Central England Co-op celebrates almost 2,000 years of colleague long service at special celebration event
Posted by james brindle | Published: 20/07/2022
A special celebration event has been held to recognise 56 Central England Co-op (CEC) colleagues who were honoured for a combined 1,940 years of long service.
Colleagues from across the organisation were invited to the event which took place at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire and those in attendance were able to enjoy the famous stately home alongside a special ceremony to mark their fantastic service.
CEC holds a long service celebration every year to thank and reward employees for their hard work, loyalty and service to the Society, customers and members and it includes a special afternoon tea in the picturesque setting of Chatsworth.
Any of the 56 colleagues who reached the milestone this year but couldn’t attend the event received gift experience vouchers instead but those who did attend enjoyed a wonderful day of celebration.
Those recognised at the event have reached a landmark of between 30-50 years of service this year and are from all areas of the Society, including food stores, funeral homes and its distribution centre, in Leicester.
Sarah Dickins, Chief People Officer at Central England Co-op, said: “It was wonderful to spend time with so many colleagues who embody our values and principles and who have shown such commitment to our Society. Their level of dedication is incredibly humbling and deserving of our recognition.
“It was a beautiful day and a wonderful setting at Chatsworth House to celebrate such incredible service. I am so very proud to be part of a co-operative society with such a fantastic record of long serving colleagues.”
Interested in a career with Central England Co-op? View the latest job opportunities at https://careers.coop/
Notes to editors
About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.
Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its over 8,000 colleagues serve customers across 400 plus trading sites in 20 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Its purpose is to inspire communities to create a sustainable Society for all.
It actively campaigns for the Government to increase sentencing for violent attacks on retail workers and works with FareShare Midlands and hundreds of food banks, generating enough food donations to create over 2.1 million meals for people in need.
The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, while it is also fully committed to addressing the impact of climate change and is on track to be Carbon Neutral by 2030.
It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £175,000 shared out between 116 good causes over the past 12 months.
Central England Co-op was named Leading Co-op of the Year by Co-operatives UK in 2021.
Press office contact: James Brindle, Public Relations Lead
Contact details: email james.brindle@centralengland.coop and telephone 07392 080028.