ESG Report 2023 Digital Final - Flipbook - Page 11
03/GOVERNANCE
Staff Wellbeing
Criteria # and Type
Criteria
Measurement
Unit
C36 - Core
Are there any current executives on the
Remuneration Committee?
Yes/ No
No
C37 - Core
Has a succession plan been provided to the
board in the last 12 months?
Yes/ No
Yes
C38 - Core
For how many years has the housing
provider’s current external audit partner been
responsible for auditing the accounts?
Number of whole years
2
C39 - Core
When was the last independently-run, boardeffectiveness review?
Date (month/year)
February 2022
C40 - Core
Are the roles of the chair of the board and
CEO held by two different people?
Yes/ No
Yes
C41 - Core
C42 - Core
How does the housing
provider handle conflicts
of interest at the board?
Does the housing provider
pay the Real Living Wage?
Conflicts declared at
the meeting and those
involved do not take part
in discussion or voting. All
conflicts are recorded in
minutes and reported to
the Department annually.
C44 - ENHANCED
What is the CEO: medianworker pay ratio?
5:1
Total annual CEO
remuneration divided
by annual median
working remuneration
YES/NO
YES
C43 - Core
What is the median
gender pay gap?
26% gap.
In the absence of legislation
in place in Northern Ireland,
and therefore a lack of local
comparative data, we have
used the ONS methodology
in this report as this allows
for comparison with the ONS
Northern Ireland data set.
The ONS use a different
calculation method for Gender Pay
Reporting. The ONS differentiate
between full-time and part-time
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Choice Environmental, Social and Governance Report
Response
experienced a mental
health issue and can
signpost to sources of
help. Choice has recently
introduced Menopause
Champions to help and
support staff.
C45 - ENHANCED
employees. They do not employ
the concept of “full-pay relevant
employees” and therefore do
not exclude these from the
calculations.
This difference in methodology
does give rise to some confusion
when trying to answer the
question “ What is the average
gender pay Gap in the UK? “
For example ONS state that in
April 2022 the gap for full time
employees is 8.3%, however the
UK pay gap data set shows the
gap as 12.2%.
Using the ONS methodology
the data shows that our median
Gender Pay Gap is 26%, with our
mean gap being 15%. The median
gap reduces to 2% with the
mean gap reduceing to 11%, if we
look only at full-time employees.
This taken together with the
quartile distribution of staff clearly
indicates that our primary gender
pay issue is tied to the large
number of female employees who
work in part-time roles which are
concentrated at the lower end of
our pay scales.
How does the housing provider
support the physical and mental
health of their staff?
•
•
Health Cash Plan - Choice
pay for Level 1 cover for
employees and their
children. The Health Cash
Plan provides a range
of positive healthcare
benefits e.g. medical,
dental, health screenings,
eye care, alternative and
complimentary therapies as
well as counselling.
•
Personal Protection
Equipment is provided for
roles which are applicable.
•
All lone workers have
access to people safe
app which is a personal
protective system for out
of office use.
•
Generous leave
entitlement.
C46 - ENHANCED
What is the average
number of sick days (both
long and short term) taken
per employee?
8.1
Number of days
Choice have trained and
dedicated Health and
Wellbeing Champions whose
aim is to improve workplace
health and provide wellbeing
support for all staff. Choice
also have in place Mental
Health First Aiders, who
provides a point of contract
for an employee who is
Supply Chain
C47 - ENHANCED
How is Social Value creation
considered when procuring
goods and services?
Procurement Plans for Supplies,
Services and Construction
are developed in line with
PPNO1/21 Scoring Social
Value and are reflected in all
ITT documentation for above
threshold procurements. In
respect of below threshold
procurements, Social Value
clauses are included as part
contruction contracts with the
appointed Contractor expected to
deliver social value initiatives to a
minimum value of 100 points per
£1,000,000 of contract value (or
pro-rata).
Choice requests that where
contracts include social value
elements, they are registered
with Strategic Investment Board
via their portal to enable delivery
to be tracked.
C48 - ENHANCED
How is Environmental impact
considered when procuring
goods and services?
Social Value themes and
indicators reflect both social,
environmental and ethical
aspects in terms of zero carbon,
ethical and resilient supply
chains and increasing secure
employment and skills.
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Choice Environmental, Social and Governance Report