Aviva 2001 Annual Report Download - page 36

Employees are encouraged to have their say on how they view
the Company and their employment through confidential staff
opinion surveys. Results are fed back to staff and, where
appropriate, action plans are put in place to address key issues.
Through their participation, staff can help to shape future
employment developments. In addition, regular discussions
take place with the staff representative bodies.
The Company is also supportive of employee development.
This support includes the building of relevant competencies,
encouraging staff to gain appropriate professional qualifications
and assistance with wider personal development.
The Group’s operations in the United Kingdom have established
employee career and recognition frameworks, which draw
together the formal competencies, target setting and review
systems and links them to appropriate rewards and benefits.
At the 2001 Annual General Meeting, shareholders approved
the establishment of an All Employee Share Ownership Plan
as a way for employees to participate further in the Group’s
fortunes through share ownership. The Group operates two
elements of the plan. The partnership element allows employees
to purchase CGNU shares at the prevailing market price from
their pre-tax income. The free share element will enable eligible
staff to receive free shares, at the Board’s discretion, in April 2002.
The Group also operates a savings related share option scheme
which provides employees with an opportunity to save over a
fixed period and acquire share options at a discount to the
prevailing market price.
Group companies are committed to providing equal opportunities
to all employees irrespective of sex, sexual orientation, marital
status, creed, colour, race, ethnic origin or disability. The
commitment extends to recruitment and selection, training, career
development, flexible working arrangements, promotion and
performance appraisal. In the event of members of staff becoming
disabled, every effort is made to ensure that their employment
with the Group continues and to provide specialised training
where this is appropriate.
The health and safety of staff is a priority, with both internal
reviews and external reports on the health and safety provision
being received at regular intervals. Each business unit has an
appointed health and safety representative whose role is to bring
to the attention of senior management any areas of concern that
should be addressed within the health and safety programme.
Information on health and safety matters is communicated to
staff through the normal communication channels.
Charitable and political donations CGNU has continued to
support community initiatives and charitable causes worldwide,
and the total Group commitment during the year was
£5.1 million.
During the year, community investment in the United Kingdom
totalled £3.3 million, using the Business in the Community’s
benchmarking template, of which £1.3 million (2000: £1.1 million)
were charitable donations.
No political donations were made in the United Kingdom during
the year (2000: £nil).It is not the Company’s policy to make
donations to political organisations or for political causes and has
no intention of changing this policy. However, the Political
Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPER) came into effect
during 2001 and introduced a very broad definition of EU political
expenditure in the European Union, such that some of the
activities which the Group has to date considered to be normal
business activities could now fall within that definition, for
example paid leave for staff taking part in trade union or work
council activities. The PPER requires companies to obtain
shareholders’approval for such expenditure and, therefore, at the
forthcoming Annual General Meeting the Board will be seeking
authority to make political expenditure, as defined by the PPER,
up to £100,000 so as to avoid inadvertent infringements of that
legislation. Further clarification on this issue can be found in the
Notice of Meeting for the Annual General Meeting which
accompanies this report.
Corporate Social Responsibility Policy In response to changes
both at European and United Kingdom level, CGNU’s
environmental programme is now being reported together with
progress in related areas of corporate performance such as
community and human resources under the heading of Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR). A separate CSR report has been
prepared which contains full details of progress achieved within
the environmental programme during the year, as well as an
explanation of how CGNU proposes to tackle the challenge
of management and reporting on CSR. A copy of the
printed summary CSR report is available from the Group
Company Secretary or the full report may be viewed on
www.cgnu-group.com/csr.
Standards of Business Conduct The Group recognises its
responsibilities to all those with whom its business brings it into
contact, including customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers
and the community. It therefore operates a Standards of Business
Conduct Policy which provides guidance for every employee,
Group-wide, to act with integrity in all business relationships.
Creditor payment policy and practice It is the Company’s
and the Group’s policy to pay creditors when they fall due for
payment. Terms of payment are agreed with suppliers when
negotiating each transaction and the policy is to abide by those
terms, provided that the suppliers also comply with all relevant
terms and conditions.
The Company has no trade creditors. In respect of Group
activities in the United Kingdom, the amounts due to trade
creditors at 31 December 2001 represented approximately 27 days
of average daily purchases through the year (2000: 32 days).
European Monetary Union The total cost, including systems
preparation, incurred for the introduction of the euro into
CGNU’s European Union operation amount to £65 million, of
which £8 million was incurred during 2001 (2000: £17 million).
On 1 January 2002, the Group’s businesses in those countries
within the European Union introducing the euro successfully
applied the currency transition within their businesses.
Auditors At the Annual General Meeting on 24 April 2001,
Ernst & Young was appointed as sole auditor to the Company.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, which had previously been joint
auditor, did not seek reappointment.
On 28 June 2001, Ernst & Young transferred its entire business to
Ernst & Young LLP, a limited liability partnership incorporated
under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000. The Directors
consented to treating the appointment of Ernst & Young as
extending to Ernst & Young LLP with effect from 28 June 2001.
In accordance with section 384 of the Companies Act 1985, a
resolution is to be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General
Meeting for the reappointment of Ernst & Young LLP as auditor
of the Company.
By order of the Board.
Richard Whitaker
Group Company Secretary
26 February 2002
Registered Office: St. Helen’s
1 Undershaft, London EC3P 3DQ
Registered in England No. 2468686
34 CGNU plc Annual report + accounts 2001 Directors’ report continued