WE were concerned to read the letter "Nestl treating workers badly" (March 15).

Nestl Rowntree would like to set the record straight and to strongly defend ourselves against any suggestion that we treat our employees poorly.

Nestl employees are the most important part of our business and we take their welfare extremely seriously.

As a responsible employer, we strive to ensure that all our employees are treated with respect and fairness, and we believe that the vast majority of workers would agree that this is the case.

This is supported by the fact that we have a very low level of employee turnover at our Nestl Rowntree York factory. This stands at only 1.5 per cent, against a national UK average of over 15 per cent.

The average length of service at York factory is 26 years. Surely if our employees were so badly treated, our retention rates would not be so exemplary?

Nestl understands the importance of good communications and to achieve this best practice all employees at Nestl have the benefit of a designated human resources business partner who, in addition to an employee's line manager, provides support and is on hand to answer any concerns or queries.

Furthermore, since joining, managing director Paul Grimwood has introduced a direct two-way dialogue with employees, using an open email system. Employees can and do contact Mr Grimwood directly with any queries or concerns.

Nestl also publishes regular newsletters and employee information bulletins throughout the York site and on the internal intranet. Employees also have regular staff briefings with their line managers.

Finally, Nestl employees enjoy a number of benefits, including the Nestl pension scheme, which remains one of the best in industry; a generous holiday allowance; a career break option; and tax-saving schemes under our flexible benefits initiatives.

Paul Harwood,

Director of human resources,

Nestl Rowntree,

Haxby Road,

York.

Updated: 09:55 Friday, March 24, 2006