Our culture
We want O2 to have a culture of high performance, and one in which individual abilities are fostered and people can thrive in jobs and careers that they enjoy. Our approach is to have clear and open employment policies and we aim to apply them fairly and consistently.
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Labour Organisation Declarations guide our employment policies. In 2003 we benchmarked all our employment policies against these universal codes to ensure our compliance and we have established a human rights policy that cements our approach to this. Our Group security department has been trained in human rights with regards to investigative practices.
We aim to treat everyone fairly, impartially and without prejudice, regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnicity, religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability or caring responsibilities. We do not allow child, forced or compulsory labour in our organisation.
We have a complaints procedure that guides employees in any situation of grievance. Issues can, for example, refer to discrimination, promotion, pay, management or job description. We aim to ensure that every case that is reported to the HR department is reviewed to determine if there is any necessary follow-up action. We monitor discrimination cases carefully and aim to improve our performance where possible.
In the UK an employment tribunal suggested we review our policies to include a capability process. In response to this recommendation, and to ensure our policies were up to date with legislative changes, we launched a new Conduct, Attendance and Performance policy which includes a capability process (ie, a way of ensuring that a person's skills could be upgraded to fit them for promotion). At the same time we introduced both an individual and line manager's guide to ensure everyone was clear on what is expected of them.
We aim to offer competitive rewards and the opportunity for eligible employees to participate in sharesave, share ownership and option plans. Employee benefits often extend beyond statutory requirements. For instance: in the UK we offer each permanent employee the opportunity to join the O2 Pension Plan, and to benefit from life and personal accident insurance. Middle and senior managers can also enjoy the benefits of the Company's car scheme and health care plan. In 2004/05 the Group employment costs were £613 million.
