Interview: Charley from Bretsa HQ

2020 marks the fifteenth year of operation for Bretsa Early Years, and it’s been a busy time. We’ve filled thousands of shifts at dozens of nurseries across London with a huge array of bank staff.

Our own office team has varied a lot too, but one person who has been with us for many years is our finance coordinator Charley. She’s now been with us for over four years, doing almost every job on offer.

“I started as an apprentice in 2016,” she says. “After that I was a resourcer, and then later on I was a consultant, then a compliance coordinator, now finance. I’ve covered southeast London, northwest London, the whole of London, you name it!”

Four years is a good length of time, especially for someone with Charley’s experience. So why does she continue to stay?

“It’s like a family. I love working with my friends, and I feel like having that team around me that I get on with helps me to do a better job. And I’ve done so many different roles, that flexibility is something I know I’d miss if I moved elsewhere.” Another point in Bretsa’s favour is that it is a pet-friendly environment, as Otis the Cocker Spaniel discovered when he came to visit the office.

When Charley isn’t hard at work in Bretsa HQ, she’s usually heading up and down the streets of Welling learning to drive or eating out at a Toby Carvery or Nando’s. But Bretsa staff will know that she’s quite handy in the kitchen herself.

“One of my favourite moments was in October last year, where we had the whole office make a cake to raise awareness for breast cancer. It was so much fun and it was for a good cause – and I won, which doesn’t hurt!”