Diversity and Inclusion

Whether you're looking to go into marketing or maintenance, sales or security, finance or front of house, we celebrate difference with a diverse range of people, customers and guests across our parks. Every single personality brings something unique to the table and we encourage each other to be ourselves.

At Parkdean Resorts we celebrate difference with a diverse range of people and guests across all of our 66 parks and Central Support functions. Every single individual brings something valuable and unique to our teams which is why we're so passionate about all of our projects and initiatives aimed at nurturing difference, supporting our employees and creating an environment where each and every member of our team can be themselves.

'Difference' is one of our 5 Core Values and we know that nurturing diversity, working proactively to foster inclusion and welcoming diverse experiences and perspectives is part of what makes us great...after all, its hard to make a difference when everyone is the same.

Here are some of the projects and partnerships we’re working on and the exciting initiatives we have planned as part of our commitment to continuously improving Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and our focus on placing Employee Wellbeing at the heart of our People Plan...

"At Parkdean Resorts, we strive for an increasingly inclusive culture where we thrive on the diversity of our people, harnessing the insight and value of difference."

~ Becky Cain, Wellbeing and Inclusion Manager

Image of Becky Cain, Wellness and Inclusion Manager at Parkdean Resorts

LGBTQ+ Inclusion

We know that our people are at their best when they can be their full, authentic selves both in and outside of work. Liam-Jay Beck is our National Entertainment Operations Lead and Network Founder of our LGBTQ+ Community Network Group, Parkdean Resorts Proud.

Parkdean Resorts Proud is an employee group created to provide peer-to-peer support, raise awareness of LGBTQ+ inclusion and drive positive policy changes, providing a safe space for members to bring their whole selves to work.

Liam-Jay says…

“Due to my experience of growing up in a time when it wasn’t encouraged to ‘be your true self’ or ‘be different’, I’m now extremely passionate about making areas where I have influence to be the most inclusive and accepting places possible. That’s why here at Parkdean Resorts I actively encourage and support our team members to fully be themselves; and we love to see ‘difference’ within the entertainment department….in fact, we celebrate it!”

In June of this year, Parkdean Resorts was proud to have 100 members of staff march with the Northern Pride Parade and we’re thrilled to be partnering with leading LGBTQ+ organisation, Gaydio, as a Proud Pride Partner in 2024.

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Armed Forces Community Inclusion

At Parkdean Resorts, we value the transferable skills, experience and dedication that veterans can offer, which is why we’re committed to ensuring the Armed Forces community receive fair treatment and employment opportunities following their service.

We are proud to be the only company in our industry to have achieved the highest accolade - The Gold Award at the 2023 Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Awards Ceremony.

Image of Parkdean resorts team holding the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award

Our CEO Steve Richards, says:

“Attracting ex-Armed Forces personnel to join our teams and thanking them and their families for their service is one of our key people commitments, so we are immensely proud to have received the Gold certification. We have huge respect for the work our military forces do and the sacrifices they make, so we’re delighted to be able to give back to them through our forces-friendly recruitment, training opportunities and charitable endeavors.”

By engaging with Career Transition Partnership and Forces Families Jobs as well as partnerships with military charities, Only a Pavement Away and Walking with the Wounded, we aim to help veterans build meaningful careers. Parkdean Resorts work closely with these charities to find employment opportunities at our parks for veterans, as well as funding development opportunities and qualifications, such as chef apprenticeships.

Our mission is to lead the way in hospitality as an alternative sustainable career for the military community and their families, and to create a positive footprint in supporting the Armed Forces who will protect future generations.

Meet Some of Our Amazing Veterans...

Mat Whitehouse

Meet Mat...

Newquay Holiday Park's amazing Maintenance Manager, Mat spent 8 years in the Armed Forces travelling the globe as part of the Royal Armoured Corp as a Challenger 1 Tank Driver. During that time Mat travelled to Canada, Kosovo, Belize and carried out a peace-keeping mission in Sierra Leone.

Mat first joined Parkdean Resorts in 2014 as a seasonal Security Officer and has over the last ten years grown, developed and progressed to Maintenance Manager playing an incredible role as part of the Head of Department Team in Newquay Holiday Park's Springboard transformation. Matt is hugely passionate about working to support the Veteran Community undertaking numerous charity events - in March 2024 Mat and his HoD team will be taking part in the Royal British Legion's "Great Tommy Sleep Out", raising money to support homeless veterans.

Mick Rutherford

Meet Mick...

Hanson's exceptional Operations Manager, Mick, has over 30 years of unmatched expertise in Transport and Logistics. During his military career, Mick honed his skills in heavy vehicle transporters and became a certified Driving Instructor and an A1 NVQ assessor in Road Haulage.

Thanks to his incredible expertise and desire to be at the forefront of the industry, Mick was drawn to the opportunity to work with the Hanson team, where he is now Operations Manager. His wealth of experience and professionalism make him an integral part of the Hanson community, and his innovative insights continue to foster growth and progress in the company.

Kelsy Mavin

Meet Kelsy...

Our Revenue Operations Manager, based in our Central Support Office. Kelsy joined the army at 16, joining the Royal Logistics Corp as a movement controller and spent time on UK tours as well as travelling to Norway, Cyrpus, Dubai and Africa.

After 4 years of service, Kelsy left the forces - having always wanted to work in the travel industry she applied for a role in our Contact Centre and after 9 months moved into an admin role in our Revenue Team. Over the last 16 years with Parkdean Resorts Kelsy has continued to develop and progress and now manages our Revenue Operations Department.

Still hugely ambitious in her career Kelsy also recently signed up as a Reservist at an Armed Forces event and last year joined the Adjutant General Corp, completed all of her basic training and joined the Army Netball Team!

Age Inclusion

We’re incredibly proud to be leading the way in our industry to proactively recruit and support a multi-generational workplace. We value people for who they are regardless of age and as a result, we do not apply age related pay rates.

We have signed the Age Friendly Pledge to recognise the importance and value of older workers and have committed to take the necessary action to help them flourish in a multigenerational workforce.

Take a look below at some of the amazing partnerships and projects we're working on to continue attracting, retaining and developing people of all ages...

Image of the Facilities Manager, Roly, at Parkdean Resorts.

Over 50s

Parkdean Resorts was the first holiday park company to have partnered with the Department of Work and Pensions in creating a bespoke return to work scheme aimed specifically at 50+ candidates re-entering the world of work.

Here's a short video showcasing the first event we held at Cayton Bay earlier this year. The event was a huge success and we're very excited to continue working with the DWP and extend these events across more regions in 2024.

Disability Confident Employer

At the end of 2023, Parkdean Resorts became a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2). We have put clear actions in place to ensure we are as inclusive and accessible as possible.

This means challenging attitudes and increasing understanding of disability within our workforce, removing barriers to disabled people and those with long term conditions, ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and easy for all.

We will continue to review our commitment and actions on a regular basis.

Ambitious About Autism

Working closely with Ambitious about Autism, we have pledged to create opportunities to support autistic people to enter, re-enter or remain in the workplace.

Members of our team have also undertaken in depth training with Ambitious about Autism to raise awareness within the workplace, encourage meaningful conversations and act as champions to break the taboos surrounding autism.

What Else Are We Doing?

Rest Less Partnership

We are working in partnership with Rest Less, the fastest growing digital community for over 50s as an Age Diverse Employer.

All our vacancies are advertised on the Rest Less job board and we will continue building our relationship with them to attract and retain more over 50's team members who bring amazing knowledge, experience and mentorship to our wider teams.

Hormone Health

We know that female and male hormone health can have a huge impact on our people's mental and physical wellbeing but we also know that knowledge is power and that the more our teams understand about their hormones, the better they will be able to manage both their physical and mental wellbeing.

Our hormone focus is male and female inclusive and so On World Menopause Day we worked in Partnership with the Menopause Centre who ran a Teams webinar; Demystifying Male and Female Hormones. The webinar was hosted by two qualified Doctors aimed at providing education and awareness on both understanding Menopause & Andropause and how best to support their teams.

We are continuing to work with Menopause Centre and are putting measures in place for those people who need extra support with their fast-track referral service which includes a 45 minute consultation with a health hormone expert doctor.

Younger Workers

We partnered with the Prince’s Trust at the beginning of 2023 and have been working with them to help empower and support young people seeking employment through various fundraising initiatives and development opportunities across our 66 parks throughout the UK.

We are also in the process of working with the Department of Work and Pensions to introduce the bespoke return to work scheme to those candidates who are entering the job market for the first time.