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Measures and controls
Incident reporting
As an employer, we are required to report certain workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified occurrences as part of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013 regulations.
No lives have ever been lost due to our physical environment or work activity, and details on any RIDDORS and health and safety enforcement actions are disclosed in our Sustainability report. Incidences remain minor and few, and action is taken to address any mitigating factor.
Health and safety performance measures
Our health and safety scorecard provides quantitative targets for improving health and safety performance and to support the reduction of work accidents and incidents, their severity, and related absenteeism. It includes
- The premises people occupy: tracking statutory and regulatory compliance activity, as well as any enforcements and actions taken to prevent harm
- The physical environment within our premises: tracking risks with potential to cause or exacerbate ill health at work
- The roles that people carry out: tracking completion of our health and safety e-learning
- Incidents: tracking employee and public RIDDORs, and the number of days lost due to work-related incidents
Emergency response
Our processes for emergency response allow us to act with urgency if an incident occurs. For property, we have a Property Services Helpline, accessible through our intranet. We also have first aiders and mental health champions across the organisation to support our people and their health. We have 24/7 security monitoring to identify where action may be needed.
Our hybrid working policy
Our hybrid working policy has been developed with the support of the Nationwide Group Staff Union (NGSU). Our hybrid working policy combines the positive aspects of working flexibly, with the benefits of coming together regularly in our office spaces to share knowledge and skills, collaborate, and strengthen working relationships; all important for creating a healthy and high-performing culture. We continue to support a range of flexible working options, including part-time hours and job sharing.
Health and safety training
We conduct mandatory Health and Safety and Fire Safety online learning for all colleagues in administration buildings and branches. This learning covers hybrid working to ensure colleagues consider all hazards. Our annual Fire Safety online learning incorporates our new ways of working and the impact it can have on emergency evacuation. Both online learning modules routinely have a high completion rate.
Alongside these modules, we have a health and safety section on our intranet with support, guidance and links to our policies. We analyse our health and safety data to understand trends and emerging issues, and to update the guidance on our intranet and the training within our online learning.
The wellbeing of our colleagues
We provide training, guidance and support mechanisms for physical and mental wellbeing, including, for example, stress, menopause, domestic abuse, personal security, and many other vulnerabilities that impact our colleagues.
We analyse internal data, including work-related stress and absenteeism, and engagement channels to understand the impact these issues may be having on our colleagues and to inform any additional action we could be taking. More information on our approach to supporting our colleagues wellbeing can be found in our Sustainability report.
Assurance
Our health and safety risk assessments reflect common hazards associated with all working environments, including hybrid and home working. This helps colleagues to identify risk areas to address with their line managers.
We publish our risk assessments and related criteria on our intranet. Assessments are conducted for individuals, branches and administration centres.
Our external health and safety consultants conduct an audit, every five years, on how we manage health and safety under the managing for health and safety (HSG65) standards. The findings are submitted to our health and safety committee as part of our commitment to continually improving the performance of our Health and Safety Management System. HSG65 - (a Plan, Do, Check, Act approach) lays the foundation for achieving a balance between the systems and behavioural aspects of health and safety management. It treats health and safety management as an integral part of good management, generally, rather than as a stand-alone system.
We have measures in place to ensure our third parties operate to an expected level of health and safety. Our procurement and supplier onboarding processes include contractual requirements for health and safety. Our health and safety supplier testing gives specific focus to those who operate in, or on, our premises. Where appropriate, we take action to work with our suppliers to help to close any gaps.
Governance process
Health and safety at Nationwide is a key focus for the Executive Committee. Health and safety performance is governed by the health and safety committee, which reports into the Executive Committee and includes representation from the Nationwide Group Staff Union (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977). Health and safety forums sit beneath the committee; they support consultation with, and participation of, workers and their representatives.
A Health and Safety Performance and Proposal paper is presented annually to our Executive Committee and Board. This supports the prioritisation and integration of our action plans, which include quantified targets to address the relevant health and safety risks and evaluates our progress in reducing these risks against our targets.
Last updated May 2024