ShuttersUp

ShuttersUp are a home-improvement company based in Bromley, Kent. Providing bespoke shutters and doors, the business operates out of a double-fronted shop in West Wickham but has humble beginnings.

“We started in my Nan’s garage,” says Ashley Weight, Director, “myself and my business partner Ross Evans were 21 at the time and we both invested £1,000 into the idea. Now, we employ 25 employees and provide quality shutters to clients within a large range including Greater London and the South East.”

As they grown, Ashley and Ross have created a team of like minds, including friends and family. The team prides themselves on mutual respect and customer ethos.

A dispute between employees was the first indication that the company needed HR support. Ashley elaborates:

“At that point we realised we were lacking in the HR department. We needed advice. We came across Croner. We signed up and we’ve not looked back. It made us aware that there’s an awful lot of employment law that we’re unfamiliar with. In the past whenever there was an HR incident, we just dealt with it how we thought best, but now we know there are legal procedures to follow.

“We didn’t have anyone employed purely to deal with HR or health & safety within the business—we’d deal with each issue on an ad hoc basis. There was no HR management system in place prior to BrightHR/Safe. The introduction of those systems has had a massive impact on the way we manage our people and their safety.”

“Croner holds our hand when it comes to HR and health & safety. Having access to the 24/7 advice line means that we have somebody to call if anything goes wrong. It gives us an undeniable feeling of security. You never think you’ll use it as much as you do. Once you start using it however, you realise how helpful it is.

“The initial issue we had with two employees falling out was resolved with the help of Croner advisers—Sarah Pickering & Alex Thomas. They’ve been extremely helpful, we got on with them both really well.

“Dealing with Coronavirus this year has shifted the way we work. Obviously, a lot of our people needed to work from home, and now we’re looking at how to safely return people to the office. Croner helped us understand what responsibilities we had, as an employer, for people working from home. While we’ve been in lockdown, we’ve renovated our old space and created a more COVID-secure layout. Croner are helping us ensure that this new working space is safe for our people to return to.

“The BrightHR/Safe systems are fantastic too—really, really helpful. We keep all of our employee records on the system now and manage all holidays and documentation too. The service has been amazing— There’s so much more to it than just HR advice. We’d 100% recommend it to anyone looking for HR or health & safety support.”