Supporting and growing our team

"Some time ago, Shorts made some cultural changes to working hours within the Team Handbook, and HR sent out emails to let us know. That felt really nice, like someone has valued my personal beliefs and taken this decision to change the policies and allow us to alter our hours for cultural reasons."

"I am now able to adjust my working hours to make work easier during Ramadan. So, if I’m feeling extremely tired (maybe because I woke up at say 3am in the morning for breakfast), I can start work a little bit later, adjust when I leave, or take a shorter lunchbreak during the day, rather than the full hour." 

"And recently, Shorts have made it easier to take annual leave, for religious faiths with celebrations.  Sometimes it can be difficult to take annual leave if this coincides with the work of an important job/client. But with the changes to the Team Handbook, Shorts are more empathetic and understand the very important celebrations of different faiths. Previously, I have sometimes struggled to get time off, and it’s been very upsetting to not easily get the day to celebrate with family. I’ve worked in places where employers didn’t have similar support in place, and it’s good to know I don’t need to stress about that here."

"And really importantly, for not only my religion, but in other faiths too, knowing that any person wanting to practice their faith is able to have a quiet space for prayer if required at Shorts; that is really helpful to know."

Anisa Malik, Audit and Accounts Assistant

"I especially like the variety of work from international clients and the challenge of managing their expectations when the work involves dealing with HMRC. The international clients I deal with are always appreciative of the work I carry out and willing to pay for expert advice. This makes me feel valued which is always nice."

"I really enjoy my work as I love VAT and like the variety of clients at Shorts. I enjoy the mix of complex tax planning work and more routine VAT compliance work. I also enjoy the business development work I do, especially the Blog writing. I appreciate the opportunities Shorts have given me to expand my knowledge and skills."

"The work I enjoy the most is tax planning work, which the whole team gets involved in."

"I appreciate the ability to work from home but prefer to work in the office. I rarely work from home more than one day a week as I like the routine of coming in to work and enjoy the interaction with colleagues. I also find working from home convenient when I have a doctor’s or dentist’s appointment as I can schedule my appointments to fit in with my working hours."

Lynne Gill, Senior VAT Manager

I found the graduate recruitment process challenging as there were a few different stages to work through, but it was obviously very rewarding in the end. It was good to go into the office and have the networking section so that you get to meet people who actually work for Shorts and get a feel of what the company is like and whether you think it’ll be the right fit for you or not.

The induction process for me went really well. You’re given a “buddy” on your first day who will give you a tour of the office, tell you all the important bits that you need to know and get you set up on the systems. There was also a welcome lunch on my first day which was a great chance to get to know the team. Joining Shorts as a graduate meant that there were also other graduates starting on the same day as me, so it was nice to have them by my side and help it not feel as daunting.

For me, it was definitely the work/life balance and the no overtime policy that attracted me to Shorts. From working in retail whilst at university I found that they wanted me to work so much overtime that I was always working and had no time for my friends and family. Therefore, the fact that I can work, study, and still have time for a social life is something that I really love about Shorts.

Savannah Hill, Audit and Accounts Semi-Senior