Our people in EMEA

Gender

Women in Finance Charter

SMBC Group strongly supports the business case for gender equality and value diversity as an integral part of driving business performance and growth.

SMBCE is a proud signatory of the Women in Finance Charter and has set a target to increase female representation in senior roles to 30% by 2022.

When we signed up to the Charter in March 2017 we had 22.7% female representation. As of July 2019 we have 27.7% female representation in senior management. We believe we are on track to meet our Charter target by our deadline.

Gender pay gap

SMBC Group welcomes gender pay gap legislation and the increased transparency it brings. In the UK, all companies with 250 employees or more are required to publish their gender pay gap under legislation that came into force in 2017.

^PDF Gender pay gap report (SMBCE – 2018)

^PDF Gender pay gap report (SMBCE – 2017)

Elevate

We are proud to run Elevate, a leadership development programme specifically for females in senior roles to enhance diverse leadership across SMBC Group. The core focus of this programme is on understanding and exploring leadership identity, influence and networks, supplemented by a 12-month mentoring programme.

Disability

We are committed to attracting the best talent to SMBC Group and ensure all employees have the right workplace adjustments in place to ensure they can reach their full potential. We are currently working with a specialist organisation to build greater inclusion for current and future employees with a disability or health condition and build knowledge and awareness internally for colleagues and line managers.

Wellbeing and mental health

SMBC Group understands the impact that mental wellbeing can have on an individual’s daily life. We have therefore taken steps so that we have the relevant resources to appropriately guide any employee who may be suffering with mental health to ensure that they receive the correct advice and guidance.

The recent introduction of trained mental health first aiders (MHFAs) is an important part of our wellbeing framework. These individuals have volunteered from across the business and have all successfully completed a two-day course accredited by Mental Health First Aid England. MHFAs are not trained to be therapists or psychiatrists but they can offer initial support through non-judgemental listening and guidance.

A further vital tool offered to all employees is our employee assistance programme, which is a confidential helpline available 24/7 offering assistance, support and face-to-face counselling when required by our employees. In addition to this, regular stress awareness and mental wellbeing workshops are being rolled out to employees and line managers.

We operate across a number of countries and our wellbeing framework may vary across these locations depending on local requirements and partnerships.

Inclusive benefits

SMBC Group is committed to supporting employees in different roles, environments and life stages. We realise that juggling the demands of work and family, changes in life can be difficult at times and will sometimes require extra support, particularly in an emergency.

We offer a number of inclusive core and flexible benefits to employees

• Agile working
• Flexible working
• Life assurance, occupational sick pay and private medical insurance
• Enhanced paid leave for maternity, paternity and adoption, and shared parental leave and IVF support
• Emergency backup care for children and eldercare
• Employee volunteering opportunities as part of our corporate social responsibility
• Employee assistance programme
• Access to trained mental health first aiders.

In the UK, SMBC Group partners with My Family Care, a specialist provider of family friendly employee benefits, to provide employees with support and resources. We operate across a number of countries and our core and flexible benefits may vary across these locations depending on local requirements and partnerships.

Partnerships and memberships

We work with a number of specialist partners to support our diversity and inclusion aims