HR: Caroline Reidy explains

CAROLINE REIDY

managing director, The HR Suite

S u p p o r t i n g e m p l o y e e s d u r i n g t h e m e n o p a u s e

An estimated eight out of 10 women experience symptoms leading up to the menopause, and within the workplace, many are at an advanced stage in their career. It is therefore vital that the correct supports are provided in the right way, writes The HR Suite’s Caroline Reidy

Menopause is marked by the ending of menstruation and is often referred to as ‘the change’.

Whilst the menopause is a natural part of the life cycle, it is often still a taboo subject in many workplaces, which is a reminder to employers of the importance of being proactive in managing an age and gender diverse workplace. Both menopause and perimenopause within the workplace should be addressed as, quite often, many employees in this category are at an advanced stage in their career. It is therefore important that the correct supports are provided in the right way.

It is estimated that eight out of 10 women experience symptoms leading up to the menopause. In most cases, the first symptom is a significant change in the usual pattern of the menstrual cycle. However, women can be affected by symptoms for a long period of time before this, which is typically known as the perimenopausal period which can last four to six years before the natural menopause occurs. Perimenopause is the time during which a person’s body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years for that person. Without treatment, most menopausal symptoms gradually stop naturally, usually between two and five years after the initial symptoms start.

“Management teams should be trained to understand the impact that menopause can have on work and what adjustment should be offered to those affected,” writes Caroline Reidy

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Duty of care

Under health and safety legislation, employers have a duty of care towards employees and menopausal symptoms should be treated as a medical issue. Failure to support employees who are affected by such symptoms may contravene laws such as discrimination. Following best practice, risk assessments should be completed to consider specific requirements and needs of employees who are experiencing perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms. The assessments should include but not be limited to, access to appropriate toilet facilities, drinking water and well ventilated and air conditioned work spaces. Some consideration should also be given to flexible working where possible.

Many employers are now proactive in managing an age and gender diverse workplace. Employers and management teams should be trained to understand the impact that menopause can have on work and what adjustment should be offered to those affected.

standalone policy and eap

available to employees such as HR support and/or the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). Guidance for both employees and their managers should be freely available throughout the workplace and this should be outlined within the standalone policy. Simple changes within the workplace can make all the difference in helping provide a more comfortable working environment to those experiencing symptoms.

The use of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which offers impartial and confidential counselling and advise services would assist in resolving difficulties which may affect health, wellbeing and work performance. The use of the EAP can assist hugely when offering support to employees who are experiencing perimenopausal symptoms or are going through the menopause.

open door policy

With the EAP and standalone policy, the employer should operate an open door policy. This encourages the employees within an organisation to contact you, the employer, with regard to work related or personal problems which are treated with the strictest confidence. The open door policy gives the employee a safe space to share their concerns and allows the employer to provide assistance in resolving problems or concerns. The company’s policies should reflect this whereby the business will make time for employees and will listen to them sympathetically and offer realistic solutions.

Some employees may need more regular breaks throughout the day to rest or attend medical appointments. Flexible working options can allow employees to manage their working hours and working day in a way that suits them whilst experiencing these symptoms. An employer should discuss possible flexible working options with employees who may benefit from this arrangement whilst navigating through menopausal symptoms.

improving experience of women

In September 2021, in response to a question during a Dáil sitting, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly responded that the government recognises that menopause is a key health issue for women in Ireland today, and work is underway to progress in this area. The question was whether training and a protocol would be put in place for employers to support their employees who may be experiencing menopause and/or perimenopausal symptoms.

The Minister also highlighted that menopause has been identified as a priority under the Women’s Health Taskforce. He also assured that the Minister for Health and the Women’s Health Taskforce are committed to improving the experience of women in Ireland through the menopause. As menopause is a medical condition which can affect people in the workplace, it will continue to be a priority for the Women’s Health Taskforce and the Minister of Health. ■

Retailers hit by product recalls

Camile launches new Indian brand Thindi with four restaurants now open

Earlier this month, Irish supermarkets asked customers not to eat a number of food products after issuing recalls on several items.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) issued alerts about some products that have since been removed from shelves in Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Dunnes Stores, Spar, and SuperValu. Any shops that stocked the impacted products posted point of sale notices in their store and gave shoppers refunds for returning any of the affected batches.

The FSAI recalled various batches of Haagen-Dazs ice cream products due to the detection of 2-Chloroethanol, a recognised reaction product of ethylene oxide which is banned for use in foods in Europe. The recall affected several flavours: Belgian Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, Pralines and Cream, and Duo Belgian Chocolate and Strawberry Crunch. The products were for sale in major Irish supermarkets including Tesco, Dunnes and SuperValu. Just last month, a separate alert was issued for tubs of Haagen-Dazs Vanilla weighing 460ml and Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Collection packs of 4x95ml for the same reason.

Meanwhile, Tesco has recalled a batch of Free From Digestive Biscuits amid fears it could contain small metal pieces. The affected packs are 160g and have a best before end date of March 2023.

A batch of Fray Bentos Just Chicken Pie has also been pulled from shelves in Tesco, SuperValu, and Dunnes Stores due to the possible presence of plastic. The affected product is 425g and has batch code L079T, with time code between 06:00 – 08:22, and a best before date of 09/2023.

A batch of Mars Bounty Ice Cream Bars has been recalled due to the presence of the unauthorised pesticide ethylene oxide. The affected bars have the batch code 037C3DOE02, and the best before date 31/08/22.

Meadow Park Eggs has recalled batches of Meadow Park 6 Free Range Duck Eggs due to the possible presence of Salmonella. The recall includes all best before dates up to and including 08/08/2022.

The FSAI also issued a recall notice on Roma’s Formaggio Da Pasta cheese powder due to the potential presence of mould. The impacted batch is in a pack size of 80g with the best before date 05/05/2023.

Costs involved in recalls

Not only do food product recalls cause a disruption in operations while managing the recall, but there is also a direct cost of recalling stock and the associated activities and the indirect costs caused by the knock-on effects.

ShelfLife will report on this issue and the impact on retailers in greater detail in our September issue – if you would like to share your thoughts on this topic and the impact on your business, please email gillian.hamill@mediateam.ie.

Irish-owned Camile Food Group has embarked on an exciting expansion into Indian fare with the official launch of Thindi. Delivering a modern take on Indian cuisine, Thindi is inviting a new generation of foodies to turn their weekly routine into a ritual, with a fresh perspective on the authentic flavours of this indulgent subcontinent culture.

A host of perennial favourites from Punjabi Samosas to creamy Masalas, are all made to order by a team of experienced Indian chefs.

Helmed by Camile Food Group CEO, Brody Sweeney, this new addition to the Irish restaurant scene recently opened its doors in Shankill with the feel-good Indian also available for collection, takeaway or delivery to customers in Phibsborough, Clarehall and Sligo town, creating 60 jobs in the local areas.

Download the Thindi app to check out the menu or visit Thindi.ie.

Camile Food Group CEO, Brody Sweeney with Thindi head chef, Mubashar Ali Krispy Kreme has opened a store in Dublin’s new Central Plaza

Peter Bough, buying director, Aldi Ireland and Patrick Twomey of Twomey’s Bakery

Before the project ‘Nutrition with Melon Flavour’, only 24% (41) of the children involved were obtaining sufficient calories

Krispy Kreme opens Dublin city centre store

Dublin city centre is welcoming a brand-new Krispy Kreme store this month. Based in the heart of the city centre, the stand-alone Hotlight store will be the capital’s flagship and its full-glass frontage will allow Krispy Kreme fans and passers-by to see the production of its mouth-watering doughnuts from the outside.

Located in the city’s new Central Plaza building, this is Krispy Kreme’s first store in the centre of the city, situated at the popular pedestrian walkway linking Dame Street to Temple Bar. The store opened its doors at 7am on 17 August.

Limerick-based Twomey’s Bakery signs new €5m Aldi contract

Aldi Ireland has agreed a new exclusive three-year deal worth almost €5 million with Limerick-based Twomey’s Bakery to supply all of Aldi’s 150 Irish stores with its breads, baked scones, tarts, and sponges.

Twomey’s Bakery, based in Dromcollogher, Co. Limerick, has partnered with Aldi since 2019 and currently supplies Aldi’s stores with its ancient grain batch loaf, apple tart, fruit scones, apple sponge and apple crumble. As part of the new deal, Twomey’s will also be introducing a tasty new rhubarb crumble, which will be available over the summer months so customers can enjoy the rhubarb while it’s at its best.

Fyffes partners with Food Bank of Honduras

With the aim of supporting healthy nutrition and reducing school absenteeism of children in the communities near Fyffes’ melon-producing farms in Choluteca, Honduras - Fyffes and the Food Bank of Honduras have created a pilot programme, ‘Nutrition with Melon Flavour’ (or ‘Nutrición con Sabor a Melón’) which has already benefited 138 families.

The project involved delivering 13,151 nutritionally balanced lunches to the children, with a different menu for each day, including melons from Fyffes subsidiary Sol Group. So far, Fyffes has donated 1,200 melons to local families. ■

Celebrating the Heroes of Retail

Ireland’s grocery retail industry gathered at Dublin’s Royal Marine Hotel on Wednesday, 6 July, for the 2022 ShelfLife Grocery Management Awards, recognising individual management excellence in the sector.

With 350 guests in attendance. 23 awards were presented, honouring the best in the many departments that make up local convenience stores and supermarkets, culminating in the grand prize of ShelfLife National Grocery Retail Manager of the Year.

Led by MC Shay Byrne of RTÉ Radio One’s Rising Time, the prestigious, independently judged awards ceremony was supported by platinum sponsor Bank of Ireland and carried out in association with Excel Recruitment.

Mark Byrne of Blake’s Centra, Blarney Filling Station, Co. Cork was named National Grocery Retail Manager of the Year 2022. The judges deemed Mark Byrne an outstanding winner on account of the true dedication and passion he has demonstrated for the retail industry (turn to page 28 for our interview with this exemplary manager).

Commenting on the overall national winner, the judges noted: “A firm, fair and friendly manager, Mark Byrne has said time and time again how the heart and defiance of his team during a two-year pandemic has helped their store reach record turnovers. This award is not just based on sales figures but how well retailers can adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the retail industry.

“Mark’s truly positive outlook on life shines through to his management style and how he runs his store. He has invested many hours in developing his team and ensuring they get the recognition they deserve. A true advocate for excellence in retailing, Mark Byrne is well deserving of this award.”

The theme of this year’s ceremony was ‘Heroes of Retail’, a title which ShelfLife publisher John McDonald described as a fitting tribute to the dedication demonstrated by Ireland’s leading grocery managers.

“The flexibility and quick-thinking required by Ireland’s leading grocery managers has once again been thoroughly demonstrated by this year’s winners,” McDonald said.

“Retailers have faced huge challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic – not least of which, difficulties with staff rostering due to isolation restrictions. Rising business costs have likewise become a serious issue for community-based retailers. However, despite all the challenges, the winners awarded tonight have shown they can always be relied upon to deliver true professionalism, fantastic service and real care for their customers which sees them continuously go above and beyond to deliver an internationally renowned shopping experience. Their unfaltering attention to detail is truly to be commended.”

Owen Clifford, head of retail sector, Bank of Ireland, the event’s platinum sector, likewise spoke of the importance of supporting and recognising managers’ dedication, noting: “Bank of Ireland are delighted to once again be lead sponsor of the Grocery Management Awards. These awards showcase the excellent standards and service delivered by the Irish grocery sector. They also celebrate the significant contribution made by personnel within the sector to their local communities nationwide. Personally, it remains a privilege to support and recognise all that’s great about the internationally renowned Irish grocery sector.”

Here’s to all the finalists and winners, and we’ll see you all again next year!

“Bank of Ireland are delighted to once again be lead sponsor of the Grocery Management Awards,” said Owen Clifford, head of retail sector, Bank of Ireland The flexibility and quick-thinking required by Ireland’s leading grocery managers has once again been thoroughly demonstrated by this year’s winners,” said ShelfLife publisher John McDonald

MC Shay Byrne of RTÉ Radio One’s Rising Time kept everyone entertained throughout the evening, pictured here with Supreme Champion Mark Byrne and Bank of Ireland’s Owen Clifford

Awards sponsored by Bank of Ireland and held in association with Excel Recruitment

Supreme Champion Mark Byrne received a standing ovation as he walked to the stage to collect his trophy

Guests enjoyed a fabulous evening catching up in-person with their colleagues in the trade as these photos demonstrate

There was a fantastic atmosphere in the room as our Supreme Champion Mark Byrne spoke on stage, joined by MC Shay Byrne and Bank of Ireland’s Owen Clifford

MC Shay Byrne chatted to all our winners on stage to find out more about what makes them stand out as Ireland’s best grocery retail managers

Owen Clifford, head of retail sector, Bank of Award with Supreme Champion Mark Byrne and ShelfLife publisher John McDonald

The power of positivity

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Owen Clifford, head of retail sector, Bank of Ireland, the event’s platinum sponsor, presents the National Grocery Manager of the Year Award 2022 to Mark Byrne of Blake’s Centra, Blarney Filling Station, Co. Cork, alongside ShelfLife editor Gillian Hamill

Winning an award can mean a lot to a person. It is afterall, recognition from your peers and colleagues of hard work, determination and talent and it can motivate people to take their careers to new heights. Mark Byrne, manager of Blake’s Centra in Blarney, Co Cork was crowned the Supreme Winner of this year’s ShelfLife Grocery Management Awards. He was chosen because he was the cream of the crop, the person who the judges believed was the most deserving of the accolade this year. Unbeknownst to the judges Byrne is living with terminal cancer, yet chooses to get up each morning and put in a hard day’s graft simply due to his love of retail and sheer determination that cancer will not define him.

When he was put forward for the award this year he told the judges he had health challenges but didn’t go into detail about the extent of his sickness. As he explains, “I wanted to win the award because the judges thought I was the most deserving of it.”

Many people might struggle to understand this mentality, imagining that if we were given a finite amount of time, we would down tools and try to complete an extravagant bucket list. Byrne’s goal for a long time has been to manage Blake’s Centra and the icing on the cake was to win the award that rates him as the top retail manager in the country. “This is the pinnacle of my career,” says Byrne. “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

When the judges said that Byrne shows “true dedication and passion for the retail industry and noted his truly positive outlook on life”, they didn’t realise how much of an understatement this actually was.

Night of the awards

Byrne is still on a high from the win and remembers the night of the awards and the shock at being named supreme winner.

“Someone was offering me a drink and I just heard my name being called and I couldn’t believe it. It was a great moment for me and a fantastic night.” He dedicated the award to his two children, Callie and Harley-Grace having dedicated his other award earlier in the night of Small Forecourt Manager of the Year to his wife Elaine who certainly looked like his biggest fan as she stood in the middle of the room proudly recording him receiving his awards.

Byrne is keen to ensure that his team get the recognition they deserve as he speaks of how hard working and supportive they are and says he would not have won the award without them.

“You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with. I have a great team,” he says. Byrne pays a special tribute to his assistant manager Tim Duggan (aka Mr Blarney) who has worked in the store for 25 years and is a great friend and support to him.

“There really needs to be an assistant manager of the year award. It can be a thankless role but they work so hard and allow you to look at the bigger picture. If you can delegate to a strong assistant manager, then your life is so much easier,” he believes.

Managing the BFS

Byrne has worked in Blake’s Centra Blarney on and off since 2011. This store is more commonly known locally as the BFS – Blarney Filling Station. For nearly 20 years, owners Stephen and Jemma Blake have served the community trading through a recession and a pandemic whilst continually attempting to progress the store with revamps undertaken in 2008, 2017 and a mini revamp in February 2022.

He says that the Blakes have supported him unequivocally in the role and with his health challenges in recent years. “They were so happy for me winning the award. I’m so thankful to them as they have looked after me and my family. I didn’t have to worry about wages coming in and paying bills. It means more for me winning it in Blakes in Blarney than anywhere else. It’s my spiritual home and the place I’ve been happiest working. I’ll never work in any other store,” he says without hesitation.

Progression

Aside from working in the BFS, Byrne has had a number of management positions including Centra Youghal and Centra Cobh throughout his career.

During one of his stints away from the BFS while working in his home town Cobh in 2015, he was put forward and won the ShelfLife Grocery Manager of the Year Award for stores 2000-4000 sq ft and this spurred him on to enrol in the DIT Retail Management course, which further grew his love of retail. He believes that retail sometimes doesn’t get “the credence or respect it deserves” and believes it is a great career option with many talented people working in the industry.

While he was doing this course he was wooed back to Centra Blarney again in 2019 as the store owner Stephen wanted to take a step away from the business and asked Byrne to be the store’s manager.

“I started to naturally become the manager as Stephen gave me more responsibility and stepped away. We did a mini revamp in February this year bringing in the new Frank and Honest 2.0. The store is now probably between 6/7,000 square feet. It’s quite sizable for a Centra store and there are 50 staff,” he explains.

“The deli is the star of the shop. Patrick, the deli manager, was nominated for a ShelfLife award too this year. We have a full kitchen and a really strong offering. We have reached turnover that we didn’t even think was possible,” he says.

A bad year

While things were progressing well for Byrne in Blarney, the world came to a halt in March 2020 with the arrival of Covid-19 but Byrne’s world really stopped in April 2020 when he received the devastating and shocking cancer diagnosis. “I’d had issues with my back but I attributed it to doing the revamp as it was very physical and I used to play football so I presumed it was related to that. However when we looked into it, scans showed that it was much more advanced than they originally thought and it had spread through my body so they couldn’t operate,” he starkly reveals.

One of the most difficult parts of the story was that he was due to take over as manager around that time, an opportunity he had waited a long time for and the cancer diagnosis initially took that possibility away from him as he had to step back from work to keep himself free from infection. “It was probably the most difficult thing to deal with as I felt like I had earned it. Covid compromised me so I had to stay off work until the start of the vaccines so once I was vaccinated I came in a few days a week. I wanted to feel like I was making a contribution. When I got back I built myself

“You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with. I have a great team,” says Supreme Champion Mark Byrne

back up from two to four days a week,” he explains.

In a difficult move they discussed getting another manager as medically he shouldn’t be doing it but he wanted to give it a shot. “My best friend said that the thing that I struggled with most was something being taken away from me so he said to me why not take it back? I spoke to my wife and she said she would support me whatever I decided. I didn’t know if it would work but I’m very determined and I’ve always been determined throughout all this. You can do anything you set your mind to,” he said. He eventually made it back to full-time and the full manager role while delicately balancing his health challenges with the needs of the store.

Mentally strong

Byrne believes that the power of positivity is the most important tool he has. “I wanted this and I was able to push myself more than I or others thought was possible. My medical team think I’m mad but I say I’m not mad, I’m determined. Sitting at home wouldn’t do anything for me. I love retail. I choose to do this. I hope my passion for retail shines through. I would say I’m a better manager from all my experience and I’ve learned from everybody I’ve ever been involved with. I wouldn’t push myself if it was going to be to the detriment of the business,” he confirms.

So what does the future hold for Byrne? “My diagnosis was two years and it has passed two years now. My hope is that more medicine will come out and something else will turn up. I live my life as someone who has cancer but cancer doesn’t define who I am and it’s not the first thing I think about when I wake up or last thing before I go to sleep. It’s like it’s piggybacking on my life. There’s always hope and always something to aspire to.”

ShelfLife would like to congratulate Mark Byrne on his award and wish him and his family the very best. ■