North East holiday company Hays Travel is set to pay for a staff member's bills for six months as part of a new company initiative.
The Sunderland firm, the UK's largest independent travel agency with around 460 shops and a workforce of more than 5,000, last month launched the Big Hays Travel Thank You initiative, as a way to reward boost.
All employees across the business are entered into a prize draw once a month, with new prizes announced following each draw. Last month, Richard Farmer from the Wombwell branch, South Yorkshire, became the first winner, scooping a new Hyundai i10 SE Connect car, while this month’s winner is Rachel Lovstad who has won a cruise of her choice worth up to £5,000.
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Dame Irene Hays, director of the business which has operated from its base in Sunderland for 41 years, said the initiative was proving to be a success. The September winner of the initiative will have all their bills and mortgage payments covered until March 2023, she confirmed.
She said: “Our first ‘Big Hays Travel Thank You’ was a huge success. We’re delighted to be awarding this month’s £5,000 cruise to continue to say thank you to all our colleagues for their hard work.
“We have really been working hard to recognise the contribution of everyone working in the business. We know how all of our people are so focused on giving the best service to our customers and in the case of head office supporting everyone else. We wanted to create a sense of excitement and just bring back a bit of fun.”
Jane Schumm, who awarded this month’s prize to Ms Lovstad, said: “It is a great fun thing to do for our people. It’s a bit of excitement during a challenging time in travel.”
Ms Lovstad, who has worked in the recruitment team in Hays Travel head office in Sunderland for almost a year, said: “I can’t believe it, I am over the moon! We have some big birthdays in the family in the next few years so a cruise would be the perfect way to celebrate.”
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