Fair Work First

We feel that the principles of Fair Work First fully align with our values, who we are as an organisation, and why we have been accredited as an Investors in People Platinum employer.

Trust provides multiple channels for employees to express their voice both individually and collectively. We encourage engagement and actively seek the involvement of employees at all levels across a broad range of initiatives, particularly those which impact them directly. 

• Our active Employee Forum group comprises Employee Representatives from across Trust and continues to play an important role in shaping organisational priorities and employee experience. The group has a strong working relationship with both the Leadership Team and Board. 

• Employee feedback also directly informs organisational priorities through engagement surveys, targeted consultation exercises and focus groups, including our ongoing review of Trust's employee offer.  

• We hold in-person and virtual events including Employee Roadshows, Virtual Townhalls, One Trust events, quarterly Operational Lead working sessions and regular team meetings.   In all of these, employee are encouraged to contribute ideas and engage beyond their immediate working group. 

• Managers and leaders operate an open and approachable culture from the CEO throughout the organisation, supported by regular performance and development review discussions, workplan check-ins and team dialogue. 

• Employees can be involved in working groups and cross-departmental projects that help shape strategy and priorities in areas such as wellbeing, onboarding, service design, digital and organisational improvement. 

• We use digital tools including Microsoft Teams, iTrust (our intranet) and collaborative platforms to support communication, connectivity and idea sharing across the organisation. 

• We also have clear policies and procedures that enable employees to raise concerns appropriately, including Whistleblowing and Grievance procedures.   

We are proud of our record of investing in the development of our people and supporting internal progression led by our dedicated Learning & Development team and supported by a wider cross-departmental learning network. 

• One of our organisational values is ‘Love to Learn’, reflecting our culture of continuous learning and improvement. 

• Our approach to learning and development supports continuous learning, professional development and career progression at all levels.   

• We offer blended learning opportunities include e-learning, classroom and virtual training, conferences and events, supported by coaching and on-the-job learning. 

• Our online learning platform and mandatory training programme help employees access the core learning required for their role and beyond, supporting both legal and statutory compliance alongside personal development. 

• We support professional qualifications, memberships and continued professional development aligned with professional practice, from SVQs through to chartered qualifications, where appropriate. 

• Our talent and succession programme aligns the growth of future capabilities with our organisational strategy, underpinning our future success.   

• We operate a Trust Staff Agency where individuals employed on Bank contracts can undertake work to provide short-term absence and vacancy cover. 

• These arrangements do not guarantee a set number of hours, but Trust does not use them inappropriately. Individuals choose to join the Bank because the flexibility suits their circumstances and there is no expectation that they accept shifts offered. 

• All Bank workers are paid at least the Real Living Wage, receive holiday pay, are protected from discrimination and are free to work for other employers. 

• Where a Bank worker prefers guaranteed hours, permanent contracts are often available for them to apply for. 

• Equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded within our policies, practices and decision making.  

• We undertake Equality Impact Assessments on key organisational activities and continue to gather workforce diversity data, where voluntarily provided, to help identify opportunities for improvement. 

• Our commitment to creating an inclusive workplace is further supported through mandatory EDI training for both employees and our Board members alongside initiatives and activities throughout the year to support a diverse range of needs and interests from neurodiversity, to men’s health, menopause and more. 

• We are a Disability Confident employer and are committed to fair and equal opportunity for people with disabilities to join and succeed at Trust. 

• We operate a fixed pay structure where each role is paid the same regardless of gender, and we publish our Gender Pay Gap Report annually. Our current mean gender pay gap is 0%. 

• Our Wellbeing Hub, Mental Health Supporters, Occupational Health provision and Counselling Service help us support the varied needs of our workforce. 

• We gather workforce and applicant diversity data where individuals choose to provide it, to help us understand representation and identify improvement opportunities. 

• We have also taken steps to encourage a broader and more diverse range of applicants and appointments to the Trust Board. 

Trust pays all directly employed and contracted colleagues at least the Real Living Wage and has done so since March 2023. 

This is supported through our contractual requirements and approach to pay parity for relevant external agency arrangements. 

Supporting our employees to be the best they can be means helping them achieve a reasonable balance between their work and personal lives, whatever that means to them. Over 80% of respondents to our 2024 Employee Engagement Survey agreed that Trust is a flexible employer and employees continue to tell us that it is one of the things they most value at Trust. 

Trust has a strong track record of supporting employees to work flexibly irrespective of role. Where employees want to work flexibly, we have constructive conversations about how arrangements and reasonable adjustments can work in practice. 

Our approach to flexible working is captured in the following policies and practices which apply as appropriate:  

• Flexible Working Policy 

• Flexitime  

• Holiday buy-back scheme (over and above statutory minimum holidays) 

• Hybrid/Blended Working 

• Compressed Hours  

• Part-time Working  
• A range of rota patterns appropriate to different services.    

We also have an extensive suite of family friendly policies and practices including:  

• Parental Leave  

• Paternity Leave  

• Shared Parental Leave 

• Maternity Leave 

• Adoption Leave  

• Special Leave  

• Neo Natal Care Leave  

Trust neither employs nor would endorse the use of Fire and Rehire Practice and commits to not engaging in this activity.  

Where we make necessary changes to our organisation in line with a legitimate business need, we consult with employees appropriately and support them to achieve the best possible outcome for both themselves and the business.   

All impacted employees, regardless of the nature of their contract of employment, are engaged in open dialogue and included in any consultation process.  Where appropriate, formal Employee Representatives will be elected.  

Trust’s approach to consultation is genuine and meaningful and this is clearly articulated in our Redundancy Policy.