Halifax has told customers they are free to close their accounts if they disagree with pronouns being on staff name tags.
After taking to social media earlier this week to share an image of a staff name tag which had Gemma written on it with the pronouns ‘she/her/hers’ underneath, and to state that “pronouns matter”, the bank was met with praise on the move by many customers, as well as by leading LGTBQ+ charity, Stonewall.
Stonewall said it was great to see companies like Halifax offering staff the option of displaying their pronouns, and claimed it was a great way to “make sure LGBTQ+ identities are respected” in the workplace.
A spokesperson for Halifax said the bank wants to “create a safe and accepting environment that opens the conversation around gender identity”, and it hopes the move will support colleagues to be themselves and feel included.
“We care about our customers’ and colleagues’ individual preferences,” the spokesperson added.
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But despite all the praise it received, Halifax was also hit with criticism from some other customers who said they didn’t agree with the move.
One critical Twitter user accused the bank of “pathetic virtue signalling” and questioned why it was trying to “alienate” people, to which Halifax responded in a now-viral tweet telling the customer to close their account.
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Halifax said: “We strive for inclusion, equality and quite simply, in doing what’s right. If you disagree with our values, you’re welcome to close your account.”
In another critical tweet, another customer wrote: “If a person is wearing a NAME badge, wouldn’t it more polite to use that NAME, isn’t that the point of a NAME badge, otherwise, why put the NAME on the NAME badge in the first place?”
Halifax then responded to reiterate that it wishes to “create a safe and accepting environment that opens the conversation around gender identity,” for staff and customers alike.
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Halifax is the latest organisation to offer employees the chance to display their pronouns on name badges, and it comes after retailer M&S made the headlines for adopting the optional move back in November 2021.
The move by M&S came from a suggestion via the retailer’s employee suggestion initiative, and it now means that workers have the choice to use “whichever combinations of pronouns is right for them”.
Announcing the decision to introduce the new pronoun badges, M&S explained: “Recently, we introduced pronoun name badges for our colleagues, encouraging as many of them as possible to wear whichever combination of pronouns is right for them.
“An amazing initiative provided by one of our colleagues as we continue to build an inclusive future, together.”
Featured Image – Halifax
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PrettyLittleThing founder marries model in star-studded £20m wedding
Daisy Jackson
The founder of Manchester fashion brand PrettyLittleThing, Umar Kamani, has married his model love in a lavish four-day wedding celebration.
The entrepreneur married Nada Adelle in the south of France in a glittering event reportedly costing £20m.
Among the guests were a-listers like Naomi Campbell, Anthony Joshua, and Rio Ferdinand, with performances from Mariah Carey and Ronan Keating.
Umar, originally from Manchester, also invited fellow Mancs like all three Thomas brothers Ryan, Scott and Adam, and fellow entrepreneur Steven Bartlett.
The stunning wedding took place three years after the happy couple announced their engagement (he proposed with a diamond ring worth £1.45m).
Umar, 36, co-founded online fashion giant PrettyLittleThing with his brother Adam. His bride Nada, 31, is a model.
And while he’s famed for creating affordable fashion, this wedding leaned the other way – Nada wore an haute couture Dior gown designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, which took 540 hours to make.
The PrettyLittleThing founder’s wedding kicked off with a poolside welcome party where all guests dressed in white.
Then came a black tie wedding celebration, where Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sang The Prayer as Nada walked down the aisle.
The reception that followed took place inside a huge ballroom, where Mariah Carey sang several of her biggest hits to delighted guests.
On the third day of the wedding, it was time for the traditional Indian wedding celebration, Nada this time dressed in a sparkling gown in contrast to her more simple Dior dress.
And guests were treated to a barbecue on Sunday before heading home from France.
Mariah Carey performing at the Kamani wedding. Credit: Instagram, Lucy MecklenburghScott Thomas shared a glimpse into the lavish black tie wedding reception of PrettyLittleThing founder Umar KamaniAndrea Bocelli performing at the Kamani wedding. Credit: Instagram, Ryan ThomasAdam Kamani’s sweet message to his brother and PrettyLittleThing co-founder Umar on his wedding day
Many of the celebrity guests have been sharing snaps from the big day(s), including Scott Thomas, who wrote: “There is nothing quite like a Kamani Wedding. Congratulations @umarkamani @nadakamani. Memories for a lifetime…”
Umar’s brother and PrettyLittleThing co-founder Adam also shared a sweet message from the wedding, writing: “Walking down the aisle to see you at the end of it stood there so handsome and strong before you got married. A feeling i can’t describe. I really am so proud of you. Love you so much @umarkamani.”
Naomi Campbell posted: “My chosen family ! Would not want to be anywhere else than with you on this day , TO WITNESS THIS BEAUTIFUL UNION OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE MR&MRSKAMANI WE LOVE YOU !!”
The supermodel icon also described it as a ‘divine weekend of love’.
The player celebrations from Stockport County’s League Two trophy presentation are glorious
Danny Jones
If you’re a Stockport County fan, you’ve had a very good year as the Hatters have just been crowned League Two champions and will be back in the English third tier next season – safe to say they’ve been making most of the trophy celebrations.
Players and staff very much included.
Edgeley was filled with flares and even people climbing on rooftops when they officially secured promotion back to League One for the first time in 12 years – the second time they’ve managed to go up in three seasons – and there was a great attendance in Stockport town centre for the bus parade.
But it was last week’s trophy presentation back at the stadium that produced some of the most memorable scenes, with County topping off a season of impressive and often high-scoring performances on the pitch with plenty more pageantry. Cue the music.
— Stockport (C)ounty (@StockportCounty) May 3, 2024
No one ever takes those pitch invasion ‘warnings’ seriously – not even the players.
We still haven’t stopped laughing at Kyle Knoyle.
From bringing Isaac Olaofe’s ‘Tanto’s on fire!’ chant to life to hammering home puns on names like Fraser Horsfall, no matter how obvious, these are the kind of deeply unserious celebrations we expect from a trophy presentation.
County fan or not, you’ve got to admit it looks like a good party.
It’s moments like these that players, fans and staff work hard all season for; to prat around like muppets in front of their adoring supporters. They even got assistant coach, Clint Hill, in the mix and, as it turns out, he proved to be one of the biggest ring-leaders.
We sincerely hope the Hatters keep trickling out more of these party scenes as we know there’s plenty more that fans would love to watch back.
We’re still yet to see captain Paddy Madden, who won Player of the Month for April, and the gaffer himself, Dave Challinor, who has comfortably secured his legacy as one of the club’s all-time greats.
Challinor and the club have made no secret of seriously eyeing up the Championship and who knows what else at County’s momentum continues to build, especially with a huge stadium redevelopment kicking off soon.
What do you reckon, Hatters – do you reckon a third promotion could be on the cards?