I support the Employment Rights Bill
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UNI SIM Founder James Markey Supports the Employment Rights Bill
March 19, 2025
“Better Rights,
Better Results”
– James Markey, Founder of UNI SIM
Having worked in retail for ~10 years, the founder of UNI SIM, James Markey, is well aware of the impact of how the search to increase the bottom line in the short-term can negatively effect staff, and the business, in the long-term.
“I’m delighted that the UK Government introduced the Employment Rights Bill to Parliament. I’m a huge advocate for employee rights, as they are the ones that truly help boost revenues, improve customer relationships and recommend us to their family and friends. They’re the ones that keep us in business not me, I’m just there to make sure the employees have all the tools at their disposal to do a good job.”
James was originally headhunted for his employee and customer-first approach for a family ran business, Russell & Bromley Ltd, the much coveted UK brand for shoes and handbags. Here he experienced the impact of putting in place positive employee rights and the impact this has on employees and results.
On the experience at Russell & Bromley James Markey said:
“Being treated as a valued member of staff from day one meant being treated with respect, as a member of staff who has been recruited to add value to the business, being immediately signed up for a company-matched pension scheme and being given a contribution to my new commuting costs for a long, quality, training and onboarding process. When I was in post, they were true to their commitments. If there was a lull in sales, then staff would be consulted for ideas of how we could stimulate new sales, instead of being seen as being a burden to the business when sales are low. Some people will say ‘it’s all well and good for a premium brand to do that’ but the truth is that the investment made on employee welfare, combined with a fantastic product, led to eventual boosts in trade that were unheard of at the time. I truly believe that better rights tor employees can lead to better results for the business. Companies just need to take more of a long-term view to grow their business instead of trying to cut costs and maintain short term profitability at the detriment of their future.“
In comparison to this, James started his retail career at Iceland Foods Ltd, where his experience was not so positive, but helped him form his positive approach to looking after employees.
“Whilst I was an employee at Iceland Foods, the basic contracts were changed to be 7.5 hours (as mentioned by a duty manager on Glassdoor in 2015). Imagine having to tell staff that rely on working a set number of hours to pay their bills, put on the heating and look after their kids, that as soon as trade falls you might have your hours cut all the way down to 7.5 hours. It’s a practice that I hope doesn’t continue to this day as it was otherwise a great business, and gave me a great career, under the stewardship of the Walker family.”
As per our founder’s values, UNI SIM treats all members of staffs with respect, provides some of the best employee welfare for full-time employees, part-time employees and interns. Every person matters and every person helps us achieve the results we do. So everyone deserves to feel, and be, valued.
Employment Rights Bill
The UK Government introduced the Employment Rights Bill to Parliament on 10 October 2024. This landmark legislation aims to amend various aspects of employment law, including unfair dismissal, flexible working, statutory sick pay, family leave, protections against harassment, and more. The bill seeks to extend employment protections to millions more workers, aligning the UK with other advanced economies adapting to the changing world of work.
About UNI SIM
UNI SIM is at the forefront of innovation in medical and dental training through advanced technology for teaching and is already in use by the NHS and has been exported abroad. Founded in Portsmouth, UNI SIM specialises in haptic and virtual reality (VR) simulators. This enable students to practice procedures in a realistic, risk-free environment.
About James Markey
James Markey is a Guildford-based entrepreneur known for his work in virtual reality (VR) and haptic technology. He founded a company that creates affordable haptic and VR simulators, aiming to revolutionise medical education by providing realistic training environments.