FRANCHISE NEWS The latest reports from businesses in franchising
UK employees working extra day in overtime every week
feel happy and valued in the workplace. The vast majority of participants (93 per cent) said they would prefer to work longer days for four days a week and have a three-day weekend. Two thirds said they spend their weekends recuperating, having little energy after the busy working week. Nick Walter, OnePulse chief marketing
n The majority of UK-based employees are working an extra day a week on top of their contracted hours, new research has revealed. The survey of 2,000 workers, conducted by consumer research firm OnePulse to mark National Work Life Week, comes as Sweden introduces a shorter working week, which recent studies have suggested leads to health benefits and increased productivity and profit. The report found that 70 per cent of UK employees are working an average of 8.73
hours’ overtime a week – amounting to 66 million hours – with 43 per cent receiving no extra pay or compensation. Nearly three quarters (71 per cent) of
respondents said this includes working through their lunch and 79 per cent regularly stay behind after hours. More than a third (37 per cent) also said they are not able to take their full annual leave entitlement due to an excessive workload. As a result, half of the employees surveyed said they feel stressed and tired at work, with only a quarter claiming they
Franchise Brands acquires Barking Mad
n Franchise Brands, a multi- brand international franchisor, has announced its acquisition of pet care franchise Barking Mad. The £900,000 deal represents Franchise Brands’ first acquisition since its initial public offering in August 2016. Established in 2000 by managing
director Lee Dancy, who will continue to run the company, Barking Mad organises dog-sitting services for owners while they are away. It currently has 75 franchised territories across the UK, operated by 71 franchisees who service an estimated 20,000 active customers. Alongside its two main existing brands, ChipsAway and Ovenclean, Franchise Brands now has over 400 franchisees in 12 countries. Franchise Brands intends to grow Barking Mad through increasing the number of franchised territories and
assisting current franchisees in growing their businesses. Stephen Hemsley, executive chairman of Franchise Brands, said: “We are delighted with the acquisition of Barking Mad, which fits very well with our strategy of acquiring high-quality franchise businesses that can benefit from our central services. “Barking Mad is the leading franchise
provider of dog-sitting services in the UK and its franchisees benefit from very high levels of customer satisfaction and repeat business. We look forward to working with Lee and her team to develop the opportunities we see to grow the company’s franchise network and to help Barking Mad’s franchisees continue to successfully build their businesses.” Lee added: “We are looking forward to working with the team at Franchise Brands, whose clear experience in
Lee Dancy
successfully growing high-quality franchise businesses will help us greatly in the next stage of our development. “Franchise Brands’ strong central services, and marketing expertise in particular, will be of great value as we continue to grow our network and help our franchisees to grow their businesses. We are very excited about building on our success to date as part of a larger, publicly quoted group with a clear strategy to develop their portfolio of high-quality franchise brands.”
officer, commented: “As both an employer and an employee, work-life balance is always an interesting debate. The real issue here is the taboo nature of working overtime today. Since the start of the UK financial crisis in 2008, there was a nervousness among employees, who were urged to up their game to keep their jobs – and this is the hangover; who is going to speak out? “Simultaneously, with the rise of ‘bring your own device’, innovations in digital technology and improved access to high-speed internet, work is no longer only possible in the office – work is everywhere we turn. “We created OnePulse for this reason
entirely – a chance for the nation to speak out on issues that are not acceptable around the water cooler.”
December/January 2017 |
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