SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION CONTINUED
Diversity and inclusion We are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all our employees. We believe that diversity is a strength and that everyone should be treated with respect, dignity and fairness. We are dedicated to providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, social background, religion, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, disabilities, political opinion, age, sensitive medical condition or trade union membership. We foster a culture that values diversity and inclusion, where everyone feels respected, empowered and appropriately rewarded. Our employment policies are fair, equitable and consistent with the skills and abilities of our employees and the needs of our businesses. Our policies aim to ensure that everyone is accorded equal opportunity for recruitment, training and promotion. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment or bias in the workplace, whether it be sexual, physical or psychological. We recognise that diverse perspectives and backgrounds are essential to driving innovation, creativity and growth in our business. Therefore, we are committed to improving the diversity of our workforce and management team by promoting from within and proactively managing our recruitment process. Our Board Diversity Policy sets out our aim to achieve a Board that is diverse, not only in gender and race, but also in cultural background, experience and expertise. Our Board Diversity Policy can be found on our website: www.discoverIEplc.com. See page 56 for further details of our diversity. With two female Non-Executive Directors (one of whom is the Senior Independent Director) and one Non-Executive Director from a non-white ethnic minority background, we have met our target of 33% female representation at Board level and our target of having at least one person from a non-white ethnic minority background on the Board. Gender diversity in the senior management team overall increased from 23% to 32% female. This increase was the result of a change in the management structure, under which operational Managing Directors now report to business unit directors, rather than directly to the GMC, reducing the number of roles held by men classified as senior management at Group level. We recognise that this does not represent a substantive improvement in gender diversity and remain focused on initiatives to encourage more female colleagues to develop into positions at more senior levels. Health and safety We are committed to providing healthy and safe working conditions across our operations. In addition to compliance with local regulations, discoverIE promotes working practices that protect the health, safety and well-being of its employees and other persons who enter its premises.
During FY 2025/26, we were delighted to achieve a lower LTIFR than in recent years, dropping to 0.16 incidents per 100,000 hours worked, despite the stricter definition of a lost time incident introduced in FY 2024/25. Our employees suffered 15 incidents that resulted in the loss of one working day or more. Although we are pleased by the reduction, we recognise the severity of the impact an accident at work can have on anyone who suffers from such incidents. We therefore continue in our ambition to reduce this rate to as close to zero as possible. In order to deepen our understanding of working patterns across the Group, and to support our engagement with employees, this year we have strengthened our reporting of working practices across our operating businesses. In addition to enhanced employee turnover information, we have also collected more detailed information on both employees’ working patterns and their pay relative to living wage standards. We hope in future to build upon these developments to further strengthen our due diligence around modern slavery risks, and to enable sharing of best practices between our different operations. We use the framework provided by ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) to support our health and safety management processes locally. 72% of the Group’s workforce work in operations with the accreditation (FY 2024/25: 73%), covering 21 of our 69 sites. The percentage of employees covered dropped 1% from last year due to the inclusion of new employees following our acquisition of Storm during the year. All sites with the accreditation retained their certifications, with 3,297 employees covered (FY 2024/25: 3,291). There have been no work-related fatalities in the last five years. Learning and development Our operating companies plan for short- and long-term employment needs and skills requirements. All employees are encouraged to actively engage in career development and training opportunities that are available across the Group. Employees are also supported in developing their skills through role-specific training, which is scheduled and tracked. The Group supports the learning and development of our employees through two digital channels. The first one is a series of webinars, covering a variety of topics, such as a technology deep dive, greenhouse gas emissions management, marketing and finance. The aim is to encourage knowledge and best practice sharing across the Group. The second is an online learning and development platform, which enables our operating businesses to manage their talent development and skill gaps, and our employees to take control of their learning experience. To date, ten operating businesses have adopted the platform. Time spent on learning per active user increased by 25% compared to the prior year.
Our People Our employees are the engine of our business. Although we do not believe that there are any over-arching social risks or opportunities with the ability to have a material financial impact on the Group as a whole, we recognise the fundamental importance of a healthy and fairly paid workforce. The people pillar of our sustainability strategy seeks to support the key social aspects of our business. Our culture At discoverIE, we believe that a strong culture is key to achieving our mission and supporting our values. Our culture is built on a foundation of respect, fairness, and equality. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their best work. Our targets ■ Maintain the proportion of our global workforce working in operations with ISO 45001 accreditation Our progress ■ 72% of employees covered by an ISO 45001 certification (FY 2024/25: 73%)
Our culture is characterised by: Diligence and determination:
We are dedicated to our work and take pride in delivering high-quality products and services to our customers. Customer-centricity: We prioritise our customers’ needs and work closely with them to develop innovative solutions that meet their requirements. Respect, fairness and courtesy: We treat our colleagues with respect, fairness and courtesy, recognising that everyone’s contributions are important to our success. Open and constructive communication: We believe in open and honest communication, with a willingness to listen and consider different perspectives. Diversity and inclusion: We value diversity and strive to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. High performance and target driven: We are go-getters, driven by a desire to achieve excellence in everything we do.
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discoverIE Group plc Innovative Electronics
Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2026
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