Our policy is to offer competitive terms and conditions of
employment. We also have specific policies covering equality and
diversity, health and safety, and speaking up.
- Health and safety
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Irish Life & Permanent aims to ensure that all activities within the group promote the safety, health and welfare of all staff members. This is achieved through a proactive approach to ensuring that all existing safety, health and welfare requirements are met and that emerging issues are addressed having regard to industry best practise.
Our health and safety objective is to endeavour to provide, so far as is reasonably practicable, a safe and healthy work environment for our employees and to meet our duties to visitors, contractors and other persons who may come in contact with the work activities of the group. Examples of some of the best practice measures in place to achieve these objectives and promote awareness of health and safety issues include:
- Distributing employee health and safety handbooks to all staff;
- An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is in place. The objective of this service is to provide support to staff in addressing problems affecting their personal or working lives in situations where external professional counselling, could be of benefit;
- Business units, branches and individual workstations are audited regularly to identify potential hazards to the health and safety of individuals and groups;
- Specific health and safety training is provided in all areas of the Group;
- Emergency planning procedures are in place and are regularly tested for their adequacy;
- Irish Life & Permanent promotes healthy living through a wide range of leisure activities and educational programmes. Healthy lifestyle campaigns e.g. help to stop smoking, dietary awareness/ weight loss and healthy living are organised and promoted on a regular basis. Staff can avail of a fully equipped gym and a swimming pool. Healthy option meals are available in staff restaurants;
- As part of the induction programme all new employees receive a presentation and a booklet on health and safety.
- Equality and diversity
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Irish Life & Permanent is committed to the principle of equal opportunities for recruitment and employment. We believe that the recognition of individual ability, the absence of discrimination, both overt and institutionalised, and the promotion of positive attitudes towards diversity will result in the best use of our employees’ talents and skills.
A formal policy is in place to comply with the Employment Equality Act (1998) which states that all staff members should work in an environment free from all kinds of inequality. Discrimination on nine grounds is outlawed: gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race and membership of the traveller community.
Irish Life & Permanent strives to maintain the principle of equality with regard to access to employment, conditions of employment, training and promotion as well as equal pay for equal work as provided for in the 1998 Act. A dignity and respect in the workplace policy document is in place and we ensure all allegations of inequality are treated seriously at all stages and with due regard to the dignity, respect and confidence of all concerned, rules of natural justice and group grievance and disciplinary policies.
The recruitment and selection policy makes particular reference to the requirement to comply with the company’s policy on equality.
We have a Group Equality and Diversity Officer who monitors and reports to the HR senior management team on areas requiring improvement and focus for future action planning.
Alternative working arrangements such as, career breaks, sabbaticals, part-time working and job-sharing options, encourage our employees to remain with Irish Life & Permanent during periods in their lives when they find it difficult to work conventionally.
- Recruitment and retention
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Irish Life & Permanent aims to attract, retain and motivate the right people with the right skills in the right roles. When recruiting we seek to attract and select the best person for the role. Positions are advertised internally and externally and candidates are selected based on job-related criteria and their ability to deliver the accountabilities of the position.
We ensure that the provisions of our equal opportunities and diversity policy are met in all our assessment and selection processes.
The retention of employees is aided by our competitive and fair reward policies.
- Remuneration and rewards
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Our policy is to offer attractive and competitive remuneration packages to our staff, where performance is recognised and rewarded and where staff can share in the increased value of the group.
Salary and pay
Rates of pay are competitive and include performance-related bonuses and profit-sharing.
Share schemes
The group operates share option and profit-sharing schemes for staff.
Benefits
These include an excellent pension scheme, free banking, subsidised loans, generous annual leave, flexible working hours, subsidised staff restaurant, support and reward for further education, a fully-equipped recreation centre and swimming pool and a lot more.
Career progression
As a large group we can offer a wide range of promotion opportunities. These are filled on the basis of ability and performance, with open competition for promotional positions as they arise.
- Training and development
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Training and development opportunities are available to all our employees. We believe that it is essential for our business, and the development of our employees, that effective training and development activities are in place. Personal development forms an integral part of the performance management process for employees across the group.
Examples of the best practice from our training and development programme include:
- A rigorous training needs analysis process which helps to identify the technical/personal skills training required and links with the training requirements of the business unit;
- Internal consultancy services to provide development and training solutions for issues of strategic business importance;
- Bespoke management development programmes for all parts of the group;
- E-learning facility, to allow people the opportunity to do computer training e.g. ECDL, Microsoft office suite etc. at a pace that suits them;
- A corporate MBA, in conjunction with Dublin City University;
- Training for all Managers in the sensitive handling of staff issues such as stress, absenteeism, bullying and harassment.
The training division with our Human Resources function is responsible for the provision of training and development across the group and uses both internal and external resources and expertise as required.
- Disability policy
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IL&P practices a policy of equal opportunities for all staff regardless of ethnic origin, marital status, family status, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, membership of the travelling community or disability. The purpose of this code of practice is to provide a clear statement of this policy in relation to people with disabilities.
IL&P proposes to base its approach to the achievement of equality of opportunity in the workplace for persons with disability on the following guiding principles:
- Creation of a work culture which focuses on the relevant abilities of staff and not disabilities;
- Group HR will ensure that recruitment, selection and promotion criteria are framed to encourage the greater inclusion of people with disabilities;
- Group HR will ensure that training and development opportunities are designed and delivered with a focus on including people with disabilities;
- Practical facilitation of people with disability to avail of employment and career opportunities insofar as it is reasonable;
- Every effort will be made to retain staff who acquire a disability during their working life with IL&P.
- Speaking up policy
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We have a Speaking Up policy in place across the group. The purpose of the policy is to allow staff to raise any concerns that they have about wrongdoing and to have those concerns listened to and investigated with complete confidentiality.