30 Years to the Day: Phil’s Retirement Story

Completing 30 years of service

It’s 30 years since Phil joined the company, on 16th September 1996: “I could have retired last April when aged 66, but I wanted to complete my 30 years’ service, as I’m one of only a few people to have reached that goal,” Phil says.

It’s a milestone made all the more remarkable by the fact that ACS is only Phil’s second employer in a career spanning over 51 years; he joined ACS from George Wimpey, his first job starting straight from school in 1975. Phil has fulfilled just two roles both in accounts/admin in over half a century of work, and by his own admission has enjoyed every minute.

As he clears out 30 years of work diaries this week, Phil – a self-confessed hoarder – has decided to hold on to his first year’s diary from 1996, the millennium 2000 diary, and records of the past three years, along with every payslip from his entire employment with both companies!

A company transformed 

Phil’s three decades at ACS have coincided with extraordinary change. “In 1996 we didn’t even use computers, that didn’t happen until 1998,” he recalls. “Everything was done by hand – invoices, purchase orders, wages all calculated manually with payslips written out by hand. It’s hard to imagine now, looking at how the business runs today.”

The company has moved premises twice during his time. “Prior to 1999 we were in an old building that our founder and then MD Michael Flannery had leased; it was supplemented by portacabin’s in the car park so a lot less slick than today’s operation,” Phil says. “Moving into our current premises around eight years ago, an impressive purpose-built structure, was a huge change and representative of what we’ve become.”

The accounts team has grown too. “There are four of us in accounts now – five if you count me on this final day,” he says. “We do the accounts for each of the companies within the ACS group, which has kept it varied and genuinely enjoyable. We’ve become more efficient across the whole business, and the new premises is testament to that.”

But for Phil, the real story isn’t the buildings or the systems. “It’s always been a lovely working environment. We have a good team of people in the accounts department and across the business. It’s not just about the work; it’s also about the people you work with.”

“We’ve had many highs over the years, but it’s people that make the difference.”

Asked what’s impressed him most about his time at ACS, his answer is simple: “The growth of the company. Watching ACS become the successful business it is today and being privileged to play my part within that success – is what I’m most proud of.”

What’s next?

Phil will join his wife Elaine who retired four years ago following an impressive 31 years’ service as a health care assistant in the NHS, at St James’ Hospital before then nursing her own mother through end-of-life care. Now both retired, they are planning their next chapter – and it starts with travel.

“We’re off to Malta for four weeks first,” Phil says. “We’ve been going since the early ’80s as Elaine has had a Maltese pen friend since she was 11 years old, so we’ve always had a soft spot for the place. It felt it would be good to begin here.

“Over Christmas and into the new year we’re heading to Alberta, Canada, to see our eldest of three daughters and two of our four grandchildren. Our other two daughters and their girls live closer to home, here in Leeds. And we babysit our youngest granddaughter most weekends – and happily that won’t be changing.”

Closer to home, Phil holds a season ticket at Elland Road, and retirement will mean more time to watch his beloved Leeds United whom he has been going to games since 1968, the team are currently sitting mid-table in the early stages of this new Premier League season. “That’s really it for me,” he says. “I’m not one for DIY, apart from the odd potter in the garden. Given the choice I’ll take Leeds United and my grandchildren over a to-do list any day.”