Corporate Responsibility

We encourage employees to develop a balance between their personal and professional lives through our work options policy. This gives staff the opportunity to adopt flexible working practices like job sharing, varied hours, tele-working and reduced hours where it is practicable for our business.

Equality and Diversity

To create an inclusive working environment and embrace the diversity of our workforce we have in place a comprehensive diversity strategy. We routinely undertake research to identify key issues and build activities into our work programmes and are considered leaders in the field of good diversity employment practice. Examples include:

• A comprehensive package of policies to support working parents; guidance packs for pregnant women and their line managers; information booklets to support fathers.
• The Lloyds TSB Group women’s network is one of the largest and longest established in the UK. 
• The Lloyds TSB Group participates annually in the Race for Opportunity national benchmarking survey and we use the feedback to inform our race work programme for the forthcoming year. 
• We work closely with the Employers Forum on Disability to help inform and shape our disability work. Our initiatives include a personal development programme for disabled staff, a process to make work-place adjustment for disabled staff who need them, accessibility standards as an integral part of all IT developments and we support an employee-led network for disabled staff.
• In 2006 we launched our sexual orientation strategy and now have in place an employee-led network for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) staff.  We work closely with Stonewall.  The business has also responded to the implications of the Civil Partnership Act and the forthcoming goods and services legislation.

Trade unions and representation

Many of our employees are represented by two recognised trade unions, which are consulted regularly.

Health and Safety

The health and safety of our employees in the workplace is one of our top priorities. Scottish Widows’ Health & Safety policies are enhanced by a range of support services and resources including workstation assessments and stress management programme.