For more than 30 years, the Atlas brand has led the way in holiday home design and manufacture, and has built a reputation for innovation and quality. Driven by strong interiors and conceptual design cues, structural integrity and a reputation for delivering a high quality product has established Atlas Leisure Homes as a market leader.

East Yorkshire has a great heritage of manufacturing leisure homes and caravans, and Atlas has become an integral part of this sector. The company’s 350-strong workforce is based at its facility in Wiltshire Road and West Carr Lane, Hull, and its proactive approach to drug and alcohol screening echoes its vision and values of being a caring employer. 

HR Partner Abi Sibbick, who has worked for Atlas for five years and in the company’s human resources team for the past three years, explained: “As one of the area’s leading manufacturers, it is important that we have a thorough and transparent drug and alcohol testing policy in place, and that all our staff understand why it is there.

“We have people operating machinery such as forklifts on-site, and of course we want to avoid any risk of accident or incident. We work to stringent health and safety standards so it follows that drug and alcohol screening is a critical part of our strategy.”

Creating a policy that includes ‘random’ screening – which means regular and planned testing of a small number of employees – rather than relying on reactive tests should an issue crop up or an incident occur, helps organisations to stay on top of any potential drug or alcohol misuse, and means they are more likely to identify and deal with it before it becomes a problem. 

Positive working relationship

The Lemon Cherry experts have worked alongside Atlas since 2018, after one of Abi’s health and safety colleagues recommended their services through personal experience at another firm. Abi added: “We already had a drug and alcohol testing policy in place and had been implementing it in-house. But, as most organisations know, there can be issues with that, and it can be damaging to staff and management relationships. 

“Using an external provider removes any notion of bias, and ensures it’s as fully professional and transparent as possible, giving the whole process more credibility. Staff understand what it is we are doing, and believe in it.”

Naturally, Abi spoke to a number of screening providers before choosing Lemon Cherry. “We instantly developed a good rapport with Lemon Cherry,” she said. “They’re not overly formal and they matched themselves well to our business, quickly putting people at ease with a friendly, non-judgemental approach, which reduces any anxiety people may naturally feel.”   

Atlas generally perform random tests four times a year, involving about 12 members of staff, along with an occasional callout as and when required.  Abi added: “As well as having consistent testing in place and the benefits that brings, it’s reassuring to know that if we ever have an unexpected issue, the experts are only a phone call away – we can ring Lemon Cherry and they’ll respond immediately.” 

Lemon Cherry work with Atlas on a retainer system, taking care of all their random testing as well as any ad hoc callouts – a 24/7 service which all existing clients can take advantage of, any day of the year. 

“The Lemon Cherry team are super friendly and flexible, they bend over backwards to support us and can’t do enough to help,” Abi said. “They have the most up-to-date knowledge about drug use, far more than we could ever have, as well as the latest testing equipment. 

“We know we can always rely on their guidance and expertise, as well as their responsiveness, such as when we urgently needed some COVID lateral flow tests and they were able to supply them.” 

Lemon Cherry’s Catherine Lambert said: “Abi and the team at Atlas Leisure Homes are such lovely people to work with, we certainly regard them as a highly valued client and do our utmost to give them the best possible service we can deliver.

“They take a very proactive approach to drug and alcohol screening, which really is commendable. This is motivated by their desire to safeguard both their workforce and their business, setting a best practice example for other companies to follow.”

Booming business

With the coronavirus restrictions on travel leading to an increased interest in ‘staycations’, business is certainly booming for Atlas with order books bursting as new generations of British residents discover the joys of owning a top-class holiday home.

Each model in the extensive Atlas portfolio is handcrafted at its two Hull facilities, where meticulous care and attention is taken to ensure customers get the best from their holiday home, enabling them to create lasting memories in some of the UK’s most beautiful locations.

With a keen eye for detail, the Atlas team take inspiration from innovative construction ideas to generate practical and beautiful homes, with high quality, authentic material and craftsmanship being the staples of their manufacturing process.

Abi concluded: “Our workforce are very proud of the quality of their work and we genuinely enjoy helping people to create unforgettable holiday home experiences.”

For more information about Atlas, visit www.atlasleisurehomes.co.uk

If you’d like to speak to a member of the Lemon Cherry team about your drug and alcohol testing needs, call 01964 503773.