A new Marks and Spencer store will be built in Maidstone, creating 300 full and part-time jobs.

 

Maidstone Borough Council unanimously approved the plans by Marks & Spencer (M&S) and Gallagher Properties.

 

The new outlet at Eclipse Park, near junction 7 of the M20, will span more than 84,000 sq ft and will sell clothing, household goods and food and will also feature a café.

 

Building work is set to start by the end of 2018, and doors are expected to open next year. 

 

Nick Yandle of Gallagher Properties said: "Throughout the whole process we have had overwhelming support from the local community which has culminated in last night’s unanimous vote and reinforces Eclipse Park’s importance to the Maidstone economy.

 

"We have all seen the headlines of the issues facing retailers and this is a major vote of confidence in Kent’s county town from M&S."

 

M&S joins NEXT Home & Fashion, which opened a store at Eclipse Park in 2014.

 

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Accurate clocking in and out is particularly important in the retail industry. While most businesses have identified this and purchased automated time and attendance clocking stations, a disturbing number still trust in old-fashioned paper timesheets. 

 

These are easy for employees to make mistakes on, or to deliberately enter false information into, and they waste the time of your payroll staff who have to decipher everyone’s handwriting on a weekly basis.  

 

An automated system records everyone as they come in and out, so there is no more option for your employees to pretend they did overtime. For extra security, you should opt for a biometric clock in so that employees can’t swap time cards amongst themselves anymore. 

 

You can’t swap, or indeed lose, your biometric data!

 

There are many different types of biometrics and we offer two affordable and reliable options: fingerprint scanning and hand geometry scanning. Fingerprint scanning converts fingerprints into a unique code (rather than an unnecessary copy of the print itself), and hand scanning verifies the employee based on the size and shape of their hand.