Commitment to our customers
We place the needs of customers at the heart of our day-to-day operations. With a commitment from the Board, fairness to customers is a key consideration and objective at all stages of the lifetime of a loan.
Training and development
The Group has been accredited under the 'Investors in People' scheme since 1997. This demonstrates our commitment to the training and development of employees.
The appraisal system is designed to assist employees in developing their careers and to identify and provide appropriate training opportunities, with all employees receiving a review at least annually.
The corporate training and development strategy focuses on providing opportunities to develop all staff and is central to the achievement of the Group’s business objectives. On average employees received 8.1 days training in the year (2008: 6.8 days).
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Equality and diversity
We are committed to providing a working environment in which our employees feel valued and respected and are able to contribute to the success of the business, and to employing a workforce that recognises the diversity of customers. Employees are requested to co-operate with the Group's efforts to ensure the policy is fully implemented.
Our aim is that our employees should be able to work in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and bullying, and that employees, job applicants, customers, retailers, business introducers and suppliers should be treated fairly regardless of:
- race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), ethnic or national origins
- gender, sexual orientation, marital or family status
- religious or political beliefs or affiliations
- disability, impairment or age
- real or suspected infection with HIV/AIDS
- membership of a trade union
and that they should not be disadvantaged by unjust or unfair conditions or requirements.
When responding to changes in its business, the Group seeks to minimise the requirement for compulsory redundancy, retraining and redeploying staff wherever possible.
Composition of the workforce is reviewed on an annual basis and employee satisfaction with equality of opportunity is monitored as part of the regular employee feedback surveys. Human Resources policies are reviewed regularly to ensure that they are non-discriminatory and promote equality of opportunity. In particular, recruitment, selection, promotion, training and development policies and practices are monitored to ensure that all employees have the opportunity to train and develop according to their abilities.
Information on the composition of the workforce at the year end is summarised below:
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Employees' involvement
The directors recognise the benefit of keeping employees informed of the progress of the business. The Group sponsors a Staff Forum, attended by elected staff representatives from each area of the business, which exists primarily to facilitate communication and dissemination of information throughout the Group and provides a means by which employees can be consulted on matters affecting them.
Our employees are provided with regular information on the performance and plans of the Group, and the financial and economic factors affecting it, through information circulars and presentations.
We operate a Sharesave share option scheme and a profit sharing scheme, both of which enable eligible employees to benefit from the performance of the business.
The directors encourage employee involvement at all levels through the staff appraisal process and communication between directors, managers, teams and individual employees.
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Environmental policy
The Group is engaged in mortgage and consumer finance and therefore its overall environmental impact is considered to be low. The main environmental impacts for the Group are limited to universal environmental issues such as resource use, procurement in offices and staff and business travel.
The Group complies with all applicable laws and regulations relating to the environment and operates a Green Charter, which:
The Green Charter is kept under continuous review by the Facilities team.
All of the Group’s paper based stationary is procured from FSC certified suppliers.
The Group has been involved in no prosecutions, accidents or similar non-compliances in respect of environmental matters.
The environmental key performance indicators for the Group, determined in accordance with the Reporting Guidelines published by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 2006 are set out below.
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Health and Safety policy
It is the Group’s policy to comply with the terms of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and subsequent legislation, and to provide and maintain a healthy and safe working environment. The health and safety objective of the Group is to minimise the number of instances of occupational accidents and illnesses and ultimately achieve an accident-free workplace.
The Group recognises and accepts its duty to protect the health and safety of all visitors to its premises, including contractors and temporary workers, as well as any members of the public who might be affected by our operations.
While the management of the Group will do all within its power to ensure the health and safety of its employees, it is recognised that health and safety at work is the responsibility of each and every individual associated with the Group. It is the duty of each employee to take reasonable care of their own and other people’s welfare and to report any situation which may pose a threat to the well-being of any other person.
Health and safety policies and procedures are managed by the Group Services Division who liaise with senior management and Human Resources as necessary. External consultants are employed and regular meetings are held with Group Property Services. The consultants also attend senior management meetings twice a year.
All employees are provided with such equipment, information, training and supervision as is necessary to implement the policy in order to achieve the above stated objective. The Group makes available such finances and resources deemed reasonable to implement this policy.
All injuries, however small, sustained by a person at work must be reported. Accident records are crucial to the effective monitoring and revision of the policy and must therefore be accurate and comprehensive.
The Group recognises the civil and moral need to ensure that all employees adhere to this health and safety policy and is prepared to invoke the disciplinary procedure in case of any deliberate disregard for the health and safety policy.
The Group’s health and safety policy is continually monitored and updated, particularly when changes in the scale or nature of our operations occur. The policy is updated at least every twelve months.
A six monthly health and safety report is produced by Head of Group Services for the Senior Management Group. Consultants are employed to present annually at the Senior Management Group meeting to discuss any health and safety issues or concerns and to summarise the Groups current status.
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Charitable contributions
The Group contributes to registered charities relating to financial services or serving the local communities in which it operates. Included in the charitable contributions shown in the Directors’ Report are contributions of £36,792 (2008: £49,806) made by the Group to the work of the Foundation for Credit Counselling which operates the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. The Group has also contributed to charities throughout the year by way of single donations.
The Group’s main objective is to support children’s and local charities although no charity request is overlooked. During the last year the Group has helped many and varied charities and causes such as: Youth Speaks, Light Hall School, Transplant Active, Pathway Project, Downs Syndrome Swimming, Second Chance, Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, Happy Days, Stroke Association, Mencap, Action for Sick Children, British Blind Sport, Children’s Cancer Care, Disability Challenge, Brainwaive, Make a Wish Foundation, The Jennifer Trust, Reality Adventure Works in Scotland, Shirley Lions Club, Lupus and Playbox.
The Group also supports Paragon’s Charity Committee, consisting of volunteer employees, which organises a variety of fundraising activities throughout the year, raising in the region of £10,000 for the employees’ chosen charity. All employees are given the opportunity to nominate a charity and a vote is carried out to select the beneficiary of the year’s fundraising.
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