JUST GROUP PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2020
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Section 172 – Examples of decisions during the year
This report assesses how the Directors have taken into consideration the Company’s business relationships with various key stakeholders. It also explores how the Directors have engaged with colleagues across the Group and how the principal decisions taken by the Board may impact them.
S172 FACTOR/ KEY STAKEHOLDERS
AREA OF DECISION
MATTER CONSIDERED
WHAT WE DID
The Board considered and pledged to build a culture at Just which has diversity and inclusion at its core.
The Board is responsible for the ongoing oversight and challenge of the actions taken to fulfil its pledge on diversity and inclusion. Just has prioritised gender diversity since signing up to the Women in Finance Charter in 2018, pledging that 33% of our senior leaders will be female by 2023. Further details on the progress can be found on page 70. During the year, a key focus was on broadening our diversity and inclusion strategy. This included increasing diverse representation, particularly at senior levels within the organisation, strengthening leadership focus and accountability for diversity and inclusion, ensuring all groups have equal opportunity for progression and development, educating on unconscious bias and helping to strengthen our inclusive culture, and fostering belonging through supporting colleagues to be themselves. These areas of focus are based on recommendations from external bodies and insights from colleague focus groups held during the year. Details of this strategy can be found on page 43. The Board adopted a new diversity policy which includes references to the Board’s commitment to improve both the gender and ethnic diversity of the Board which is in line with the Hampton-Alexander and Parker Reviews. During the year Michelle Cracknell assumed joint responsibility for championing colleague engagement activities with Steve Melcher. Colleagues were invited to attend a series of virtual engagement sessions with Non- Executive Directors branded as “Conversations with the Board” during the year, which were framed around various themes and topics including the impact of COVID-19, diversity and inclusion, and the challenges and opportunities for our business. At all sessions, colleagues had the opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions on any matters of interest to them to give the Directors visibility of any “hot topics” which required the attention of the Board. The Group Chief Executive Officer held a series of town halls during 2020 to reiterate the Group’s purpose and strategic objectives, and to provide general business updates. Feedback from colleagues on matters such as wellbeing and job satisfaction was gathered through various means including surveys and focus group sessions during the year. We have been accredited as a 2 star organisation (representing outstanding levels of engagement) via the Best Companies Index, which is our highest level of employee engagement since starting to take part in the survey in 2009. The Remuneration Committee, on behalf of the Board, considered the remuneration policy and changes to it from the perspective of the Group’s purpose and aligning the interests of management with that of stakeholders. In particular whether the new policy would drive behaviours and help meet the strategic objectives especially with regard to organic capital generation. The new policy has been developed based on guidance fromUK regulators on best practice and after extensive interaction with major investors, who were consulted on the proposed changes. A resolution was passed by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in May 2020 to approve the policy recommended by the Remuneration Committee.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
COLLEAGUES
Based on the strategic priority “Be proud to work at Just”, the Board considered a programme of activity to ensure that it had opportunities to engage with colleagues through meaningful, regular dialogue.
COLLEAGUE ENGAGEMENT
COLLEAGUES
Every three years the Group is required to ask shareholders to approve the policy for Directors’ remuneration.
DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION POLICY
SHAREHOLDERS
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