United Utilities is a socially responsible company, and supporting our employees is a priority.
In 2008 our support via employee fundraising and matched funding amounted to around £167,800, with an additional £16,250 donated via our community grant programme. This represents an increase on last year’s figure and is testament to our employees’ efforts in fundraising and volunteering work in their local communities.
We recognise that a positive workforce is a productive workforce and that many of our people take part in community based activities.
Employee volunteering is just one of the ways in which we support people and we operate five main company-wide schemes to support charitable giving and engagement in local communities:
- Community grant – employees who spend more than 80 hours per year working in your local community or with charities, on a voluntary basis in your own time can apply for a grant of £250 (subject to an overall budget of £100k)
- Matched funding – where the company matches individual employee fundraising (up to a maximum of £250, and subject to an overall budget of £100k)
- Olympic recognised sport grant – this is a new scheme for 2009. Employees who spend more than 200hrs a year representing their country nationally in an Olympic recognised sport, can apply for a grant of up to £1,000 (subject to an overall budget of £100k)
- Payroll giving – tax efficient giving to charity from salary
- Employee volunteering – community activity outside an employee's normal role, in company time as agreed by their manager, for the benefit of personal development or supporting business objectives
Volunteering is about giving time to do something positive. It can be a great way to meet new people, learn new skills and gain useful experience. The time employees spend volunteering directly contributes to our community commitment, which we account for and report on an annual basis.
Skills development through community work is a great opportunity to develop some vocational skills by working with the local community and helping out with a community group.
Effective community schemes for our employees can help our reputation and embed our values. Done well, we believe that this kind of company support sends a clear signal that we are interested in the communities we serve, and this could translate to day-to-day operations, to operational performance and customer service. At a very local level, volunteering can help connect our people with their communities, improving mutual understanding.