19 minute read
HR
CAROLINE MCENERY managing director, The HR Suite
Rechecking these pointers will not only guarantee legal compliance with employment legislation but will strengthen the employer/employee relationship
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If you require further information or advice on HR, please do not hesitate to contact The HR Suite’s consultants on (01) 9014335 or (066) 7102887 or email the company at info@thehrsuiteonline.com.
Back to basics in the new normal
When a business is operationally busier than usual and resources are stretched, it can be easy to overlook the HR basics. Here, The HR Suite’s Caroline McEnery outlines how to ensure employers meet all legal obligations, while boosting workplace morale
Now that we have weathered the initial Covid-19 to ensure that all rest breaks are being provided. Again, when storm, it’s important to take stock and assess any of organisations experience unusually busy periods, there is a the basics that may have been overlooked in the past possibility that this can be overlooked. Reviewing these records few months. Understandably, the focus recently for most has will identify any problem areas and allow you to put measures been on operating safely and overcoming the many challenges in place to rectify any issues. that have come in rapid succession, but it’s important to step
Policiesandprocedures
All employees must be issued with a copy ofthe company’s policies and procedures. It is best practice to issue all policies, or the staffhandbook ifin place, as soon as possible after an employee commences. However, this should be no later than 28 days after commencement to comply with the above section oflegislation. It is important to check all employee files to ensure that you have recorded confirmation that all have received these company policies. Your staffhandbook sets out the ground rules and expectations for all employees and so is vital in getting the basics ofthe employment relationship right. Ifnew hires on-boarded in the past few weeks or months have not yet received induction training, this should be scheduled.
Workinghoursandrestbreaks
The Organisation ofWorking Time Act, 1977 sets out the rules for employee working hours, rest breaks and annual leave and the recording ofsame. The act specifies that these records must be kept for a period ofthree years. It is good practice to regularly inspect these records to ensure that all employees’ working hours are in line with the provisions ofthe act and back and look at any other potential risk areas in the business, Annualleave including any HR-related risks. There are over 40 pieces of Now, more than ever, it is important to ensure that employees employment legislation protecting employee rights in the are receiving their entitlement to paid annual leave. The past workplace. The onus is always on the employer to abide by the few months have taken their toll on people in many ways obligations set down. Here, we have set out some ofthe basics and it’s important to remember the need for staffto rest and as a checklist for you to review and reassess. recharge. A check on employees’ annual leave balances should be undertaken and any employees with annual leave to take Contractsofemployment should be encouraged to do so. By reviewing this now, annual Employers are required to give all staffa basic leave can be planned to ensure that it is taken with minimal statement ofterms within the first five days operational disruption. ofemployment outlined in the to meet the requirements Employment (Miscellaneous Publicholidays Provisions) Act, 2018. This is something that The second quarter ofthe year had three public holidays and if is often overlooked during periods when you the business operates on public holidays, it’s important to check are operationally busier than usual. that all employees have received their correct entitlements. Fixedtermcontracts on the employees’ terms and conditions and working patterns Should an It is also important to review any fixed term contracts ofemployment that may be in place to cover the initial busy lockdown period. employee work beyond the end date ofa fixed term and it is important to remember that part-time employees have an entitlement to public holiday payments providing they meet certain criteria, such as having worked 40 hours in the five weeks prior to the public holiday. contract, they are deemed to be in permanent employment. Workpermits
There are varying calculations for public holidays depending Any employee who requires a work permit or who is working on a Permission Stamp (e.g. a Stamp 2 or Stamp 4) must have a valid, in-date stamp. It is essential to check the expiry date of any permits or permission stamps for non-EEA employees to ensure that you are compliant with Immigration legislation.
Probation
Ifyou have any employees who are within their probation period, it’s important to schedule regular probation review meetings. These meetings allow you to give the employee feedback on their performance to date and outline any performance areas for improvement. It also allows the employee the opportunity to give feedback on their own progress and to ascertain how they are settling into the role and the organisation.
WRC inspections are ongoing throughout the Covid-19 crisis and are now being conducted online. Employer obligations must still be met. Rechecking the above not only ensures legal compliance but will ensure the employer/employee relationship is also strengthened. For advice on HR-related issues for employers, contact any ofthe team at The HR Suite on (066)7102887 to discuss your requirements. ■
PRIMELINE TARGETS HEALTHY BEVERAGES GROWTH
NEW MARKETING MUSCLE BEHIND SYNERCHI, DEFIANTAND NOCCO BRANDS
Primeline Sales and Marketing has developed a new beverages strategy, supporting high-potential brand launches in the health & wellness and sustainability sectors ofthe FMCG market. Primeline has developed a forward-thinking approach to brand building incorporating a full 360º marketing and activation suite with digital consumer engagement as one ofthe key pillars.
The company has recently agreed distribution and marketing deals with two Irish-owned emerging brands in this functional beverages sector, as well as securing distribution for the Swedish-owned Nocco range, from he health and exercise-oriented No Carbs Company.
Sean McNaughten, managing director at Primeline Sales and Marketing, says that water brands and healthy functional beverages are beginning to outgrow the traditional carbonated soft-drinks sector, as more no and low-sugar products are developed to meet growing demand for healthier options.
“Apart from sugar reduction, more health conscious and informed consumers are looking for added functionality and purer drinks products, such as protein or vitamin content and fermented and organic formulations”.
Among the new healthier options now marketed by Primeline is SynerChi, a flavoured kombucha drink which focuses on gut health and wellness. It is produced in Gweedore in Donegal and offers the health benefits of live cultures, as well as being low-calorie, certified organic, and naturally free from dairy, gluten and soy.
Nutritionists believe kombucha plays a fundamental role in helping balance the gut microbiome and improving digestion.
Raymond Coyle ofTayto and Largo Foods renown is the investor behind the successful new launch ofthe natural health drink from Ireland’s first ever kombucha brewery.
The brand launched three new sparkling varieties in a 250ml can format this month, to complement an existing 330ml bottled offering; SynerChi Apple & Elderflower Presse, Ginger &Turmeric Lemonade and Traditional Cola Flavour.
Colm Dowling, Primeline Sales & Marketing retail & wholesale channel director, Sean McNaughten, Primeline Sales & Marketing managing director, Raymond Coyle, SynerChi investor and Paul Mc Inerney, Primeline Sales & Marketing brands and marketing director are excited about the upcoming plans for SynerChi kombucha cans which will be launched soon
Speaking ofthe launch, Raymond Coyle ofTayto Park said that in these challenging times for Irish business, he is delighted to support Irish and invest in SynerChi and the Donegal kombucha brewery.
BOTTLED WATER DISRUPTOR
Primeline is also logistics and marketing partner to Defiant, a new seven-times filtered still water offering, aiming to create a millennial lifestyle brand that disrupts the bottled water category.
Striking brand identity and design gives the new product launch shelf-appeal, while a marketing campaign focuses on the ‘bad stuff’ in existing water choices and the proven health benefits ofthe brand’s purified water alternative.
Defiant is a 500ml bottle of‘100% Pure H2O’, filtered seven times to remove all materials that exist in water, including heavy metals such as arsenic, fluoride and aluminium, and other harmful substances, leaving just pure water. It is the first ofits kind in the still water category, and has packaging that is 100% recyclable.
Dublin entrepreneur, Aidan Roche, who owns Feel Fit Gyms, developed the new Defiant water brand and is aiming to extend into alkaline and flavoured water varieties in the next twelve months.
“It has been a long 30-month journey, with a lot of learning curves to get to a product we’re truly proud of. And, being signed up to one ofthe biggest distribution companies in Ireland is amazing, and has opened many doors for our innovative brand”, the Defiant brand owner says.
The Irish bottled water market is growing significantly and is now bigger than carbonated soft drinks, at €250m. It is estimated that 1 million people in Ireland drink two bottles ofwater each day.
APrimeline partnership agreement is also in place for the distribution ofa range offunctional drinks from the Swedish No Carbs Company.
Nocco beverages are sugar-free and enriched with caffeine, vitamins and branched-chain amino acids. The formulation reduces the rate ofmuscle breakdown after exercise and triggers protein synthesis, to help optimum recovery.
The carbonated 330ml canned drinks come in four original flavours, Ice Soda, Caribbean, Tropical and Limon del Sol. Used by elite Irish sportspeople, including swimmer Shane Ryan, Nocco helps active people perform at their best, both in the gym and in daily life.
Nocco is an on-the-go alternative to traditional energy drinks or coffee, Carlotta Cattelani, the brand’s UK& Ireland marketing manager, comments.
“Whilst having a credible, functional proposition, Nocco is inclusive and lifestyle driven; it doesn’t matter which sport you are practicing and ifyou are an elite athlete or a beginner, all that really matters is your attitude,” says Cattelani. “Goal oriented and motivated, dedicated and hungry for success; what our athletes and consumers have in common is being Nocco enough!”
EMERGING WELLNESS CATEGORY
The Primeline brands and marketing director Paul Mc Inerney says the company’s unrivalled experience and expertise in FMCG marketing and logistics means it can uniquely support emerging new categories.
The development ofa dedicated beverages strategy for the health and wellness category is in line with international industry and consumer trends, where lower-sugar sales are driving value growth in the soft drinks category.
Arecent survey from analysts, GlobalData, found that ‘How the product impacts my health and wellbeing’ is now the second most important factor influencing consumer purchasing behaviour.
The delivery ofbespoke strategic sales and marketing solutions for its new stable ofhealthy brands will help build the wellness category in the Irish marketplace, Paul Mc Inerney says.
Sean McNaughten, Primeline Sales & Marketing managing director, Colm Dowling, Primeline Sales & Marketing retail and wholesale channel director, Rebecca Hoban, Nocco marketing activation manager and Paul Mc Inerney, Primeline Sales & Marketing brands and marketing director getting ready to refuel with Nocco, the new functional drink enriched with BCAA
Eoin O’Sullivan, sales director and Patrick O’Sullivan, purchasing director at M&P O’Sullivan
Logical leaps
In July, Cork-based food wholesale business M&P O’Sullivan Ltd (M&P) made the business headlines, when it acquired Brennan’s Caterworld assets and trading names, following the business’ entry into liquidation the previous month. Although specific figures for the deal were not disclosed, ShelfLifeunderstands the investment to be in the region of €400,000.
The merger of two of Cork’s oldest companies added the catering supplies business to M&P’s wholesale portfolio, which also includes Homestead, White Hat and Red Abbey, bringing the group’s product range to over 15,000 lines. M&P also currently operates 30 Gala Retail and Your Stop franchises, with 1,500 active customers who order weekly across their frozen, fresh, ambient, alcohol, packaging and minerals ranges.
With so much happening at the business at present (not withstanding the challenges posed by Covid-19), ShelfLifewas delighted to have the opportunity to speak to one half of the dynamic duo currently holding the reins of the company. Namely, purchasing director Patrick O’Sullivan, who runs the business together with his cousin, sales director Eoin O’Sullivan.
Developing Gala franchise
As the photographs displayed on these pages illustrate, M&P has a truly rich history within Ireland’s wholesale and grocery sector, stretching back four generations to 1905. One of the group’s more (relatively) recent milestones was that back in 1998, M&P was one of a group of Irish wholesalers, which according to Gala Retail “had the vision to develop a new style of convenience retailing, that positioned Irish communities at the heart of its operations: Gala was born.”
As Patrick O’Sullivan explains: “Gala was set up by us. My father did so along with 15 other wholesalers; they developed a franchise model because that’s the way the market was going at the time. They were starting to see the emergence of all the other leading franchises Following the news that Cork-based M&P O’Sullivan had acquired the assets of Brennan’s Caterworld back in July, Gillian Hamill caught up with purchasing director Patrick O’Sullivan to learn more about how the company’s current expansion plans aim to build on its illustrious past
in the market and being independent retail distributors, we knew we had to come up with a solution, so Gala was developed by the wholesalers, for the wholesalers as a brand to enable them to compete in the market against the other big competitors.”
It’s a move that the family certainly hasn’t regretted, given its plans to grow its own portfolio of Gala and Your Stop franchises further. “We’re hoping to add approximately five stores within the next 12 months,” says Patrick. “It’s definitely something that we’re always progressing. The Gala brand seems to work extremely well for our customers; it’s a relationship that works well for everybody.”
Without a lengthy chain of command moreover, the cousins have the advantage of a quick and nimble approach when it comes to making decisions across all areas of the business. “Myself and Eoin are extremely hands-on,” says Patrick. “We speak daily to suppliers and customers ourselves. We can make decisions extremely quickly. Unlike other people, the power is in our hands and that personal touch can be lost in other businesses but it’s something that we are very proud of and that we will continue going forward.”
Excellent strategic fit
Speaking ofgoing forwards, the company is now planning to expand the retail space ofits Sarsfield Road warehouse in Cork by approximately 3,000 square foot to accommodate the Brennan’s Caterworld product range, and create a showroom for its full product portfolio. “Brennan’s Caterworld is an excellent strategic fit for M&P and will strengthen our existing wholesale business,” says Eoin, noting that M&P previously distributed a small line ofits catering supply products, which had proved popular with customers. With an annual turnover of€3 million, Brennan’s Caterworld is undoubtedly a sage acquisition for the business, with its own heritage stretching back even further to 1872.
As well as the fact that quick serve and takeaway sectors fared better than other areas within the hospitality industry during lockdown, the improved performance of retail grocery “cushioned the blow” at a time when the company’s “core foodservice business did take a bit of a hit,” according to Patrick. “Within retail, we gained a lot of market share and we gained a lot of new customers during that time,” he adds.
Guests at the opening of M&P O’Sullivan Tobacco Factory, Mary Street, Cork on 7 May 1927
The trend away from little-and-often shopping to the one big weekly shop, has actually benefitted small, community retailers, according to Patrick. “Obviously some stores close to the city centre have suffered, but overall our customers have done extremely well,” he says. “From the start, they’ve had good grocery ranges and they continue to do so and spend is subsequently up in our stores. When people are calling to a business, they’re willing to spend that bit more,” he continues. “They’re not willing to go to five or six different shops to get their grocery shop. They seem to be shopping in our customers’ stores a lot more.”
Takeaways taking off
Takeaways likewise flourished during the lockdown period which was good news for M&P’s Red Abbey range. When ShelfLifewas researching its background, we came across a 2015 CorkIndependentarticle which reported that beef dripping was performing well for the business, which sold 30-40 pallets of the product each month. We were curious to hear if this was still a strong performer, and the answer is a definitive yes. Patrick explains that the Red Abbey range was developed some seven years ago specifically for the takeaway market. “We began with beef dripping, 160 tonnes of that a year,” he says. “We also developed into the sauce market three years ago and that’s absolutely booming for us, in both 10 litre buckets and 1 litre bottles. We’re looking at a rebrand next year of all the sauce bottles, and we’re potentially looking at adding a couple of new different products to that range next year, so it’s been a huge success for us. Red Abbey obviously comes from where we had our first tobacco factory, back in 1910. That’s where that name comes from, so it’s one that we hold close to ourselves and we’re very proud of that brand. It has done extremely well; we’re very protective of it but it’s definitely something that we will be pushing on next year.”
Indeed, the business appears to be “pushing on” on all fronts. The acquisition of Brennan’s Caterworld followed on from a significant investment, two years ago, in new temperature-controlled warehousing and a fleet of temperature-controlled delivery
vehicles. M&P currently employs 60 people and fortunately was able to retain a full workforce throughout lockdown. “We did have two part-timers that we furloughed at the time but we kept all our full-time staff on the payroll the entire time. Our purchasing and sales teams did an amazing job during the lockdown of finding the product that was selling, buying it and getting it out to the customer.
Significant growth
Patrick is clearly proud of the substantial growth the business has achieved in the past five years and he is confident this will continue. “I know there’s a massive potential in our business,” he says. “I’m happy to say that I look forward to coming to work every single day. We’re always growing and challenging ourselves and improving and getting better
Factory Opening 1928’: Paddy O’Sullivan (left) founder of M&P O’Sullivan Ltd oversees President Cosgrave (centre) and guests including Mr. P. McGilligan, Minister for Industry and Commerce during a visit to M&P O’Sullivan Tobacco Factory, Mary Street, Cork on 30 September 1928 Several months after starting his own wholesale and delivery service in 1905, founder Paddy O’Sullivan saw a shop with a to let sign in the window on Princes Street and established a wholesale base from which to work from
and better at what we do.” That said, sustainable growth that doesn’t leave the business “over-stretched” is the order of the day. “Look, we’re already servicing a large part of the country,” he says. “We’re already servicing Munster, and significant parts of Connacht and Leinster. The national picture is always on our minds but we’re growing at a sustainable rate. That’s what we’re about is taking logical leaps and not over-stretching ourselves. We certainly will be looking at the national picture. We would service Munster daily and Connacht and Leinster three to four times a week and we are looking to go further afield in the next matter of years but we will do so when it makes sense.
“We are optimistic and we understand that nothing is certain; particularly at the moment in this current climate, but we are confident that what we’ve seen in a short-term basis in the recent times is that businesses are bouncing back strong so we imagine that trend will continue to occur,” he adds. “It may take a slight step-back at a certain stage but I think it will continue to grow and we wouldn’t have invested in our foodservice business if we didn’t think that.” n
In 1939, fuelled by continuing growth, the company bought the premises of the Victoria Palace Dance Hall at Victoria Cross to expand storage. In 1985, an adjacent site was purchased, trebling the amount of warehouse space. The company then moved to its current location in 1999, a 45,000sq ft state-of-theart warehouse in Wilton, Cork
