What does Good Employment look like?

What does Good Employment look like?

Ahead of Good Employment Week 2019 we needed some images and a video; and so who better to ask than a riding centre who always go the extra mile when it comes to looking after their team.

With a 70 year pedigree, Kingston Riding Centre is a British Horse Society approved riding school and livery yard.

We chatted to Office Manager Louise Bates about what good employment means to them...

What do employees at Kingston Riding Centre get?

They get their contract of employment, sickness and holiday pay. We are very flexible if staff need time off for family issues or anything like that.

We are also open to the staff swapping hours or days. We offer BHS training so they get their lessons or anything they need for example first aid then that’s all paid for by us.

We also let our staff go to any shows, either with their own horse or livery horses, if that’s working towards their training as well. We offer live-in accommodation here too.

We pay our team at least the National Minimum Wage and there are additional incentives for them as well.

How good is the team morale?

We are like a small family here. The whole atmosphere is fun and everyone genuinely gets on really well.

Do you do staff socials?

Yes, we do staff socials!

We go to Olympia most years, and Windsor Horse Show is another one that we love to go to. We have our own pizza / beer / prosecco evenings quite regularly.

In summer time we often have a BBQ which we sometimes get the clients and our liveries involved in too. We celebrate birthdays and Christmas as well.

How important is Good employment?

Good employment is extremely important in the work place so the more you reward your staff the more they will definitely reward you. The more you invest in your staff the more they will invest in you, and I think that makes for such a happy work place on both sides.

How long do your staff stay with you?

The longest member of staff has been here since they were eight and they are in their 50’s now!

A lot of our staff have been here since they were young, and have stayed and done their training so that they are now qualified instructors.

Now for a tricky question… Would you say you are good employers?

Yes, we are the BEST!


A HUGE thank you to all at Kingston Riding Centre for their help with the images for Good Employment Week.

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