For the development and production of all your

training materials.

Efficient, friendly, flexible and fast.

54b High Street, Fareham, Hampshire,

PO16 7BG www.ashfordtraining.co.uk

0845 555 6565

4

5

2007 Turnoverhits£350m.

FirststorewithamezzanineflooropensinStHelens.

PetsatHomelaunchesOwnLabel.

The200thstoreopensinBarnstaple,Devon.

PetsatHomewinsRetailWeek’sSpecialityRetaileroftheYearaward.

Boutiquerangesuccessfullylaunched.

PetsatHomelaunchesnewwebsitefeaturingonlineshopping(www.petsathome.com).

UKstoresnowreach220.

PetsatHomevotedEmployeroftheYearinRetailBulletin’s‘PeopleinRetail’awards.

SupportOfficeexpansiontakesplace.

2008

2009 PetsatHomelaunchesnationalTVadvertisingcampaign.

Reptileandchickenrangessuccessfullyintroduced.

LaunchofCharityDayleaveforallcolleagues.

FlagshipstoreinRaynesParkrefitted.

The250thstoreopens.

RetailWeekSpecialityRetailerAward.

CubsPartnershipandlaunchofPetsatHomebadge.

Companioncareopentheir60thvets.

2010

2011 SundayTimesTop100Retailer2010and2011.

Localstoreslaunched.

Opened300thstoreinSalford.

5000colleaguesandgrowing!

PetsatHome2ndDistributionCentreopens(SDC)

SundayTimes2ndbestCompanytoworkforintheUK.

PetsatHomeopenfirstofficeinHongKong.

2012

PetsatHomefoundedbyAnthonyPreston.Firststoreopensin

Chester,UK.

1991

1994 PetsatHometakesitsfirst£1msalesinaweek.

FirstphaseofdevelopmentofStanleyGreenSupportOfficebegins.

PetsatHomeacquiresPetSmartintheUK,bringingthechainto144stores.

CompanionCarein-storevetpracticesintroduced,withfullserviceincluding

24-houremergencycall-out.

1999

2000 PetsatHometakesitsfirst£5msalesinaweek.

PetsatHomeDistributionCentre(NDC)opens. 2003

2004 Europeanprivateequityfirm,Bridgepoint,acquiresPetsatHomeinadealwithatotalenterprisevalueof£230m.

UKstoresnownumber172.

PetsatHomelaunchownlabelrange.

Apollostorerefitprogrammelaunched.

PetsatHomelaunchesSupportAdoptionschemeinselectedstorestoofferabandonedpetsasecond

chanceofhappiness.

PetsatHomeopensaquaticcentreswithamarineoffer.

NDCcompleteswarehouseexpansion.

2006

Pets at Home: The story so far

6 7

Pets at Home today• Withover300storesacrosstheUK,Pets

atHomeofferstheultimatepetshoppingexperience.Itreallyisaparadiseforpetsandowners–wehaveallthefood,toysandaccessoriestheyneedatgreatvalueprices.

• Ourcolleaguesarefullytrainedinpetcareanddedicatedtothewelfareofanimals.So,whetherthecustomerisanewowneroranexpert,weareonhandtohelpthemmaketherightchoices.Wealsohaveafantasticrangeoffreeinformativecaresheets,offeringlotsofpetcareadvice,forcustomerstotakeaway.

• Youhelpmakeshoppingfunforourcustomersandtheirfamilies!Themajorityofstoreshaveaquariawithcoldwaterandtropicalfish,andforourfurryfriendsthere’saspecialBunnyVillagewherekidsandadultsalikecanenjoywatchingguineapigsandrabbitshopabout.

• ManyofourlargerstoreshaveGroomRoomsandevenstate-of-the-artCompanionCareveterinarysurgeries.Parkingisfreeandconvenientandthere’sacarry-to-carservice.Itreallyisaone-stopshoppingexperience!

• Inrecognitionofourachievementswehavewonnumerousawardsforbeingagreatplacetoshopandanamazingplacetowork!

• Since2010wehavebeennamedbytheSundayTimesasoneoftheTopemployersintheUK.

• Someofourpreviousawardsinclude:

− RetailWeekSpecialityRetaileroftheyear.

− RetailBulletinEmployeroftheyear.

− RetailWeekCustomerServiceInitiativeoftheyear.

− BestCompaniesaccreditationsince2008.

− Top25BestCompanytoworkfor2011/12.

• We’recommittedtoresponsible pet ownership.Ourtrainedstorecolleagueswillspendtimewithcustomerstomakesurethattheychoosethebestpetstosuittheirownandtheanimals’lifestyles.Bymatchingownersandpets,wehopetoensurealongandhappyrelationship.

• OurcolleaguesattheSupportOfficeandDistributionCentres(DC’s)makesurethatourstorecolleagueshaveeverythingtheyneedtodotheirjobeffectively.

Pay attention, this is serious stuff! InthissectionofyourColleagueHandbookyou’llfindthemaintermsandconditionsofemploymentwithPetsatHomewhichapplytoeveryone.

Ifthere’sadifferencebetweenthetermsandconditionsofemploymentinyourofferletter,yourscheduleoftermsandconditions,andthoseinthishandbook,thedetailsinyourscheduleoftermsandconditionsandofferlettertakeprecedence.

Throughoutthishandbookyou’llseereferencestomoredetailedinformation,suchaspolicies,eitherinourrangeofbooklets,PetsatHomenoticeboardsorthewebsite.YourmanagercanaccesstheStoreBackOfficewhichcontainsfurtherdetailsof:• Recruitmentguidelines.• Disciplinaryandgrievanceprocedures.• Absenceguidelines.• Maternity,paternityandadoptionleave,and

carerresponsibilities.• Reviewguidelines.

Contents of this sectionStartingyourcareerwithus 8

Yoursalaryandothermoneymatters 9

Benefits,treatsandotherextras 11

SupportAdoptionForPets 15

CharityDayLeave 16

SupportAdoptionLottery 16

RetailTrust 16

Expenses 16

Changetopersonaldetails 16

Hoursofwork 17

Onholiday 19

Training–acommitmentonbothsides 22

Lookinggood…? 22

Careofcompanyproperty 23

Housekeeping 25

Employmentoutsidethecompany 25

Whenyou’renotintheworkplace… 26

DataProtectionAct 27

Breakingupishardtodo… 29

CodeofEthicsandBusinessConduct 30

Acceptingorgivinggifts 30

Anti-BriberyPolicy 30

Section 1: The way we work

30 31

Code of Ethics and Business Conduct

Accepting or giving giftsIngeneralthecompanydoesnotbelievethatit’sappropriateforcolleaguestoacceptgiftsfrom,orgivegiftstocustomers,suppliers,oranyoneelsewithwhomwehave(ormighthave)businessconnections.

Thisisbecauseacceptingorgivingagiftcouldinfluenceyourbusinessactionsanddecisions–oritcouldlookthatway,nomatterhowinnocentthesituationis.Youractionsmightconflictwithourobjectivesorourbusinessintegrity.

What’smore,neveraskfor(orhintat)giftsorotherfreethingsfromanyone,andneversuggestthatfavoursmightbeexchanged.

Youcan,however,seekdonationsforSupportAdoption–providedyouabidebytheguidelines.

Youcanfindfurtherdetailsofourcodeofconductandbusinessethicsonwww.storebackoffice.com

Anti-Bribery PolicyItisourpolicytoconductallofourbusinessinanhonestandethicalmanner.Wetakeazero-toleranceapproachtobriberyandcorruptionandarecommittedtoactingprofessionally,fairlyandwithintegrityinallourbusinessdealingsandrelationshipswhereverweoperate.

Asaresult,wehaveadoptedananti-briberypolicywhichcanbefoundonwww.storebackoffice.com.Thepolicyformspartofyourcontractofemploymentbutitmaybeamendedatanytime.Anybreachofthepolicywillbetakenseriouslyandmayresultindisciplinaryaction.

PetsatHomeisafast-growingcompanyandweneedlotsoftalentedpeopletofillthemanyjobswecreateeveryyear.Onceyou’vestartedyourjob,yourmanagerwillexplainwhattrainingandassessmentwe’llusetohelpyougetitrightfirsttime.

Webelieveincontinueddevelopment–wecanonlyremainthenumberonepetspecialistbyhavinggreattrainingavailableforallcolleagues,whetherit’sin-store,SupportOfficeorDistribution.That’swhywe’veinvestedheavilyinthedevelopmentofthePetsatHomeTrainingAcademy.AsaPetsatHomecolleague,youarealsoastudentofthePetsatHomeAcademy.

TheAcademypromotesnotonlytheindividualpersonaldevelopmentthatresultsfromcolleaguesdevelopingskills,butalsotheknock-

oneffectsthatbenefitourstoreteams,ourcustomersandtheirpets.Inshort,webelievethatyourjobshouldgivesomethingbacktoyou–andjobsatisfactionmakesyouhappy.

Duringyourinductionyou’llagreetheshort-termtargetsforyourfirstfewweeks;you’llfindoutwhowillbehelpingyoulearnallaboutyourrole,andhowyourperformancewillbemeasured.Yourresponsibilityistoapplyyourself–andtakefulladvantageoftheopportunitytolearn.

Ifyou’reinastoreyou’llimmediatelyjointheStepstoSuccessprogrammeandreceiveyourfirstSteppack.

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.

Chineseproverb

Contents of this sectionOurcolleaguecareerpath 32

Ourmanagementcareerpath 33

Reviewingyourperformanceandmanagingyourdevelopment 37

Reviewandpersonaldevelopmentplan 37

Specialistcourses 38

Careerprogression 38

SupportOfficestructure 38

Section 2: The Pets at Home Academy

5756

Ashopseemslikeaprettysafeplacetowork,doesn’tit?Theworstyoumightexpectisapapercutoranipfromanover-excitedpet.

However,therearequiteanumberofmajorinjuriestoretailandwholesaleworkers,mainlyfromslipsandfallsandmanualhandlingincidents.Thelastthingyoushoulddoisassumenothingwillhappentoyou.

Distributioncentrespresentanumberofhazardsthatcanbeveryseriousandevenintheapparentsafetyofanofficeenvironmenthazardsexist.

Sowe’recommittedtoachievingthehigheststandardsofhealth,safetyandwelfareforcolleaguesandcustomers,andwedevoteconsiderableresourcestoachievingtheseaims.

Inreturn,pleaseensurethatyouworksafely,don’tendangeranyoneelsewhomaybeaffectedbyyourworkoractions,andtakeyourHealthandSafetyresponsibilitiesseriously.Becauseyoursafetyisaseriousmatter.

Contents of this sectionHealthandSafetyatWork 57

ValuingyourHealthandSafety 58

Everyonehasaroletoplayinkeepingtheworkenvironmentsafe 59

Healthandsafetymanagementsystem 60

Publicsafety 60

Reportingaccidents 61

Reportingdefects 62

Ifthere’safire 62

Firstaid 62

Personalprotectiveequipment 62

Safetytraining 63

Specialriskassessments 63

Spillages(slipsandtrips) 64

Safeliftingandshifting 64

Workingatheight(usingstepladderssafely) 65

Enforcinggoodworkingpractice 65

Activityinspections 65

Workingwithpetsandgrooming 66

YourHealthandSafetytrainingrecord 66

Section 4: Keeping you safe and well

Health and Safety at WorkOurHealthandSafetyatWorkpolicyisbriefbutclearandyou’llfinditonthenoticeboardinyourcolleagueroomorcanteen.Readitandaskyourmanageranyquestionsyoumayhave.

Office gossip…Ifyouthoughtcatchingafewaquariumfishforacustomerwastricky,spareathoughtfordeep-seafishingcrews.TheirsisthemostdangerousjobinBritain–they’re50timesmorelikelytodieatworkthanotherprofessionals.

You’llcoverHealthandSafetyinmoredetailaspartofyourtrainingbutherewelookatafewkeyareas.Wehavethreeimportantdocumentsforstores:

• Whataretherisks?–Riskassessmentmanual(completeddocumentavailableintheoffice).

• HealthandSafetyPoliciesandProceduresmanual(availableonBackOffice).

• FireandStorePlanriskassessment(locatedonnoticeboardsandBackOffice).

Ifweupdatethecontentofthesedocuments,we’lltelleveryoneaboutthechanges.YoucanraiseanyconcernsormakesuggestionsthroughyourmanagerortheHealthandSafetycommittee.

Health and Safety reporting

Wecanreduceanyhazardswithgoodmonitoringonwhathappensintheworkplacetoestablishproactivemeasurestopreventincidentsandaccidents.Wehaveanumberofwaysinwhichwegatherthisinformation:

• Immediatelyraiseconcernswithyourmanager.

• RetailPremisesHealthandSafetyChecklist–storescompletethisandreturnittoSupportOfficeonceaquarter.

• Firechecksandalarmtests.

• Checkonhousekeepingstandards,thatfloorsareclearofspillages,etc.

• Immediateaccidentreportingforbothcustomerandemployeeaccidents.

• LossPreventionAudit–HealthandSafetysection.

Store-specific information

Wemustidentifyandrecordanyrisksintheworkplacesowecanexplainthemtotheteamandreducethemtoaminimum.Thismeanseachstoreholds:

• Ageneralriskassessmentforallareas.

• Individualriskassessmentsforyoungpersons(under18years)andnewandexpectantmothers.

• Fireriskassessmentsforthesite.

• Manualhandlingassessments.

• COSHH(ControlofSubstancesHazardoustoHealth)assessmentsanddatasheetswhereapplicable.

Colleague Handbook

Client Pets at Home Project Colleague Handbook