International Nurses’ Day is to celebrate Nurses all over the globe, as Meridian operates in the Health sector, we have always known the importance of Nurses, the past fourteen months has made it ever clearer.   International Nurses’ Day was officially named in 1974 but was first celebrated 1965 by the International Council of Nurses on May 12th. The date was chosen as it is Florence Nightingale’s birthday, long considered to be the founder of modern nursing.  With a place on the HTE and Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Supplier Frameworks, Our Health sector can supply temporary nursing staff to the NHS across various specialities, including general, critical, and mental health. We also provide temporary and permanent staff to private hospitals and care homes through a bespoke service supplying Home Managers, Registered Nurses of all grades and Care Staff. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the amazing nurses the have worked with us past and present! They do an amazing job and their hard work and dedication is an inspiration to us.  If you’re interested in working as a Nurse for Meridian Business Support, please click here.   

The mental health of our employees is always on the agenda at Meridian but in the last 18 months we have worked hard to provide even more support to help our staff through these turbulent times. Here are just some of the ways:

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown, which provided employers and the public with an indication of when they could expect various sectors to reopen. The most recent to reopen was non-essential retail and outdoor hospitality which took place on April 12, 2021, and saw many employees return to a central working location.As England continues to navigate through this ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown – and more and more sectors reopen – employers and HR will likely start to draw up plans for a return to the office. While some staff may look forward to the prospect of seeing colleagues in person again, others may have concerns about going back as research has suggested.For example, the Supporting Your Remote Workforce in 2021 and Beyond report, found that around 40% of UK office workers were worried about catching coronavirus from their colleagues by returning to work, as was reported by City AM. As the dedicated people function, HR should consider how they can help manage the back-to-work anxieties that some staff could be experiencing.How can HR help manage back-to-work anxiety?Vicki Field, an Independent HR Practitioner, exclusively told HR Grapevine that as people professionals, the function needs to understand that people will be experiencing different anxieties when offices do reopen. Whether this is fear of catching the virus, using public transport again “or any other of the myriad of worries and anxieties that mean we are human”, these unique concerns should be at the forefront of HR’s mind. The concerns and worries felt by employees is supported by statistics.For example, a 2020 study from the Resolution Foundation think tank found that more than one-third of workers were concerned about catching coronavirus on the job. Although this study was conducted last year, it is possible that staff could have these fears when returning later this year. Elsewhere, with research pointing towards the financial saving of homeworking – MoneySupermarket figures found that lockdown homeworkers have saved an average of £126 per month on commuting since March 2020 – it is possible that some staff could be worried about the financial impact of commuting once again. These are just some examples of the worries that staff may have.To properly support staff with these back-to-work anxieties, Field said that the HR function should try to understand individual worker worries and consider what they can do to help. She explained: “The first thing is to try and understand each person’s anxiety, and work to mitigate it. Does the person have to be back in the office? If not, let them work out their own ‘return to office’ plan. Any change can cause fear and anxiety so giving someone control over the change, lessens the negative emotions.”What else can HR do to make it less nerve-wracking?When facilitating this return, HR and employers should also consider how to make this less daunting and nerve-wracking. Again, Field said that employees will likely be worried about different things. “If you’ve picked your kids up from school every day for a year (or home schooled!), the idea of a nanny/ baby-sitter/ back to school club might worry both of you,” she added.“If you’ve not had to spend £1,000 plus on a season ticket, the costs might alarm. If you’ve enjoyed being at home and walking every day, the idea of a pressure of an office 9-5 might feel too much.”The HR practitioner recommended HR to ask people what works for them on a personal level and build in any change gradually. “Don’t try and second guess, talk to people,” she explained.The importance of supporting staff with back-to-work anxietiesThe pandemic has had a huge impact on mental health. In May last year, the Chief Executive of Mind, Paul Farmer, said that fast action was needed to support mental health services after the charity saw one million people download content from its site within a few weeks. Speaking to Sky News – as was reported by Metro – Farmer warned of an ‘emerging mental health crisis’ due to the lockdown period. Data has also pointed towards the mental toll of working amid a pandemic. For example, Wade Macdonald data revealed that almost one-third of employees said that their mental health has declined as a result of the pandemic.Field concluded: “Mental health has been massively impacted by the pandemic, and change is always stressful. HR should have a comprehensive wellbeing strategy aimed at every element of life. Let’s not ‘go back’, let’s ‘move forward’. It’s our opportunity, in HR, to build a new way of working that benefits everyone and develops strong and positive cultures.”​Source: Executive Grapevine

Ongoing temporary work Picking and packing customer orders in a modern, clean warehouse environmentLeading online meal kit business, HelloFresh is an employer of choice and offers a friendly, team focused environment in a speedily growing business. As a Production Operative your primary role will be to fulfil customer orders by picking, packing and collating food stock within a production environment - full training will be given and PPE is provided: Picking and packing ingredients & food itemsWorking as part of a team on a production lineClean, modern environment – but it can get cold as the ingredients need to be kept chilled – so you’ll need a warm hat & gloves!We are looking for hardworking, dedicated individuals with a good attention to detail and ability to work at pace - we are an equal opportunities employer and welcome all to join our teamNo warehouse or production / factory experience is necessary, however you will be required to complete and pass an assessment including basic maths, English and H&S understanding prior to starting work in one of the Distribution Centres. There are two distribution centres one in Banbury, Oxfordshire and one in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Click on your preferred location below to view the roles available at that location:​​NUNEATON - CV10 BANBURY - OX16​New to Warehouse Work? A Warehouse Operative is someone who works as part of a team that helps gets goods to customers. This job involves safely unloading items, packing them carefully into boxes, and collecting specific orders to be sent out to people. It can also be called a factory worker or picker/packer job. Clickhere to learn more about warehouse work. Want to know more about Warehouse work? Check out our infographic about Warehouse work in the UK.​

We are currently hiring ​WAREHOUSE OPERATIVES for a client based in Daventry. Our client is one of Britain’s fastest growing suppliers of tools, accessories and building supplies to trade, home improvers and self-builders.The includes general warehouse duties within a large distribution centre including picking and packing in goods in/ out. Full training given.Shifts: Working 5 days out of 7 including weekendsAM: 6am-2pm (0600-1400) - £9.67 per hourPM: 2pm-10pm (1400-2200) - £10.35 per hourThis role is commutable from: Daventry, Northampton, Leamington Spa, Rugby, CoventryCLICK HERE TO APPLY!Want to know more about Warehouse work? Check out our infographic about Warehouse work in the UK. ​Click here to find other Warehouse Jobs!

​​Click here to download the full report. ​We have100s of warehouse jobs, click here to search our jobs. Click here for more information on how we support our industrial clients.

​...but northern job market is held back by North-South divide.According to the latest job market data from the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library, the number of job postings during w/c 12th April is the highest level since January 2020. The number of job postings during this period increased by an impressive +18.2% compared to the previous week and was +21% higher than the weekly average. The data also revealed the regions which witnessed highest volume of vacancies, during w/c 12th April: South East (9,608 jobs)London (7,564 jobs)East Anglia (5,555 jobs)West Midlands (5,280 jobs) North West (5,271 jobs) South West (4,682 jobs) East Midlands (4,608 jobs)North East (4,065 jobs)Scotland (1,791 jobs) Wales (1,378 jobs)Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV-Library: “The UK job market is resilient and the latest data certainly backs this up. These results show that, within a week of restrictions being eased, employers are investing in their staff and feel confident that the UK economy will continue to bounce back throughout 2021.“However, it’s not all good news as southern regions continue to outperform the North. There’s no doubt that there are talented candidates across the UK but businesses run the risk of missing out on top talent by ignoring regions outside the South East and London. What’s more, with the widespread adoption of flexible and remote working thanks to COVID-19, there’s no reason why businesses can’t invest in long-distance staff moving forward.” As we may expect, the leisure and tourism, catering, hospitality and retail sectors all enjoyed an increase in job postings, with the volume of adverts increasing by +102%,+99.7%, +45.9%, +35.6% above the weekly average, respectively. Interestingly, despite the UK now being less reliant on online shopping, the distribution sector saw a significant increase of +70.2% in the volume of job adverts, when compared to the weekly average. Once again demonstrating that the industry is integral to the UK economy and job market. Biggins continues: “This is a great result for job seekers as there are plenty of new opportunities on the market and, according to our quarterly job market data, the competition for these roles is lessening. That said, it’s vital that candidates continue to perfect their CVs and cover letters, ensuring that each document is tailored for the role they’re applying for. While there may be less competition, it always pays to be thorough!”​If you are looking for a job click here to search our latest vacancies. Source: Onrec

​It has been over a year since we formally launch our charity partnership with Leonard Cheshire so we thought it would be a good time to take a step back and review what we have achieved over the past 12 months. And giving the challenges of the pandemic, it is pretty impressive. It’s also a reflection of what a great bunch of people we have working at Meridian as this couldn’t have achieved without their support. FUNDRAISINGWe have raised an impressive £8,342 over the course of the last 12 months which is amazing! Here is a breakdown of how we reached that total:​Meridian has been involved in a number of other initiatives with Leonard Cheshire​ where we have been able to use our recruitment expertise to help:CHANGE 100Last summer we took part in Leonard Cheshire’s Change 100 Internship programme which provides paid summer work placements, professional development and mentoring for under/newly qualified graduates with disabilities or long term health conditions. The programme aims to remove barriers experienced by disabled people in the workplace, to allow them to reach their full potential. In July, Sam Jones joined the HR team as an HR Assistant and despite the challenges of having to induct and train Sam remotely, he very quickly settled into the team & it was fantastic to watch him develop and grow in confidence during his placement. Sam is still working for us on a flexible basis since returning to university and we are very much looking forward to taking part in Change 100 again in 2021.CHANGE NOW & CAN DOThese are programmes for school and college age young people with disabilities aim to provide the insight, skills and experience to prepare them for leaving education and getting a job. Due to Covid, they only started up again in virtual format in December and since that time we have presented 5 sessions including a meet the CEO session where Derek, our CEO was asked some great questions! There will be more coming up in the future for those who would like to get involved.CHANGE 100 ASSESSMENT CENTRES5 of our people took part in the selection process for this year’s Change 100 programme by joining the virtual assessment centres as assessors. This was a great opportunity to meet some inspirational candidates and see a fully open & inclusive assessment centre in action.THINK PURPLEThis was a fun campaign to raise awareness about disability which quite a few of our people really got behind & posted some great pictures on social!#ADayWithoutBack in March last year just before the first lockdown, a number of our people gave up something for the day to raise money for Leonard Cheshire whilst also supporting disability awareness. To find out more about Leonard Cheshire, please click here.

​When we asked our client's to enter their talented children into our Easter Egg Colouring Competition, we were not disappointed! We received over 30 fantastic entries and it was so difficult to choose a winner that we had to pick two. Please find the winning entries below, we hope you'll agree they are Eggcellent! ​​​Craig Malcolm, Aged 9 ​Josh Wright, aged 8​

​Stress and anxiety can sometimes feel similar – think of your heart beating faster as you get closer to an important work presentation or that nagging feeling that you forgot to put the milk back in the refrigerator. But there’s a difference. Stress is the body’s natural “fight or flight” response to an external trigger like a deadline or a doctor’s appointment.It is also accompanied by physical sensations – your breathing starts to quicken and certain muscles in your body feel tighter in anticipation of real or perceived harm. It also comes with emotional symptoms, such as a feeling of being overwhelmed, getting agitated, or having difficulty quieting your mind.This is where anxiety comes in – characterised by persistent and excessive worrying, it is the body’s natural response to stress. The link between anxiety and lack of sleep is well established but it can be hard to tell which comes first. Are you sleepless because you are anxious or are you anxious because you lack sleep? It is the ultimate chicken and egg situation.David Neubauer, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, says that the relationship between anxiety and sleep is “bidirectional”, meaning that they affect each other, and that it can be difficult to determine which came first. Mild stress and anxiety are manageable. There are many ways to cope, from meditating to simply getting more sleep.How sleeping better helps you cope with stress and anxietyNew research by scientists at the University of California (UC) Berkeley suggests that deep sleep is a natural remedy for manxiety.During the study, researchers detected excessive activity in regions of the brain linked to processing emotions. A part of the brain called the medial prefrontal cortex, which is believed to reduce anxiety and stress, also got deactivated after a night of sleeplessness.As a result, anxiety increased by 30% in sleep-deprived participants. By contrast, anxiety levels dropped after a night of sufficient sleep, especially in those who remained in the deep, slow-wave, stage of non-REM sleep for longer. The authors of the study are convinced that deep sleep restores the brain’s ability to regulate emotions and lower emotional reactivity, which in turn prevents anxiety levels from escalating.Follow these basic tips for getting a good night's sleep:Keep regular hours - Going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time, all the time, will programme your body to sleep better.Create a restful sleeping environment - Your bedroom should be kept for rest and sleep. It should be neither too hot, nor too cold, and as quiet and dark as possible.Make sure your bed is comfortable - It's difficult to get deep, restful sleep on one that's too soft, too hard, too small or too old.Take more exercise (where possible) - Regular exercise such as walking or home workouts can help relieve the day's stresses and strains. But not too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake!Cut down on stimulants - such as caffeine in tea or coffee, especially in the evening. They interfere with falling asleep and prevent deep sleep. Have a hot milky drink or herbal tea instead. Don't over-indulge - Too much food or alcohol, especially late at night just before bedtime, can play havoc with sleep patterns.Avoid smoking - Yes, it's bad for sleep, too! Smokers take longer to fall asleep, wake more often and often experience more sleep disruption.Try to relax before going to bed - Have a warm bath, listen to some quiet music or do some yoga to help relax your mind and body.Make jobs lists - Deal with worries or a heavy workload by making lists of things to be tackled the next day.Switch off devices at least an hour before bed - Many people are also affected by the blue light emitted from laptops, tablets and smartphones and can be addicted to playing games, scrolling through social media, or watching videos close to bedtime.If you can't sleep - don’t spend more than 20 minutes trying to get to sleep; get up and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy again – then go back to bed.If you are experiencing problems sleeping and feel you may need some support, you can contact Care first. Care first is a leading provider of confidential, professional counselling, information and advice services. All employees are eligible to use Care first, our services include; telephone counselling, information services and online support. Call Care first on the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.Useful Links for more tips and information:www.carefirst-lifestyle.co.ukhttps://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-guidelines-covid-19-isolationhttps://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/how-to-get-to-sleep/https://troublesleeping.co.uk/​