Covid, Compliance & Job Opportunities As We Enter the New Normal

CEO of Fashion-Enter Ltd Jenny Holloway discusses how the company has had to constantly adapt over the past two months to ensure workflow, heath & safety, essential production of PPE and is now recruiting to fill 25 job positions…

‘Following on from the ‘Opportunities and threats from the Covid-19 crisis’ comment article with Drapers there has indeed been more developments and refinements required to make the Factory safe for staff and clients.

‘Newsnight came to us on Friday 5th June and pressed the point regarding how we have had to change our working ways, and asked how we found out what to do – where were the sources of information available to support SMEs?

‘The truth is there is no magical book but then we do have a switched-on Compliance Team and it’s their job to ensure that we are always at the top of our game and fully compliant in everything that we do.

This is why we have had to create and implement:

• A new Covid-19 policy specifically for the factory
• A dedicated new risk assessment for each returning member of staff
• Create a one way system to ensure we adhere to the 2m spacing rule
• Open up the factory by moving machines to other units and creating the 2m rule for the machinists however if the machinists were back to back we allowed this
• Only one person in a toilet at any one time
• Yellow markings to denote the 2 m spacing rule
• Covid-19 stations that include masks, sanitisers and gloves
• Temperature checks each morning to ensure all staff are fit and well
• The use of throwaway towels in all toilets
• Deep cleaning each weekend
• 8-hour continuous cleaning of core areas such as handles, toilets,
• Doors wedged open so no one has to touch the doors
• Opening all doors and warehouse shutters to ensure lots of air is circulated around the factory

‘There are more refinements continuously and this really is the new norm but it’s the way it has to be. 

‘We are expecting a second spike and we need to be 100% prepared to keep our staff safe and well especially as we need to keep growing and recruiting more staff in line with new orders that are being received from retailers now looking to re-shore back to the UK.

‘We have in fact a total of 25 new jobs available right now.

‘We have been delighted to play our part in the creation of PPE for our much-appreciated key workers within the NHS system. We started off by making scrubs for Alexandra (who supplies the NHS directly) and they are owned by an American company Dimensions. We have literally supplied thousands of scrubs and then we produced gowns directly to the NHS hospitals such as Royal Brompton, Royal Marsden and Imperial College. 

‘We were talking directly to the surgeons and key staff of the trusts and we literally just had to stop what we were making and start producing the gowns immediately. This is exactly why the UK is so fantastic at speed of response. To think that we helped the surgeons carry on with the business of saving people’s lives puts everything into perspective. We were never late and the team performed magnificently. We are now hoping to start working directly with the NHS and this is exactly why we are looking for another 25 experienced industrial machinists that can join our merry team! If you are interested please do email caroline@fashion-enter.com and lets trial you tomorrow!

‘There have been many unsung heroes too during this time – one of them is ASOS.com who paid for 300 scrubs to be sent to the Imperial College and also actress Thandie Newton who also donated scrubs too.

‘However awful Covid-19 has been it has actually brought out the true colours of some remarkable people and organisations. Thank-you to Nick Beighton, CEO at ASOS.com, Thandie Newton, Sanjay Purkayastha, Senior Lecturer & Surgeon – Imperial College London and of course the team at Fashion-Enter that made all of this possible.’