repairs and maintenance review

We are committed to delivering excellent services to our customers and clients. As part of this commitment, we have recently reviewed the repairs and maintenance services we currently offer and we are making some changes this year in order to improve them.

Our review showed that we could provide a higher quality and more efficient service.  We could introduce new technology which will mean better appointment booking, faster response times and being able to keep customers and clients better informed of progress.

We can deliver this best by working with organisations who specialise in this field and are set up to deliver exactly the kind of service we need to offer our customers. Working with up to eight main contractors nationwide will allow us to provide a consistent level of performance and improved customer satisfaction.

This is different from the way we carry out repairs and maintenance now, and affects the jobs of our own Direct Workforce in the North East and North West of England.

We intend to maintain the same workforce and transfer these colleagues over to the new contractors. In this way, we will be able to maintain the relationships that many of our colleagues have built up over time with our customers.

TUPE

We will apply legislation called TUPE to protect the employment of these colleagues. TUPE stands for Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations. It is sometimes shortened to TUPE 2006. TUPE 2006 protects employment when a business or part of a business changes hands.  Its purpose is to move affected staff from the old employer to the new employer using a legal process.

get involved

We are planning to implement this change from October 2011. We are involving our colleagues, customers and clients well in advance of the changes to enable us to work together to develop the best possible service.

We have discussed the issue with our National Customer and Client Panels, who will act as special advisors to protect the interests of our customers as we search for new providers. Members of the Panels will be part of the selection group to determine the new contractors.

We are keen for as many customers and clients as possible to get involved. To tell us what you would like to see from the new service or to get involved in helping us develop the new service at a regional level click here.

You can also write to us at: Repairs and Maintenance Review, Home, 2 Gosforth Parkway, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE12 8ET

While we design the new services, we will continue to improve and undertake an increased amount of major works to our properties. We are confident that these changes will improve customer satisfaction, improve safety and ensure a better customer experience.