Employee giving

Can Do Giving

During the year we extended Can Do Giving, a Give as You Earn scheme in the UK, to our other businesses.

Can Do Giving is an easy way for employees to support their favourite charities by donating regularly through the payroll. Contributions in the UK and Ireland are exempt from tax and include a further 20 per cent donation from the O2 Group. In Germany, contributions are made from net pay.

During the year our target was to raise uptake of the Can Do Giving scheme to 5 per cent of our total workforce. In March 2006, this figure was 4.3 per cent.

In the UK, we introduced a new way for employees to donate to charity through our Pennies From Heaven scheme, where an individual’s monthly salary is rounded down to the nearest pound, and the spare pennies are donated to the charity Weston Spirit.

In Germany, where Can Do Giving was introduced in January 2006, 180 employees signed up to support one chosen charity, Alliance for Children Against Violence (Buendnis fuer Kinder gegen Gewalt) by the end of March.

In Ireland, Can Do Giving was introduced in October 2005. Through the scheme, we support three charities: Irish Autism Action, Chernobyl Childrens’Charity and AWARE – a charity that assists those with depression.

Payroll giving reached its highest levels during the year, following fantastic support for emergency relief after the South East Asia Tsunami and Asia Quake disasters.

In total, O2 employees gave £137,952 through the Can Do Giving scheme.

Can Do Matching

We encourage employees to give time and imagination to fundraising efforts of their own.

Can Do Matching supports all fundraising activities, including those personally supported by individuals or teams.

O2 matches funds raised by up to a total of £350.0 for an individual or £1,500 for a team.

The total amount raised through the Can Do Matching scheme during the financial year 2005/06 was £256,409. This includes employee donations and O2 matched funds. Over 100 charities received donations (105 in total).

The charities supported by these funds include prostate and breast cancer, Riding for the Disabled and the Samaritans, with international marathons featuring as a major fundraising theme.