Gordon and Marina Sutherland – Contract Cleaners

“We don’t want to be on the dole. We’ll take a job as long as we know we can do it.”

When Marina Sutherland was first offered the opportunity to work with her husband she wasn’t convinced it was a good idea. She wasn’t sure that living and working with her husband would be good for their relationship. However, nearly one year later, Marina and husband Gordon are working together as a successful team – and still married.

In recent years, both Gordon and Marina have had their share of health problems. In 2006 Marina was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer, and Gordon has angina, asthma and a frozen shoulder. In spite of their health problems, both Gordon and Marina have been determined to work and are now employed as a contract cleaning team by System Contract Cleaning in Carlisle.

Employer’s story

The testimonials say it all. “Gordon and Marina do a great job” writes an administrative officer from one company. “Their cleaning of our building site development is always thorough” writes a company director from another company.

Bob Graham, General Manager for System Contract Cleaning and Recruitment, recruited the couple and values the individual strengths they bring to the company. Gordon had worked for the System group before and Bob recruited him because he knew that he was a reliable and conscientious worker. Says Bob, “They both have good team working skills and a sense of responsibility towards their employer. When we recruit, we look for people like Gordon and Marina with a positive attitude towards work and also a willingness to work.”

Employee investment

The company holds the Investors in People Award (IIP) and Bob Graham is genuinely committed to investing in employees like Gordon and Marina. Both are now registered on an NVQ Level 2 Cleaning qualification. Bob says they are willing and motivated to learn. “There’s much more to cleaning than meets the eye so we felt the qualification would be useful for them” he adds.

Bob is aware of Gordon and Marina’s health conditions but this has not been a barrier to their employment. “If someone has a disability, we look at what would be suitable for them. Our priority is to put the right person in the right job.”

Employee's story

In 2007, Marina accompanied Gordon to a Jobcentre Plus interview to offer him moral support. She wasn’t actively looking for work, but a chance remark from a Disability Employment Adviser made her think about returning, perhaps a little sooner than she’d anticipated. Gordon was already off work because of his shoulder problems and Marina was recovering from a serious operation to treat the cancer that was diagnosed in 2006. She couldn’t go back to her previous job because it involved lifting and she’d been advised to avoid any job that involved heavy manual work. Contract cleaning offered an ideal employment opportunity for both Marina and Gordon.

Work trial

The job involves working in different offices around the county. Gordon doesn’t drive but Marina does and both were in a position to bring different skills to a cleaning team. After weighing up all the options, particularly the challenge of working together, they decided to give the job and themselves a chance as they felt they had nothing to lose. They found out about the Department for Work and Pensions ‘permitted hours’ scheme and felt some reassurance in knowing they could work on a trial basis without losing any of their incapacity benefits.

After only a few months, Gordon and Marina settled into their job. “It suits our lifestyle” says Marina “and it’s worked out much better than I thought.” Gordon agrees: “We’re actually less stressed because we’re both at work now. It’s taken the frustration out of sitting at home all the time. And we enjoy what we do.”

In December 2007, Gordon and Marina came off benefits completely and are now working permanently for Systems Contract Cleaning. Marina received the excellent news this year that she was clear from any cancer. Gordon still has some problems with his shoulder but both feel very positive about being able to work again.

Looking back on the sometimes challenging journey he and Marina made to get back to work, Gordon sums it up well. “It’s a partnership” he says. “In the end, it’s not about what health problems someone may have but it’s about looking at what a person can do for a company and what a company can do for a person.”

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