Involving and Supporting Employees
We are proud of the number of our employees who commit personal time and money to charities or community groups, and we operate a number of schemes aimed at supporting, encouraging and acknowledging them (see below). We are also committed to keeping our employees informed about what our CI programme is achieving, via emails, intranet, staff magazine and our Community Involvement Report.
Give as you Earn (GAYE)
This scheme assists our employees in their financial donations to charity, with Legal & General matching employees' contributions to their chosen charities, up to a maximum of £20 per month. During the final quarter of 2005 a campaign was held with a view to enhancing employees' awareness of the scheme and increasing the number of donors. As a result, employee participation in GAYE has risen to above the 10% level. This made Legal & General one of the first companies in the UK to receive the Payroll Giving Gold Award 2006, as part of a new Awards scheme funded by the Government and aimed at recognising companies' commitment to payroll giving.
The sum donated by employees to charities via the GAYE scheme in 2005 was £441,806 (including Legal & General's matching donations).
Number of Legal & General Give As You Earn Donors (2005 and 2004)
| Donors at 31 December 2005 |
Donors at 31 December 20041 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Employees | 877 | 651 |
| Pensioners | 46 | 40 |
| Total | 923 | 691 |
Legal & General Give As You Earn contribution (2005 and 2004)
| 2005 (£000's) | 2004 (£000's) | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal & General matching | 128 | 119 |
| Legal & General payment of administrative charges | 18 | 17 |
| Total Legal & General Give As You Earn contribution2 | 146 | 136 |
Notes
- Legal & General began contributing to the payroll giving scheme in April 2002.
- This figure is included in Legal & General's total Community contribution.
Community Awards - New Development
It's a high priority for us to recognise and reward staff members who devote time to helping their community or a favourite charity. In an exciting new development, this year we will be combining our Community Awards with our environmental 'Making a Difference' (MAD) Awards that were launched in 2005 (see 'Our Environment'). Instead of an annual two-week process, nominations can be received for a MAD Award at any time during the year, and a combined awards ceremony will be held at the end of the year to celebrate the achievements of our staff.
School Governors' Scheme
In order to support staff who devote time to serve as school governors, we donate £500 per annum to every school which has a Legal & General employee as a governor. 60 schools currently receive support in this way. A further £250 per annum is provided to schools with specific programmes to develop maths teaching or financial literacy.
Sponsorship Matching
Legal & General matches the first £750 per annum raised per employee for a charity or community group. 2005 saw an unprecedented increase in the number of employees applying for this grant, with over 450 matches during the year.
Pro Bono Support
During 2005, approximately £6,000 was contributed to current or retired Legal & General employees who, through no fault of their own, have fallen into financial difficulty.
