Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Tidy Green Clean MD keen to discuss post-Brexit blues with Home Secretary Priti Patel

tidy green clean
Aberdeen businessman Andrew Alleway says customers are suffering major recruitment woes

The boss of fast-growing Aberdeen-based franchise Tidy Green Clean (TGC) has invited Home Secretary Priti Patel to visit the Granite City to hear concerns that “Brexit isn’t working for business”.

Andrew Alleway, co-founder and managing director of TGC, an environment-friendly commercial cleaning venture, has also written to other local and government officials to highlight post-Brexit recruitment challenges affecting many of his customers.

The Covid-19 crisis has only exacerbated underlying problems caused by Britain’s exit from the European Union, Mr Alleway said.

It’s far too easy to blame this on the pandemic.”

Andrew Alleway, Tidy Green Clean

He added: “In our industry, we work with many different businesses in every sector and we are hearing a common story – ‘I can’t find skilled and willing staff anymore’.

“For Tidy Green Clean, because we are an accredited member of the Living Wage Foundation, with many of our clients willing to pay Living Wage for our staff, we have fewer challenges than most.

tidy green clean
The hospitality sector traditionally recruits many of its staff from overseas.

“But talking with customers in the hospitality and leisure industries particularly, we are hearing that many European workers have gone home or to work in an EU country because they can earn more and do not have to worry about making sure they can get settled status.

“The Home Office’s approach to EU citizens since January 1 2021 has been undesirable and caused huge amounts of distress for individual families, and that is now causing business significant challenges.”

tidy green clean
The Scottish seafood processing sector has also relied on workers from overseas for many years.

EU workers have been the “backbone” of many UK industries for decades”, Mr Alleway said, adding: “Quite simply, it’s far too easy to blame this on the pandemic; the truth is, Brexit isn’t working for business.

“I am calling on local, national and UK governments to think more strategically about how to accommodate key overseas workers and for the home secretary, the Rt Hon Priti Patel MP to come here to Aberdeen to meet myself and other business owners and hear what is actually going on for businesses everywhere.”

tidy green clean
Home Secretary Priti Patel

Meanwhile, TGC has announced “significant” growth in the first half of 2021, with two new franchises established in Edinburgh, and Highlands & Moray.

The business also has a new commercial manager, Calum Johnston, responsible for growing national and key accounts throughout Scotland and – as TGC grows – in the rest of the UK.

Mr Alleway played a key part in building a franchise in New Zealand into a commercial cleaning giant before selling up and moving to Scotland, where he and a business partner, operations director David Moncur, launched TGC in mid-2017.

Tidy Green Clean’s Andrew Alleway, right, and David Moncur.

TGC has since grown to seven franchised operations, with new franchisee Faith Fitzgerald recently joining the group as regional director for Highlands & Moray.

Ms Fitzgerald, previously a support worker with community care charity Cornerstone and more recently a lecturer in business and management at the University of the Highlands and Islands, said: “Tidy Green Clean is a business that puts people and its core values about the high standards, technology, and the environment at its heart.

tidy green clean
Faith Fitzgerald

“I am looking forward to working with businesses across the region to show just what that means.”

Mr Alleway said: “We are delighted to welcome Faith. She’s an outstanding individual who brings both commercial cleaning experience and a strong background in business with her. We wish her every success and all our support for the bright future ahead of her.”


Home Office response:

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: “The British people repeatedly voted to end free movement and take back control of our immigration system, which is precisely what we have delivered.

“We also delivered the hugely successful EU Settlement Scheme, which has seen more than 5.1 million grants of status, to ensure our EU friends and neighbours could secure the status they need to stay here.

“Companies need to invest in our domestic workforce instead of relying on cheap labour from abroad. This is the most effective way to ensure we have a thriving economy.”


Priti Patel claims immigration raids are ‘what the British public voted for’

Issues applying to EU settlement scheme were ‘blindingly obvious’, says Aberdeen MSP