Valuing Our Employees
Our success as a business depends on us investing in our employees. We are committed to valuing our employees and helping them to achieve their full potential.
Key Developments in 2007/08
- Continued refinement of our safety programme, Injury Prevention.
- Employee injuries reduced.
- A stronger Group-wide people management structure achieved through the appointment of a Group Human Resources Director and Executive Vice President of Human Resources in North America.
- Compliance Monitoring Program established in North America to monitor the implementation of our Freedom of Association Policy.
- Signed the UK Government's Skills Pledge committing us to support our employees in developing basic skills including literacy and numeracy.
- Conducted our first employee opinion survey across the business in North America.
- Further enhanced learning and development opportunities for our employees.
As the business continues to grow, the effectiveness of our people management strategy becomes increasingly important. We have therefore significantly strengthened our central human resources team. The team will assist in building a Group-wide framework that ensures we communicate effectively and build common values across a growing and geographically diverse workforce.
This year we will focus particularly on North America to ensure effective integration of the new businesses. A North America people strategy has been developed to enhance employee satisfaction via appropriate benefit schemes and management support within the business. In addition, we have recently completed our first employee opinion survey. The results will allow us to gauge current satisfaction levels and will assist us to develop action plans for implementing the people strategy.
In the UK we continue to find new ways of helping our employees to reach their full potential. Development programmes including leadership and vocational training are available for all our people, from apprentices to managing directors. We also continue to grow our well-established network of award-winning workplace learning centres that now have an additional focus on the Skills for Life agenda.
In the UK we actively involve our employees in the management of the business. An employee director sits on our plc Board. Two thirds of our UK operating company boards also have employee directors. Our aim is for UK employees to be represented through an employee director in all our operating companies.
Employee rights
It is essential that the rights of our employees are respected in the workplace. Our employees are free to choose whether or not to be represented by a trade union without influence or interference. We do not discriminate against any employee for organising or engaging in union activities, or otherwise supporting a union.
In North America employees choose whether or not they wish to be represented by a trade union through a secret ballot. This helps to ensure that they are not vulnerable to intimidation or abuse. The ballots are run independently by the National Labor Relations Board. Four independent observers assess whether the ballots are fair and free of management interference by observing the ballot and interviewing employees. The observers report directly to the Executive Management and plc Boards.
To provide further reassurance that employee rights are protected we established an independent Compliance Monitoring Program in late 2007. Any employee who believes there has been a violation of our Freedom of Association Policy in North America can issue a complaint. Complaints will be referred to Professor William Gould of Stanford Law School in California. Professor Gould is a former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board and was appointed to the role by President Bill Clinton. He will investigate the matter and report to both the complainant and to the Company on the outcome.
These combined processes provide a robust framework to alert us promptly of any alleged breaches in policy so that they may be addressed immediately.
Further information about our people management strategy can be found by following the links below: