BOSSES at a Bradford employer say they are doing all they can to support staff after a colleague was stabbed to death in Essex.

A staff notice sent out to employees at Provident Financial Group – and seen by the Telegraph & Argus – was slammed by some after Provident managing director Chris Gillespie made reference to the death of Tina Cantello in a memorandum telling staff the businesses was not performing well.

Within that, Mr Gillespie briefly addressed Ms Cantello’s death on June 8 after the debt collector was killed at a home in Basildon, Essex, as she went about her work.

One member of staff, who declined to be named, said the note had “sickened” them.

They added: “We felt the company owes Tina better recognition than this after over 25 years’ service, and not just a paragraph in a memo telling us once again we are doing badly.”

The email gives an insight into the doorstep lender’s performance as Mr Gillespie informs the workforce they have not performed well in recent weeks.

The memo informs staff the company has some “challenges to address” because a combination of bank holidays, Easter, good/bad weather and half term holidays have contributed to a change in the company’s fortunes.

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As a result of this, Mr Gillespie tells staff there will be more on-the-job coaching given to staff “than ever before”.

He adds that calls and their visits will be monitored because collections – “the lifeblood” of the business which involves taking in the money owed to the company – are suffering because staff are logging customers as not being at home when they call.

He writes: “It is essential that we make every effort to call on customers at a suitable time.”

A spokesperson for Provident said the death of Tina Cantello had been a great shock to everyone, and they were supporting her family and helping the police with their investigation.

“Home Credit colleagues have been supported throughout this terrible tragedy and continued to be so,” said the spokesperson.

“We are continuing to implement the recovery plan in home credit and will update the market on progress within our interim results which will be published on July 31.”

Geoffrey Hutton, 38, of Derby Close, Langdon Hills, has been charged with murdering Ms Cantello.