I sit down with Jane Macey, a fishmonger who works part time at my local Tesco, to chat to her to try and find out what it is like to work in the job that she does…
Tell me a bit about what it’s like working for Tesco in Leatherhead:
I am quite new to Tesco, I’ve only worked here for about 3 months but, so far, I am enjoying the job.
For me, the best thing about working here is the people: firstly, I work with a great team, everyone has been so friendly and I found it very easy to fit in and, secondly, I really enjoy meeting the customers. The store is close to where I live so I am meeting members of my local community every time I come to work.
I am employed as a fishmonger, which is totally different to anything I have ever done before but Tesco provided comprehensive training and, very quickly, I knew how to look after the fish and how to prepare properly it for customers.
There are some downsides; it is not an easy job and it was definitely difficult getting used to being on my feet for a full 8-hour shift. Having said that I don’t have any problem doing my 10,000 steps a day when I’m here – so maybe that’s not a downside after all!
You mentioned the local community – do you think that Tesco Leatherhead could do more for the local community?
I think that Tesco already do a lot for the local community. People are probably already aware of the blue tokens which you get at checkout and put into the local charity box but they maybe don’t realise that this is how Tesco choose where to invest the money taken for carrier bags. It’s great that this money is put into smaller and very local charities. Tesco also support communities through corporate giving and colleague and customer fundraising activities.
17,849 local projects and causes have been helped*
£57.6 million contributed through corporate giving*
£19.6 million raised through colleague and customer fundraising*
One thing I didn’t realise before I worked here is that since 2017 all Tesco stores in the UK facilitate food surplus donation in order to provide meals to those in need. This means that food which is fit for consumption but has not been sold is offered free of charge to local homeless charities.
We should also take into account is that Tesco is one of the major employers within Leatherhead. Every one of my immediate colleagues’ lives within the Leatherhead area and I’m sure this is replicated across the whole store.
OK, so Tesco work to support the local community BUT, with annual sales of $75.4 billion**, they are one of the world’s biggest retailers – what are they doing to address their global responsibilities?
I have found out that Tesco are doing a lot behind the scenes to address global issues. They have their “Little Helps Plan” which covers everything from Sustainability to Health to Climate Change. They have targets and a detailed action plan showing how they will hit their targets. It’s available for people to read on Tescoplc.com but some of the key targets are:
To help make sustainable products accessible and affordable. They aim to achieve this by doing things like:
Ensuring 100% of palm oil is certified as sustainably sourced by 2020
Reducing supply chain carbon emissions by 7% by 2020
Safeguarding all animals in their supply chain to ensure they are treated humanely
To help customers make healthier food choices every time they shop at Tesco. There are a few actions on this but customers may already have noticed:
Larger stores provide free fruit for children to eat during the shop.
Own Brand food recipes are being adjusted to make them healthier (provided there is no impact on taste and quality).
To tackle Climate Change Tesco aim to become a zero carbon business by 2050.
*Data extracted from www.tescoplc.com 7/1/19
** Forbes 6/6/18
