of integrated HVAC solutions with a further specialisation in heat pumps, and is well-known to end customers under the brand 0800 Repair. The deal includes the acquisition of Oakes Energy Services, which will be integral to the development of the business.

By acquiring a majority stake in PHS for an undisclosed sum, international manufacturer Viessmann will strengthen its service and sales activity in the UK long-term and help meet the growing need for decarbonisation through the retrofitting of homes, as well as meet increased demand for heat pumps in new dwellings.

In total, PHS employs around 240 people and is estimated to have made more than £45m worth of sales in 2021. Management from PHS will stay on board and remain invested in the company.

Timo Tauber, managing director, Viessmann Investment GmbH, said: “With the acquisition of PHS, we’re strengthening our services and sales activities within the UK for the long term. Even more importantly, we’re positioning ourselves sustainably in the strongly-growing British heat pump market.”

Andrew Smith, partner at Shakespeare Martineau, led on the deal for Viessmann, providing legal due diligence support and advice on all legal aspects of the transaction.

He said: “With energy prices rising and climate change and heating methods for homes high on the agenda, this deal couldn’t have been more timely.

“We’re really pleased to have acted for Viessmann on an important deal for the company’s ongoing growth in such an important sector. This showcases our ability to execute complex crossborder deals for multinational clients and demonstrates the benefits of our membership of the international Multilaw network, with Viessmann having been introduced to us by German member firm Schalast.”