Race for Opportunity

Having achieved bronze standard in Race for Opportunity's annual benchmarking in 2004, Yorkshire Water benchmarked again in 2005, and achieved silver standard for its race and diversity performance.

Age Positive Award

Yorkshire Water continues to promote age diversity, and is keen to retain its reputation as an Age Positive Employer Champion and holder of the Age Positive England award by highlighting the benefits of a mixed-age workforce. This year, one of our apprentices appeared on Sky TV breakfast news. Other colleagues have featured in regional and national press in connection with the Department of Work and Pensions Age Positive campaigns.

Our strategy addresses a wide diversity agenda, and we look forward to reporting further successes across the diversity spectrum in the future.

Volunteering Plus course

18 Yorkshire Water colleagues took part in piloting a new course during 2005/6. Volunteering Plus is BitC's national employee volunteering accreditation offering two types of award for volunteers - certificates of recognition and certificates of accreditation. The programme has been designed to support and develop people by building learning outcomes from volunteering into their own personal and professional development.

Unison disability week

In November 2005, Yorkshire Water sponsored Unison’s National Disabled Member's Conference, as part of our commitment to diversity and partnerships with Trade Unions. This annual event brings together people from across the country - whether in utilities, local government or the police force - to look at the issues facing disabled people, particularly with regard to employment. This year, the new code of practice from the Disability Rights Commission was a major area of discussion. The code of practice enhances employers’ duties in service provision, so that any employer providing a public service has to provide access for everyone, going beyond the reaches of the Disability Discrimination Act. Rosie Pickard of Yorkshire Water ran a workshop at the conference that focused on issues affecting the water industry in particular.

HSE Safer Towns Campaign

This event focused on health and safety in the workplace and included the Health and Safety Executive, police, fire brigade, ambulance service, schools, gas, electricity and water utilities and local businesses. Yorkshire Water was approached in our capacity as one of the region’s largest businesses. We provided information on reservoir safety, bogus callers, building sites, flooding and drinking water quality. Free talks were provided with the aim of ensuring businesses are up to date with health and safety, and employees in the region were encouraged to drop in.

Water UK Clear Water 2010

Clear Water 2010 is the name of the water industry’s ten-year occupational health programme which promotes and implements the Government strategy ‘Securing Health Together (SH2)’. SH2 was launched in July 2000 to address the occupational health targets of the Health and Safety Commission’s ‘Revitalising Health and Safety’ programme. Five occupational health issues have been identified for the water industry to address. These are: musculo-skeletal discorders, hand-arm vibration syndrome, stress, work-related infections and noise-induced hearing loss. YW are participating in the initiative and have recently been included as a case study on Water UK’s website.

Women at work

In May 2006, we received an invitation to attend a ministerial breakfast in connection with Yorkshire Water's success in attracting females into historically segregated occupations, particularly through our apprentice, graduate and other ‘Clearly the Best’ project streams, as well as the work we are currently scoping with JIVE. JIVE (Joint Interventions) Partners is an exciting partnership of organisations in England, Wales and across Europe, working to challenge occupational segregation in the areas of Engineering, Construction and Technology.

Loop in Sunday Times Index

Loop has again been confirmed as one of the best places to work in the UK. Achieving 80th place, Loop has been recognised three years running in this prestigious index. The company was rated highly for its work-life balance policies, demonstrating Loop’s commitment to ensuring its employees are happy at work.

Loop’s ethos is about achieving “great customer experiences through great people”. Benefits are offered, ranging from pensions and Sharesave schemes, to adoption and fostering leave, grandparents’ leave and term-time working.

In the last year, Loop have also been named as the Customer Service Contact Centre of the Years in the National Customer Service Awards, and gained the judges’ special award at the European Call Centre Awards.

Performance Management

Yorkshire Water's new pay for performance scheme was launched in 2005. Employees now discuss performance with their manager on a quarterly basis, with the opportunity to benefit from a performance-related incentive each time. As part of a 5-year pay deal, a guaranteed cost of living annual increase has also been incorporated for everyone, with additional increases for those who demonstrate consistently high performance over the year. The scheme replaces the previous profit related pay and annual performance assessment schemes.