Cytoplan Ltd

Cytoplan Ltd is a charity owned foundation specialising in supplements. Amanda Williams, Managing & Technical Director outlines the organisation’s vision: “Cytoplan Ltd is British, Independent and wholly owned by a charitable foundation.  The aim of the foundation is to improve the health of the nation.  We provide a genuinely unique range of supplements, to practitioners and the general public, comprising Food State TM and Wholefood vitamins and minerals.”

Cytoplan has been operating since 1980, currently with a total of 51 employees, and is based in Hanley Swan based at the foot of the Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, UK.

After Cytoplan encountered a series of HR issues, Amanda realised that they needed the support of HR experts. She explains:

“There was no particular issue, just lots of HR issues, which made us aware of our vulnerability in this area as no one in the company had HR knowledge or experience. We had tried to manage issues with the help of the chamber of commerce, but this was very tedious and protracted, as one always ended up speaking to different people on cases and having to start each from scratch. There was no continuity.

“We looked at 4 other companies and took a long time deciding that Croner would be the best for us – a decision we bless on a daily basis!”

Amanda finds the HR support Croner provide to be the most useful element of the Simplify system.

“We seem to have had many HR issues that started just before we joined you and have continued unabated. We primarily use the Simplify system for HR advice – absenteeism, maternity leave, redundancy, disciplinary matters. We now feel watertight in terms of HR and also Health and Safety - previously were vulnerable on both. So there is peace of mind for the Directors.”

Detailing one particular case, Amanda describes how Croner assisted her through the entire process:

“A Despatch employee was called in for meeting as she had made numerous mistakes on batch marking products, which could have been serious for our business.

“Immediately she went off sick and was off sick for over six months until dismissed. During this time Croner helped us at every stage – writing to the GP for clarification of illness, invites to review meetings for the employee where we would have attempted to understand issues, if the job could be changed to meet her needs etc. At no time did she respond to any of our communications—we ended up holding meetings in her absence and at the end of a lengthy process she was dismissed.

“Subsequently – 3 months after her dismissal she took us to a tribunal, claiming discrimination due to disability – but at no point during that time was there any evidence of a disability. Croner have supported us all the way and represented us at the tribunal – without them it would have been hugely stressful and we would not have known where to start. Luckily because we followed their advice throughout they were happy to take on the tribunal case.

“The tribunal is still ongoing and is going through preliminary hearings on aspects of the claim. I say ‘God bless Croner’ because without their lead here we would be totally stuck”

After playing such a vital role in a HR case with potential for serious damage to the business, Amanda rates Croner highly. “Overall, the service has been excellent and we would most definitely recommend Croner to others in our sector.”