In the first of a series of occasional online columns Suzanne Caldwell, MD of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, addresses topical issues in the county…and further afield.

Suzanne says: “I’m sure like me many of you will have been glued to “Mr Bates vs The Post Office”, and with renewed and increased horror at the events portrayed.

Apart from the personal misery of those impacted, I’m sure it must be causing many people to criticise “business” for its behaviour - quite forgetting that all of those sub-postmasters were or are business people too. And that the baddie in this tale is two businesses not “business”!

As we all know, most people in business, are nice people, trying to do good days work, build and run a good operation and treat others, whether employees, customers, contractors or suppliers properly.

Given that many of those involved lost their homes as well as their businesses, the whole Mr Bates thing also chimed with discussions I’ve been having recently with Crisis about the Homelessness Covenant. This Covenant is just one example of how businesses can and are putting going above and beyond the minimum.

Too often we think of homelessness as unemployed people sleeping rough – and how challenging is it to ever get into employment when you’re in that position? But mortgage rate challenges and the evictions from rented property we increasingly see in the media, remind us that this is an issue which affects a wide spectrum of people, many of whom are in work. Which makes me wonder, how much do we actually all know about the lives of our teams? This isn’t about prying into personal issues people may not wish to share, but about supporting and understanding when they do face challenges and looking at what we can do as employers to help. It’s just one reason that Cumbria Chamber of Commerce has signed up to the Homelessness Covenant.

This Covenant’s about committing to inclusive and supportive employment practices that will help prevent and end homelessness. It’s been launched by Crisis in collaboration with DWP and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and aims to support employers to:

• Provide employment and training opportunities for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

• Adopt fairer employment and recruitment policies and practices to support people affected by homelessness.

• Help end homelessness in local communities through fundraising, raising awareness, partnerships and volunteering.

This isn’t just about “doing good”, it’s in our own interests too - part of recruiting and retaining good staff, and helping ensure they’re focussed on and able to do a great job.

You can find more information about the Covenant and sign up on the Crisis website (Sign up to our homelessness covenant | Crisis UK) or email homelessness.covenant@crisis.org.uk.