Rainton House - the former nPower HQ , is Just Eat ’ s new base .
JUST EAT JOBS
1,500 new jobs to takeaway from Wear investment
Takeaway company Just Eat has announced the creation of 1,500 new customer service jobs in Houghton over the next 12 months .
The new roles will be based in the former nPower offices in Rainton House at Rainton Bridge with recruitment having already begun and approximately 300 jobs created to date .
A variety of positions from customer service advisors to team leadership , specialist support roles and management are available .
All new customer service employees will take part in a training programme before they start and will also benefit from longerterm career development plans to enable them to build relevant skills and progress within the business .
The employees will have access to a range of benefits and will be based in a new stateof-the-art office as Rainton House undergoes a revamp which will see a new gym , catering area and lounge in the 20,000 sq m building spread across four floors .
The move will help Just Eat improve overall service by increasing employee engagement and providing greater insight into its partners ’ and customers ’ experience of Just Eat .
Andrew Kenny , UK managing director at Just Eat , said : “ As part of our ongoing investment in our UK business , we ’ re delighted to be creating upwards of a thousand new employment opportunities in our customer care department .
“ Alongside the launch of our worker model for couriers , this move will help us to bring the very best service to our customers and restaurant partners as demand for food delivery goes from strength to strength in the UK .
“ As a platform that covers 95 per cent of UK postcodes , we also know the importance of increasing career opportunities outside of
London and the South East . We ’ re pleased to be announcing our commitment to the North-East , to help boost the region ’ s economy .”
In a wonderful vote of confidence in Wearside ’ s workforce , Mr Kenny also revealed that the company is bringing its services in-house , having previously outsourced them to countries like Bulgaria and India .
Employees will begin working from home with plans to operate a hybrid model in the coming months .
“ We absolutely believe in the role that the office environment plays in our culture and in driving innovation as we move forward ,” Mr Kenny said .
“ But equally , we don ’ t want to move fully away from some of the more positive aspects that working from home has brought to people ’ s personal lives and family lives .”
Just Eat ’ s UK customer care team supports its 58,000-plus restaurant partners and millions of customers on a wide variety of topics from order enquiries to helping restaurants with their menus .
Overall , Just Eat is investing more than £ 100m into the region across the next five years which will go towards creating a modern workspace for the team , equipment , training and jobs .
The government ’ s Business Minister , Paul Scully , said : “ This investment drives forward our plan to level up the whole of the UK , ensuring all our regions and nations thrive as we build back better from the pandemic .”
Just Eat ’ s employment boost in the North- East builds on the business ’ new worker model for couriers in the UK , which now has more than 4,500 roles .
Initially launched in London , the model has since rolled out to Birmingham , Liverpool , Brighton and Cambridge , with further cities in the pipeline across 2021 .
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