Tag: Parcelforce

Minister for Women, Ruth Kelly, launched a new drive today to step up efforts to reduce the gender pay gap and promote better work-life balance throughout the workplace.

She announced that more than 100 companies and organisations have signed up to a Exemplar Employer scheme since its launch in September. The Exemplar Employer scheme requires organisations to give a clear commitment to reducing the gender pay gap through projects ranging from encouraging women to find out and enter into jobs traditionally done mostly by men, to supporting mothers to return to work, to creating better quality opportunities for staff working part-time.

The first wave of organisations signed up range from high street names such as Asda to city companies such as Goldman Sachs to Parcelforce to construction firms.

Ruth Kelly also launched and opened bids for a new Quality Part-Time Work Fund, available to employers to finance trouble shooters who will advise on how to create and retain more part time jobs for women at a senior level.

Both the Exemplar Employer and Quality Part Time Work schemes have been created by the Government in response to the Women and Work Commission report, which looked at the causes of the gender pay gap. Creating a more flexible working world was one of the key recommendations made by the Commission as a way to way to increase the number of women – and the quality of roles available part-time and flexibly – in the workplace.

Parcelforce Worldwide is offering its customers a first in the UK express parcels market – the option to deliver their parcel carbon-free.

Customers booking online can now choose to donate 5p per parcel for UK and 10p per parcel for international deliveries when ordering via www.parcelforce.com.

Having calculated the average amount of carbon emitted for each parcel, Parcelforce Worldwide will match all donations and, through their association with The Woodland Trust, invest it in an approved programme to offset greenhouse gases generated during the journey of that parcel.

Managing Director Vanessa Leeson explained that giving customers the option to send their parcel carbon free was part of a wider approach to carbon management.

She said: “Our business uses renewable energy in our buildings, bio-diesel in our vehicle fleet and pro-actively seeks to increase energy efficiency where practical. While we’d never force carbon offset onto our customers, many of them are telling us that they will choose the commitment.”