Merlin Housing Society achieves two top employment awards

Staff at Merlin Housing Society are celebrating after they received two top employment awards.

In the space of a couple of weeks the South Gloucestershire-based society has been awarded the prestigious Investors in People (IIP) standard and the two ticks symbol for being positive about disability.

The IIP award has been made in recognition of Merlin’s continuing commitment to staff development. Inspectors praised Merlin for its focus on performance and performance management and were impressed with the positive attitude of staff across the organisation.

Positive about disability is awarded by JobCentre Plus to companies who make five commitment regarding recruitment, training, retention, consultation and disability awareness.

To qualify Merlin has promised to give interviews to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a vacancy and to discuss with disabled staff what the society can do to help them develop their skills.

The award, which was presented to Merlin chief executive Ian Matthews by John Woods from JobCentre Plus, identifies companies who go the extra mile to help disabled people.

Ian said: “I am delighted we have received these two awards which show we are a company that cares about our staff. We have had a lot of changes across the business during the past year so it is particularly pleasing to achieve the Investors in People status. The award is a tribute to the skill and hard work of all our staff.

“As a business which employs more than 300 people we want to be recognised as an employer which focuses on people’s abilities rather than disabilities. The positive about disability award shows we are doing just that and confirms our proactive approach to helping people achieve their potential.”