Member Article

Posh fast food chain Leon pioneers flexible workers recruitment drive

London-headquartered natural fast food brand Leon has launched a new campaign aimed at supporting flexible working across its operations.

The food chain has launched its ‘Parents Shifts’ initiatives and joined the ‘Hire Me My Way’ campaign to promote and drive the hire of flexible team members, managers and head office staff.

As part of its ‘Parents’ shifts’ programme, Leon has said it will make it clear to new hires that it is open to flexible working arrangements to help team members who have family commitments get back into work.

New recruits will now be able to discuss more flexible working hours and shifts in an effort to help parents who are looking for work, but may be unable to commit to long shifts due to family life.

In a related move, Leon joining the ‘Hire Me My Way’ campaign will now mean that the chain will advertise which of its roles are available to flexible workers, and has committed to more consideration over which roles across its business could be carried out flexibly.

Marco Reick at Leon commented: “At Leon we have one simple goal: to help everyone to eat well and live well. We know that there are lots of reasons why people want to work flexibly.

“Some are parents or carers, others are pursuing their passions. Helping our people balance work and home keeps them well. And that makes us happy.”

At the moment, 54% of UK workers have an element of flexibility in their roles; however, only 8.7% of jobs offering £20,000 or more are advertised with part-time or flexible arrangements, hampering the ability of workers to move on to new jobs.

The Hire Me My Way campaign, led by Timewise, is attempting to get more of the UK’s employers to open up the possibility of work flexibility at the point of hire, and has targeted 1m part-time or flexible jobs to be advertised annually by 2020.

Timewise’s joint-Chief Executive, Emma Stewart MBE, said: “We’re thrilled that Leon has joined the growing army of employers backing our Hire Me My Way campaign.

“We’re relentlessly looking to grow the UK’s flexible jobs market – to unlock access to better jobs for the millions of British part time and flexible workers.

“Leon has proved that they are not only a forward-thinking employer, but that they taking the lead in the hospitality industry by genuinely listening to people’s needs and advertising their willingness to discuss flexible working options from day one. May more restaurants and food chains take heed!”