Broughton Laboratories Reviews

Thank you for taking the time to review Broughton Laboratories. We are pleased you think the training provided is good and agree we are lucky to be based in such a lovely location. We identified there was a gap in our training for a respiratory face fitter and a team member was booked on the required training course, however due to the pandemic this was cancelled. Any face fitting requirements are currently being supported by a team member who works at an alternative site, who will attend and support when required. During the time the fume hoods failed, all activities being performed were reviewed. Any testing requiring a fume hood as a health and safety measure was tested in the hood that had passed the relevant maintenance checks. Any testing where the use of the fume hood was deemed a best practice rather than a requirement, the other hoods continued to be used as the work performed caused no health and safety concern. Further checks were performed, and replacement parts fitted as quickly as possible. We continue to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to improve health and safety throughout the laboratory. This also requires commitment from the team to follow the correct practices which are put in place. The full team have recently been retrained in the correct PPE and the strict guidelines for handling the identified product. A further review of additional ventilation/ extraction is currently being performed. All our existing health and safety practices comply with HSE legislation and are reviewed annually by our health and safety consultants. We are also working with an external team of environmental and occupational toxicologists to implement a robust evaluation of substances handled and the safety measures required to keep our team members safe. Our salaries are reviewed on an annual basis to ensure consistency across Broughton. As a small business we do not currently offer sick pay for short term absences, however we do have a policy in place which provides cover for accidents and illness, to provide financial security when you are unable to work for a period of time. We continue to review this on a regular basis. The company runs a discretionary bonus scheme which is dependent on the trading, financial performance and business goals in each financial year. A review of this year’s targets has been performed and a communication issued to provide updated targets for the remainder of 2021, which we believe is achievable for team members to qualify for a bonus. Due to the pandemic, we had to implement a shift pattern to minimise the amount of team members on site to ensure team member safety. Aside from voting options, the team were encouraged to provide suggestions in how the shift patterns could be improved. An additional paid break was encouraged for all team members to reflect the increase in hours worked. Although we understand this was a challenging time for all, feedback has shown that the team thought the measures we put in place were required to protect their own and colleague’s safety. We acknowledge the pandemic also impacted morale. We have recently been reintroducing our company events which we know the team enjoy, all whilst ensuring team safety. This has included charity events supporting the Mind – Mental Health Charity.

Thank you for taking the time to review Broughton Laboratories. We are dedicated to providing a competitive salary and benefits package which we feel is in comparison to businesses of similar sizes. Due to the pandemic, we had to implement a shift pattern to minimise the amount of team members on site, to ensure team member safety and to follow the Government’s guidance. We appreciate this caused some challenges and we are very thankful the team adjusted their working pattern to ensure business continuity to our clients in the healthcare sector. We are very pleased that due to the lifting of restrictions we have been able to return as one team and have already noticed a significant improvement in team morale. The laboratory is a fast-moving environment to ensure the timely completion of analysis for pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. In terms of culture of stress and too much work. We take these comments very seriously and it is not our policy to do nothing. If this was highlighted we would work with the team member to support them with any workload concerns. We continue to run a discretionary bonus scheme which is dependent on the trading, financial performance and business goals in each financial year. Full details of the operation of the scheme is detailed in our bonus scheme policy. All job vacancies are advertised to the team internally and when team members meet the criteria of the role and complete a successful interview, they have successfully progressed and thrive in their new roles. Two Scientists have recently progressed to Senior Scientist positions in the laboratory. All team members have an assigned line manager who they have regular contact with and who can support them. We are sorry you did not find your 1:1’s beneficial and wish you would have raised this at the time. The management and senior management team have an open-door policy for anyone who wishes to raise any questions or concerns. We also take the time to run people leader sessions to ensure a consistent approach to the 1:1 process across the business.