Ongoing actions to support the principles of Gender Pay Equality
Flexible Working We recognise the need for all employees to request to work flexibly and we comply with all legislation in regard to the Children and Families Act 2014. We have policies and procedures in place to request and support flexible working which are communicated to all employees and people managers; all policies are available to all sta¦ via our company intranet. Each request is reviewed and considered on a case by case basis and will be accommodated where possible against business requirements. Pensions Since November 2013, as introduced by the Government, we have auto-enrolled all employees on our pension scheme taking into consideration age and income criteria. In addition, we rolled out a second auto enrol programme in 2016 in order to fulfil our legal obligation and the next one is due in 2019. In 2018 there will be a Government increase in contribution levels and Whistl will adopt this as part of our legal responsibility to employees.
Reward principles One of our key reward principles is to ensure pay is fair, equitable and competitive regardless of gender. Bonuses are linked to individual performance and or company targets, supporting a pay-for-performance culture. Employee Engagement We conduct an annual engagement survey and in 2017 we had a 78% positive response to the statement “I believe Whistl is committed to equal opportunities for all its employees” and we achieved an Investors in People Bronze Award in 2016. We take equal opportunities seriously and promote a culture of continuous improvement. Employees can also feedback via our site-based employee forums. Succession planning and talent management We have designed and are delivering a career development programme called LEAP which is specifically designed to equip colleagues with the knowledge and skills to be successful as a leader and manager either in their current role or in preparation for the next step in their career. The programme combines formal workshops, self-led learning, application and reflection activities focused around the behaviours set out in the competency framework. Since inception in 2015, 68 employees have graduated from one of our LEAP courses, 57% Female and 43% Male. Trade Union Representation & National Living Wage To ensure our workforce is fairly treated and represented, we have engaged with the trade union, Community, since January 2012. Community has a network of representatives across all of our sortation depots. From 1 April 2016, we adopted the new National Living Wage. Although the National Living Wage applies to individuals over 25, through working with Community, we agreed to apply this rate to all employees, regardless of age. E¦ective April 2017, we paid all employees above the announced National Living Wage. Additional Benefits To further support employee engagement and support a work-life balance, we have partnered with You at Work/Plus You to provide employees with preferential shopping and membership discounts across a wide range of goods and services across the UK. Employees are able to access these discounts and special o¦ers from home or at work via the Plus You website. Work-Life Balance We o¦er an Employee Assistance Program, partnering with Unum LifeWorks, to support our employees with their emotional wellbeing and work life balance. This is a free of charge service to support our employees with a wealth of resources covering life, health, family, work, money and life changes.
Corporate Responsibility | Whistl Annual Report 2017
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