Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Working from homeEnhanced payShared parental leaveMaternityPaternity

Personnel Today Awards 2021: Financial Services Compensation Scheme commended as Family-Friendly Employer of the Year

by Personnel Today 16 Nov 2021
by Personnel Today 16 Nov 2021 The Financial Services Compensation Scheme collects their 2021 Family-Friendly Employer of the Year trophy
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme collects their 2021 Family-Friendly Employer of the Year trophy

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme was awarded the Family-Friendly Employer of the Year title at the 2021 Personnel Today Awards, which took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane. We take a look at its entry and those of our other finalists.

WINNER

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is committed to diversity and inclusion and believes a family-friendly approach is core to this aim.

Many of the benefits offered by FSCS are extended to family members, including health insurance that covers partners and children. There is a virtual GP service for employees’ children and specific advice for families available through its employee assistance programme. It is a member of Working Families and advertises roles on job boards where it can connect with candidates that want flexible working.

Its shared parental pay offer matches its enhanced maternity pay offer, which provides 100% of salary for weeks one to 20, statutory maternity pay for weeks 20 to 39 and unpaid leave for the remainder of the year. Enhanced paternity pay is also offered, with all employees able to take up to 20 weeks’ paid paternity leave for each child. The FSCS has seen 100% of fathers taking more than two weeks, and the majority using the full 20.

Being a family-friendly employer has helped FSCS achieve 62.5% female representation on its executive team and 54.5% female representation on the board in 2021. It has also seen its median gender pay gap reduce from 11.8% in March 2019 to 6.5% in March 2020. Ninety-one percent of employees say the organisation is an inclusive and caring employer.During the Covid-19 pandemic it increased its paid dependants’ leave from five to 20 days – this change has since been made permanent. It also offers other types of family leave, including adoption leave. Family-friendly activities form part of the organisation’s engagement plans, such as virtual cooking classes and a nature-themed scavenger hunt.

Judges said the organisation had gone beyond having “just an initiative” and had worked hard to embed its policies and empower staff to work flexibly.


RUNNERS-UP

Nest Corporation

Nest Corporation is the National Employment Savings Trust, the trustee of the government’s NEST occupational pension scheme. Its mission is to help millions of people enjoy a better retirement, and it employs 350 staff.

There are a range of employee benefits designed with families in mind, including a low-cost pension scheme, where Nest contributes 8%, and life assurance that pays a tax-free lump sum equal to four times basic salary. Staff can buy up to 10 extra days of leave per year on top of 25 days’ holiday, and flexible working arrangements such as compressed hours and job sharing are available.

The organisation offers enhanced shared parental leave, as well as six months’ full paid maternity leave. Returners can access professional coaching to help them settle back into the workplace. An annual “Hatchlings Day” offers a programme of educational activities for employees’ children. During the pandemic school closures, staff could borrow iPads from Nest to help children attend virtual classes.

Staff turnover at Nest is just 8%, compared to an average of 18% in the financial services sector, and 88% of employees would recommend it as a good place to work. Ninety-two percent are satisfied with the flexible working options available to them at the organisation.


Pets at Home Group

Pet retailer Pets at Home Group believes that “pets need people” and this shows in its commitment to family-friendly working.

The company’s family-friendly strategy began with a group-wide listening programme to find out what benefits were popular and what might be useful to introduce, as well as how the company could improve what it already offered. Colleagues said they would like more transparency on benefits (as in who qualified for what) and solid core benefits such as discounts, pensions and time off. There is now a family-centric online reward hub responding to these needs as well as offering financial wellbeing advice and a share scheme.

Flexible working arrangements have been improved, including split shifts so colleagues can manage childcare responsibilities, more flexible shifts, changes to working hours and the option to reduce hours. Family support leave gives colleagues five paid support days per year on top of their existing leave allowance. There is a new ‘friends and family’ contract that offers support for employees’ family members who are out of work or who were on furlough. Those with “four-legged family” are welcome to bring their pets to work.

Other benefits included a £50 Tesco voucher to help families buy Christmas dinner, a colleague hardship fund and support for managers to look after employees struggling with domestic responsibilities.

Diversity and inclusion opportunities on Personnel Today


Browse more Diversity and inclusion jobs

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Pandemic influenced gender pay gap reporting and results, says PwC
next post
Personnel Today Awards 2021: Health & Wellbeing Award (Private Sector) a boost for Elsevier and Kamwell

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Hybrid working: executives returning to office less than...

21 Apr 2022

Ban salary history questions: Andrew Bazeley talks to...

18 Mar 2022

IWD: We need to address bias, not women’s...

8 Mar 2022

Women and ethnic minorities suffer impact of juggling...

7 Mar 2022

Catherine Mann view of remote working dismissed as...

12 Nov 2021

Barriers to gender equality: Romanie Thomas talks to...

5 Nov 2021

Duchess of Sussex calls for federal paid parental...

21 Oct 2021

Employers turn down half of flexible work requests...

15 Oct 2021

Businesses praised – and shamed – over family-friendly...

7 Oct 2021

Day-one right to request flexible working consultation confirmed

23 Sep 2021
  • NSPCC revamps its learning strategy with child wellbeing at its heart PROMOTED | The NSPCC’s mission is to prevent abuse and neglect...Read more
  • Diversity versus inclusion: Why the difference matters PROMOTED | It’s possible for an environment to be diverse, but not inclusive...Read more
  • Five steps for organisations across the globe to become more skills-driven PROMOTED | The shift in the world of work has been felt across the globe...Read more
  • The future of workforce development PROMOTED | Northumbria University and partners share insight...Read more
  • Strathclyde Business School expands its Degree Apprenticeship offer in England PROMOTED | The University of Strathclyde is expanding its programmes...Read more
  • The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls PROMOTED | The Great Resignation continues unabated...Read more
  • Navigating the widening “Skills Confidence Gap” in 2022, and beyond PROMOTED | Cornerstone OnDemand conducted a global study...Read more
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+