Teddies Nurseries has got the home front covered as the cost of living in London goes through the roof. The nursery chain provides subsidised housing to some of its employees to help make it more feasible for them to work and live in the expensive capital.
The initiative was born around three years ago as the chain found the recruitment climate increasingly challenging, especially when it came to filling vacancies in its London nurseries. Many of Teddies' 28 nurseries are located in affluent areas where house prices are typically out of nursery nurses' reach and even renting can prove too expensive.
Recent research by the Labour Research Department found that a pair of nursery nurses each earning an average salary would be excluded from owning their own home in virtually any part of England. Many nursery nurses in London and the home counties, where average wages are 13,872, are forced to commute long hours, exist off very little disposable income, live in sub-standard accommodation or simply not take jobs in the expensive areas.
Strategic move
Teddies' subsidised accommodation scheme makes it feasible for nursery nurses to live and work in the same area and forms part of the chain's recruitment and retention strategy. It is proving a success both for the company and its employees.
'I would not have been able to rent a decent place with my finances because it is too expensive in London,' says Emma Miller, assistant manager at Teddies, Brentford, who lives in a subsidised house.
'It is very difficult to find somewhere in London where the rent is cheap, and there is also the problem of finding someone that you'd want to live with. Before moving into the Teddies house it took me one and a half hours to commute to work. My day was extended by about three hours and it wasn't easy. It was also difficult to be living at home at 27. I wanted my independence and needed to move.'
Currently the chain has four three-bedroom houses in Whitton and Mortlake, southwest London, and Woking in Surrey. Teddies leases the accommodation and then licenses it to employees at a subsidised rate. The rent depends on the employee's salary level with those earning higher wages paying slightly more than those in lower wage brackets, with the aim of making the property accessible to all levels of staff.
Typically the chain subsidises between a third to half of the rent and even fully furnishes the properties right down to the crockery, saucepans and TVs so that occupants do not have to buy anything. 'Going out to buy plates and a kettle can soon add up,' says Teddies human resources manager Anna Saputo. The tenants pay telephone and electricity bills but all other costs are covered by the company.
'Because I am paying a lot less rent it means that I am able to save and will one day hopefully be able to afford a deposit for my own place,' says Emma.
At home
Her home, a recently re-decorated and refurbished semi, is located in a quiet residential area in Whitton. It is about a 20-30 minute bus journey to work, depending on the traffic. Emma's housemates, Maria Steed and Colleen Brotherton, moved to London from South Africa as part of Teddies'
placement programme. They have all lived together for three months.
'I didn't expect the house to be as nice as it is and in such a nice area,'
says Emma. 'There is even a conservatory and really lovely gardens - plus a gardener that tends to them every month - we have really landed on our feet!'
Along with living together, Maria and Emma also work at the same Teddies'
nursery, although they are based in different units.
'That's good,' says Emma, 'because it means we don't live and work in each other's pockets. We do all try not to take work home. I certainly have to be careful about what is discussed at home because of my position as assistant manager. We like to put work on hold otherwise we would be in danger of living, eating and breathing Teddies.'
Maria regards the house as a quiet haven to escape from the pressures of work. 'The house is completely different from the one I had in South Africa. This one is bigger and I like my room which is very neat and cosy,'
she says. 'I love living with the two other girls. There is a good understanding between us which is probably helped by us all being nursery nurses. It means that we can relate to each other.
'We are able to forget about work and relax and quite often sit and watch the soaps together in the evening. We do socialise together but don't often go out on weekdays because we're often tired, although at the weekend we go clubbing and to bars.'
During the week the housemates work different shifts and tend to eat their meals at different times, but at weekends they often get together for meals and share the cooking. They have also drawn up a cleaning rota so that they take turns in cleaning the house each weekend.
House hunting
All the Teddies' houses are full and the chain is considering taking on more properties in the future, perhaps in the Surrey area where nannies are in demand.
'We have found there has been a lot of competition for college graduates from nanny agencies because they can offer work with accommodation and the use of a car,' explains Anna. 'Before we secure a new house we have to demonstrate that there is a strong business case to do so - that the recruitment is difficult in a given area and could be helped by offering subsidised accommodation. But all the houses so far have been a success.'
The chain's management has found that operating the four houses has not generated too much additional workload. 'The houses very much run themselves, especially as the rent is collected straight from the salaries,' says Anna. 'There are just occasionally the odd landlord issues such as a problem with a shower and we have standard regulations stating that all breakages must be paid for.
'We have introduced a licence agreement and do ask each member of staff to sign that so that a formal agreement is put in place. We need to make it legal so that if a tenant's employment with Teddies ends then so does their accommodation.'
Morale booster
Along with helping Teddies with recruitment Anna believes the houses help boost staff morale. 'I'm a strong believer in all things being put together to help build a sense of belonging - to help get people into the Teddies way of working,' she explains. 'They are good standard houses and the rents are fair so that must help build staff morale. They are also near the nurseries so it is a way of providing employees with hassle-free accommodation.'
Emma agrees and believes that the initiative could also reduce staff turnover. 'With work providing a nice house like this it will certainly increase employees' commitment to the company,' she says. 'I'm lucky because I love my job, but if I did want to leave it would make me think twice because I enjoy the house so much.' NC
