Everything changed for Manchester businesses in 2020. Unequivocally and permanently.
Since the arrival of the pandemic, the local corporate landscape has found itself in an unrecognisable, uncertain and frustratingly fluid state, with companies scrambling to find new ways to cope with ever-changing regulations.
Even as a vaccine is administered across the region, there’s a growing sense of acceptance that it will still be some time before things are ‘normal’ again.
COVID has forced businesses to change the way they think, behave and operate for the foreseeable future – and one firm is doing its bit to help Manchester companies comfortably navigate the choppy waters ahead.
REVIV – the global preventative health company with a HQ in St Ann’s Square – has today launched HELIIX: An innovative, game-changing piece of management software designed to put business owners back in the driving seat.
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A product unlike anything else on the market, HELIIX is being called the ‘most robust and effective’ COVID business tool – functioning as an essential support system to keep firms afloat in 2021.
Risk profiling, robust tracking and case management, sick pay forecasting, vaccine tracking, and user isolation alerts are all embedded within the system – with every feature packaged into a single app that can be downloaded by staff and updated in real-time.
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Aside from offering benefits to employers, staff can also enjoy peace of mind with HELIIX in that their health is being taken seriously.
REVIV owner Sarah Lomas, whose rags-to-riches success story was featured on BBC TV series Manctopia, has previously expressed her concerns for the wellbeing of local businesses – and HELIIX aims to change the trajectory; minimising the number of firms going bump due to factors formerly out of their control.
Sarah stated: “REVIV had already shifted into technology investments and as COVID-19 hit I saw the opportunity to accelerate our corporate preventative health software HELIIX.
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“I’m a great believer in fixing a problem that exists in the world today.
“I’m proud that we have a software system that can not only manage COVID in the workplace but it can track vaccination rollouts in the working community as well as having the potential to reduce risk and litigation.”
REVIV has also launched not-for-profit PCR and antibody testing for just £89 – one of the lowest prices currently available on the market.
Wellbeing is the business’ bread and butter, and with HELIIX, REVIV is hoping to get more staff back into workplaces safely – boosting the local economy as a result.
Non-Executive Board Director Max Johnson stated: “All employers need a COVID-19 management software to make their companies run smoothly and safely.
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“We think HELIIX is just the software to enable them to do that.”
Professional functionality of HELIIX is charged at £1.40 per user a month, with subscriptions free to cancel at any time.
Aldi announces ‘special’ 62-hour closure of all its 1,000+ stores across UK – this is why
Emily Sergeant
Aldi has announced that it’ll be closing the doors of all of its stores across the UK for 62 hours next month for a ‘special’ reason.
Christmas is always known to be one of the busiest periods of the year for the retail industry, and Boxing Day has a reputation for being the ultimate day for shopping deals and discounts in the UK – but this year, just like it has done on several years in the past, Aldi has made the decision to close all of its stores nationwide on this bank holiday.
The supermarket retailer says it wants to thank its colleagues ‘for all their hard work’ throughout the year by giving them some extra time to spend with their families.
This means that all Aldi stores will be closed on both 25 and 26 December.
That’s not all though, as stores will also be closed on New Year’s Day, and will reopen once again on Friday 2 January 2026.
Aldi has announced a ‘special’ 62-hour closure of all its UK stores / Credit: Aldi UK
Opening hours at different Aldi stores across the UK will vary in the lead-up to Christmas, so it’s important to check the times for your local store, but the retailer has confirmed that most branches will be operating extended hours to ‘ensure customers can stock up ahead of the big day’
In the interim period between Christmas and New Year, stores will reopen as usual on Saturday 27 through to Tuesday 30 December, with reduced hours also likely on New Year’s Eve.
Speaking on the decision to shut up shop for a full 62-hour period this festive season, Rebecca Heley, who is the Communications Director at Aldi UK, said: “Christmas is a special time, and we want to ensure all of our colleagues have the opportunity to relax and enjoy it with their loved ones.
“That’s why all Aldi stores will be closed on Boxing Day this year.
“We know how hard colleagues work to deliver an amazing Christmas for our customers, and this is one small way of saying thank you.”
Featured Image – Aldi UK
Business
UK’s best and worst parcel delivery companies named following new research
Emily Sergeant
Some eye-opening new research has revealed the best and worst parcel delivery companies in the UK ahead of Christmas.
With the festive season fast approaching and many already in the process of Christmas shopping, Citizens Advice has released its annual parcel league tables, ranking the UK’s five major delivery companies in order from best to worst based on their overall performance.
From chasing missing parcels, and battling arduous complaints systems, to even having accessibility requests ignored, Citizens Advice found through its latest research that more than a third (37%) faced issues with their most recent delivery – which works out to roughly around 15 million people, a new record.
The research – which was carried out in a ‘snapshot’ one-month period – reveals that the rate of parcel problems remains at the highest levels seen in half a decade.
Now in its fifth year, the charity’s league table looks at the top five delivery companies by parcel volume and measures their performance against criteria to determine who is the best.
The criteria each company is measured against includes customer service, delivery problems, and how well they meet accessibility needs, such as people needing louder knocking or longer to answer the door.
This year’s parcel league table shows Royal Mail scored the highest with 3.25 out of five stars overall, while Yodel slips to the bottom with just two out of five stars.
UK’s top 5 parcel delivery companies
Royal Mail – 3.25 out of 5 stars
Amazon Logistics – 3 out of 5 stars
DPD – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Evri – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Yodel – 2 out of 5 stars
Citizens Advice found through its new research that accessibility was the worst performing area overall, and this is despite Ofcom’s new condition requiring firms to give disabled consumers the opportunity to report their accessibility needs.
There was also customer service failures, with almost half (47%) of the people who had a problem with their initial delivery going on to have further issues trying to resolve the problem.
Research found that the most common problems customers faced with their last delivery include the driver leaving before they had time to get to the door (29%), their parcel being left in an insecure location (24%), and parcels arriving late (24%).
The UK’s best and worst parcel delivery companies have been named / Credit: Evri (Press Picture)
“Ofcom has passed the parcel of responsibility for long enough,” commented Dame Clare Moriarty, who is the Chief Executive of Citizens Advice.
“We’ve been doing the work of the regulator for five years now by holding parcel companies to account and speaking up for consumers who are bearing the brunt of persistently poor service.
“Our league table has tracked parcel problems from warehouse to doorstep. We continue to see millions of people chasing lost parcels, having their accessibility needs ignored and hitting a brick wall when they try to complain.
The Manc -
14th December 2020 
