HEALTH & SAFETY
We aim to provide clean, healthy and safe working conditions. In addition to compliance with local regulations, discoverIE promotes working practices which protect the health and safety of its employees and other persons who enter its premises.
During FY2025 we continued to emphasise the importance of health and safety training, conducting over 20,000 hours of training across the Group, equivalent to more than four hours per employee.
Our commitment to ensuring that none of our colleagues are injured at work was reinforced in FY2025 as we revised our definition of a 'lost time incident' (LTI) to be more stringent. Our definition of an LTI is now any incident or accident which results in an employee being unable to return to work the following day (previously five days or more). This brings our definition in line with industry best practice.
Three sites achieved ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) accreditation in FY2025, which means that 73% of the Group's workforce now works in operations with the accreditation.
There have been no work-related fatalities in the last five years.
See our latest progress in Our Performance.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
We are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all our employees. We believe that diversity is a strength, and that everyone should be treated with respect, dignity and fairness. We are dedicated to providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their gender, race/ethnicity, social background, religion, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, disabilities, political opinion, age, sensitive medical condition or trade union membership. We aim to foster a culture that values diversity and inclusion, where everyone feels respected, empowered and appropriately rewarded.
Our employment policies are fair, equitable and consistent with the skills and abilities of our employees and the needs of our businesses. Our policies aim to ensure that everyone is afforded equal opportunity for recruitment, training and promotion. We do note tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment or bias in the workplace, whether it be sexual, physical or mental.
We recognise that diverse perspectives and backgrounds are essential to driving innovation, creativity and growth in our business. Therefore, we are committed to improving the diversity of our workforce and management team by promoting from within and proactively managing our recruitment process.
Our Board Diversity Policy can be found here.
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Our businesses are proactive in anticipating both short and long term employment needs and skills requirements. All employees are encouraged to actively engage in their career development and training opportunities are available across the Group. We provide technical training to our employees, as relevant for their role. This is scheduled and tracked.
Our employees are actively encouraged to undertake further learning, such as National Vocational Qualifications or similar level courses, as well as continual professional development to maintain any relevant professional accreditations. The Group supports the learning and development of our employees through various initiatives. For example, the 'discoverIE Connected' series of webinars which covers a variety of topics such as greenhouse gas emissions management, marketing and finance, and technology deep-dives. The aim is to encourage knowledge and best practice sharing across the Group. The Group also has an online learning and development platform, which enables our operating businesses to manage their talent development and skills gaps, and our employees to take control of their learning experience. The vast majority of employees receive annual performance appraisals, which include identifying their development needs.
RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION
Clear, fair and competitive terms of employment are in place. It is Group policy to communicate with employees on major matters to encourage them to take an interest in the affairs of their employing company and the Group. Each operating business is encouraged to maintain effective employee engagement arrangements, including keeping employees aware of the financial and economic factors affecting their employing company’s performance.
The Group remains supportive of the employment and advancement of disabled persons. Full consideration is given to applications for employment from disabled persons, where the candidate’s particular aptitudes and abilities are consistent with meeting adequately the requirements of the job. Opportunities are available to disabled employees for training, career development and promotion. Where existing employees become disabled, it is the Group's policy to provide continuing employment in the same or an alternative position wherever practicable, and to provide appropriate training and support to achieve this aim.
We are committed to retaining our talented and skilled workforce. We achieve this by offering clear and fair terms of employment, a competitive remuneration policy and regular communication with our employees on major matters. Our voluntary employee turnover in FY2025 was 14% (excluding abnormal seasonal fluctuations linked to the Chinese New Year).
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
We value community engagement and strive to be an active participant in the local communities where we operate. We support local good causes by offering opportunities for employees to volunteer and through charitable donations (no donations are made to political causes). Our commitment to community engagement is highlighted by the Group’s support of the Community Foundation for Surrey and other employee volunteering opportunities.
As well as supporting the causes themselves, initiatives such as these motivate employees and increase their sense of purpose in working for an organisation that is keen to play a positive role in society.