Foundations Issue 27 by Barratt Developments PLC

ding to n o p s e R virus corona at the

s' k back We loo nd colleague a â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ss busine ponse to the res ic pandem Page 4

Build back better How we're playing our role in the green recovery and details of our new climate targets

Page 8

Meet the team We hear from a couple of our suppliers about the crisis from their side, and our response

Page 14

Looking after your health and wellbeing Details of the support and advice available for colleagues

Page 21

Issue 27 Summer 2020

Welcome to issue 27

his is a rather special edition of Foundations. Not only is this the first digital-only edition, but you will also find inside inspiring stories of how we faced the unprecedented challenge of the coronavirus pandemic together.

You will read about how, with incredible efficiency, resilience and flexibility, we moved from operating at full speed to closing almost the entire business within a matter of days. Meanwhile, having adapted quickly, we developed enhanced measures so we could carefully restart, keeping people safe as we got back to work. You will see how we played our part and supported our frontline NHS. As well as donating our medical standard facemasks and defibrillators, employees gave their time to support or fundraise for their communities or good causes. And, having revamped our Armed Forces scheme, we even launched a new product to say a Big Barratt Thank You to our NHS heroes. I have never been more impressed with our business or more proud to work with all of you as I have been over the last few months. And I want to say a special thank you to all of our colleagues who worked throughout this period, I know it has been very difficult for many, but your hard work and dedication means that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re able to look ahead to recovery.

Before the coronavirus hit, we were making good progress on both volume and margin. While the numbers of new homes completed are understandably down, our solid financial position and strong forward order book at year-end mean that we can look forward with cautious optimism. While the financials are clearly important, it is how we continue to lead the industry in customer service, construction and quality that I believe will help us bounce back strongly. You will hear more in this edition about our 92 NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Award winners. We picked up more awards than any other housebuilder for the sixteenth year in a row. At the same time, we scored 5 stars in the HBF Customer Satisfaction Survey for an unrivalled 11th year in a row. These are staggering achievements and a testament to the great people here across our business.

Looking ahead, while the outlook for the economy and industry is uncertain, we know there is strong demand for our high-quality new homes and that government understands how housebuilding and construction will be central to the recovery. However, as we get the country building again, we can also build back better, and greener, than before. We are determined to be the leading national sustainable housebuilder; our new science-based targets and major sustainability commitments are part of helping us get there. Having seen how our fantastic team rose to the crisis, I am confident that Barratt will continue to lead the industry now and in the years ahead, building high quality homes and places, with our customers at the heart of everything we do. Thank you again for your hard work and letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead the recovery with confidence together.

Chief Executive

2 / Welcome to issue 27 2

FOUNDATIONS

Contents 2

Welcome To Foundations issue 27.

Meet the team We hear from a couple of our suppliers about the crisis from their side, and our response.

4/5

Responding to coronavirus A look at the business’ and colleagues' response to the pandemic.

Workforce Forum update We hear about the latest meetings and how to get in touch with members.

What's new? News from around the business.

16/17

Keeping people safe A look at the measures we’ve put in place across our business for our new ways of working.

Our charity initiatives An update on our partnerships and initiatives across business.

Improving customer rights Looking ahead to the New Homes Ombudsman.

Build back better How we're playing our role in the green recovery and details of our new climate targets

Enhancing our ways of working Details of our new online expenses and other Business Change Projects.

Diversity and Inclusion How we’re supporting all of our colleagues.

Employee benefits A reminder of the offers available for employees.

10/11

The Big Interview With John Allan, Chairman.

Celebrating long service Long service employees in last six months.

Looking after your health and wellbeing Details of the support and advice available for colleagues.

Supporting great causes We celebrate our colleagues who have volunteered and fundraised during this period.

And finally… Crossword, caption competition and your building one-liners.

4/5

16/17

10/11

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our Foundations Editorial Team unfortunately weren't able to help with creating this issue, so a special thanks goes to the Corporate Affairs Team for helping to produce issue 27. Contents / 3

Responding to coronavirus W

e want to start by saying a huge thank you to all of our employees for their support and hard work since the outbreak of the coronavirus

Over the last few months, our focus has been the health and wellbeing of all our people, ensuring we are doing the right thing for our customers and communities, and backing our NHS. We’d like to thank those of you who have volunteered, donated or helped in other ways in the battle against coronavirus – you’ve made us very proud. There has been an incredible effort from all sides of the business which enabled us to safely close down all our sites and offices, improve our home working capability, plan for the future, and then restart our operations in a safe and controlled way.

A special thank you must go out to those colleagues who have worked throughout this period, without your hard work and commitment, the business wouldn’t be in the position we are in now to look ahead to recovery – so thank you. A special thank you must go out to those colleagues who have worked throughout this period, without your dedication and commitment, the business wouldn’t be in the position we are in now to look ahead to recovery – so thank you.

Closing our sites When the lockdown was announced back in March, we were among the first housebuilders to close down all of our offices and sites, putting the safety of our employees and your families first. Our vision is to put customers at the heart of everything we do. The need to quickly close down our offices and sites meant that there were a number of customers due to complete their purchases who were unsure whether they would be allowed to do so. Thanks to the dedication of our site and sales teams we were able to move these customers into their new homes while observing the government’s guidelines. Our IT teams worked hard to ensure all of our employees who were able to work from home could do so and actively sought to identify vulnerable employees, or those with at-risk family members, to ensure we could

prioritise them during the migration to home working. We hugely value the contribution of all of our employees, which is why we guaranteed normal pay to all of our furloughed colleagues until the end of June, when we were able to welcome all colleagues back to work. As a thank you to those employees who have continued to work during this period, we implemented a policy where non-furloughed employees would accrue half a day of paid special leave for each week worked during hibernation, resulting in up to 2 and a half days of special paid leave.

Contributing to the fight We understand that as the UK’s largest housebuilder, we have a responsibility to do what we can to help in times of crisis. That’s why, early on in the lockdown, we made the decision to donate all 5,000 of our FFP3 facemasks to the NHS. This was followed by a donation of all 400 of our defibrillators to St John Ambulance in England and St Andrew’s First Aid in Scotland. Thank you to all of our employees who worked hard to collect these items and ensure they made their way to those who needed them.

4 /RESPONDING TO CORONAVIRUS

We also provided much needed financial support to charities and good causes throughout the hibernation period, including a donation of £100,000 to NHS Charities Together and £50,000 to The Sun’s Who Cares Wins Appeal. We also decided to build on our partnership with The Big Issue to pledge a further £25,000 to support their vendors, who were forced to stop selling their magazines due to the pandemic. To support our customers, and further thank our NHS heroes, in June we launched the Big Barratt NHS Thank You, offering NHS workers a 5% deposit contribution towards their new home.

FOUNDATIONS

Restarting our operations During lockdown, we worked hard to develop a detailed set of working practices to enable our construction sites and sales offices to reopen safely and in line with government guidance. Health and Safety is our number one priority, and with these new practices in place, we began a gradual restart of operations from 11 May.

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who was involved in the restart planning and implementation. We are proud to say that thanks to everyone’s hard work and dedication, all of our 400+ sites are now fully operational and we are back to doing what we do best – building high quality homes and places for our customers.

Our Barratt heroes The fight against coronavirus is not over, and we appreciate the huge, ongoing effort of our NHS and other key workers to support the country through this challenging time. However, we want to take this opportunity to thank our own Barratt heroes who have supported the cause, be it through helping their local health services, delivering food and medicines, or simply talking on the phone to vulnerable and lonely people. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve been truly overwhelmed by the number of colleagues volunteering, particularly those who’ve dedicated their time on furlough to supporting their local communities. There are too many people to list, but here are a few examples:

Chris Loc ke from Y orkshire been mak West, has ing up foo d package delivering s an them to vu lnerable p d The Real eople with Junk Foo d Project Sharehou Kindness se.

g out Kent helped by cuttin Shanon Dacey from gs ba ry nd scrub hats, lau material for scrubs, er eth tog wn se n were the and ear savers which al loc to ted bu tri dis and by other volunteers ries. s and doctors surge me ho re ca ls, ita sp ho

Katrina Garton from Yorkshire East helped to run an Easter Colouring Competition with her neighbourhood watch to help keep the kids entertained. Tina White from East Midlands has been working to bring her community together with local group ‘Overseal Arts Kommunity’, based in South Derbyshire, which encourages its members to get creative through art.

Callum Bruce from West Scotland, volunteered twice a week for St Augustine Stay Connected, a charity offering friendship and support to those who need it, collecting food and everyday essentials.

Lindsey Scott from North East volunteered with Labman making visors for NHS and frontline workers. Overall, the group of volunteers helped to make over 190,000 masks, a fantastic result for a good cause. Dawn Mellors from North Midlands noticed that local NHS workers were complaining of sore ears from wearing protective masks, so played her part and gave some relief to workers by knitting ‘ear savers’.

RESPONDING TO CORONAVIRUS / 5

What's new? O

ISSUE 27

n these pages we take a look at a variety of topics that have been making news around the business.

Celebrating our Pride in the Job Award winners The Pride in the Job Quality Awards recognises site managers who achieve the highest standards in housebuilding across the UK. As we continue to face the challenges posed by coronavirus, we were proud to receive the news that 92 of our site managers won 2020 Pride in the Job Quality Awards. This means we have picked up more awards than any other housebuilder for an incredible sixteen years!

Through our Leading Construction priority, we have committed to excellence in all aspects of our construction operations, and to building the highest quality homes. Winning these awards serves to underline the high standard of work that our site managers and their teams deliver day in and day out, and it also helps highlight our high standards and quality to our customers.

The winners are selected from more than 11,000 site managers working on sites registered with the NHBC, with just 450 individual winners recognised. This achievement is more important than ever during these unprecedented times as it clearly demonstrates the strength of our business.

View the li s of winner t s on Our Place .

5 Star for 11 years in a row We are proud to have been awarded Home Builders Federation (HBF) 5 Star Home Builder status again this year, making us the only major national housebuilder to have achieved this for 11 years in a row. The HBF Customer Satisfaction Survey was established in 2005 to encourage excellent levels of service, and improve standards of housebuilding. The number of stars awarded is based on responses to the question "would you recommend your builder to a friend?" and to achieve the 5 Star rating, over 90% of our customers have answered 'yes' to this question. This high level of satisfaction comes from our focus on quality, design and looking after our customers where we continue to be industry leading.

Our response to coronavirus Throughout this period, we’ve made decisions based on what’s best for our employees’ health, wellbeing and safety and have tried to ensure everyone is kept up to date with the actions and activities that have been taking place. As the business moves from restart to recovery, we published a survey to hear from you about how we’ve responded to coronavirus, and how we can improve over the coming months. In total we had

with

2,533

responses from colleagues over the two week period

88%

responding from our divisions

Here we look at some of the surveys key findings:

93%

rated the Group’s overall response to coronavirus as good or very good

4.74

the average rating you gave out of five for our response to pay, making this our highest scoring area

Thank you to our colleagues that took the time to complete the survey and for your continued support and patience during this period. We look forward to sharing further updates on our response and looking ahead to the future.

6 / WHAT'S NEW?

Areas to focus on - Improving local Areas to focus on: communications going forwards - Better recognition needed for those who worked throughout - Our plans for the offices and a potential phased reopening - Improving flexibility and agile working

Marking VE Day To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day we launched our new and improved Armed Forces Deposit Contribution Scheme to help Armed Forces personnel get on or up the housing ladder. The introduction of the new scheme acts as a thank you to all those serving in the Armed Forces, as the world looks back during one time of crisis to another and remembers VE Day. The scheme is available to all UK Armed Forces personnel who are currently employed by the Army, Navy or RAF, or who have left in the past 12 months, and offers a 5% deposit contribution towards any new Barratt or David Wilson home. This contribution comes on top of any other discount or promotion that is available on the property. As a business we're a proud supporter of the Armed Forces and we've attracted over 70 veterans into the business through our award-winning Armed Forces Transition Programme over the last 18 months, accounting for 90% of all trainees recruited in that period. Last year we were awarded silver status in the Employer Recognition awards by the Ministry of Defence, which recognises organisations that demonstrate support for the defence and Armed Forces Community. We were recently awarded gold status in the Employer Recognition Scheme Awards by the Ministry of Defence, with the award recognising organisations that demonstrate support for the defence and Armed Forces community.

FOUNDATIONS

Keeping people safe H

ealth and safety is our number one priority. This has been even more important this year, with COVID-19 presenting a host of new challenges to running the business safely. Fortunately for all of us, our fantastic SHE colleagues have been up to the task.

COVID-safe working practices When we took the decision in late March to close our sites, it wasn’t clear when we would be able to open them again, or what procedures would be required. Our Group SHE team, building on guidance from the Construction Leadership Council and public health authorities, drew up detailed protocols on how to reopen and operate sites safely that matched or exceeded official guidelines. Since then, they have continually assessed how the guidance has changed and adapted our procedures to make it possible to expand our operations while protecting everyone’s health and wellbeing. To many of you, these protocols will now be second nature. Others will have little or no first-hand experience of how our sites have changed. Here are some of the major changes:

Safe site attendance

Temperature testing

You cannot attend a site if you have tested positive for COVID-19, if you have been told to self-isolate, or are showing any of the main symptoms: a high temperature; a new, continuous cough; or a loss or change in sense of smell or taste.

You will be tested with a non-contact infrared thermometer when you arrive on site.

More space around site We have implemented one-way systems, wider walkways and passing points to minimise contact when moving around the site.

max

Limits on gatherings There are limits on the number of people that can gather at any one time. This includes welfare facilities, canteens, site offices, individual plots, and entry and exit points.

Staggered shift times

Making the most of tech

Shift times are staggered to avoid everyone arriving at or leaving the site at the same time. Where work has to be done in pairs or groups, those pairings are kept consistent.

Initial consultations are made via phone or video call, and customer visits to sales offices and show homes are by appointment only. We are also conducting show home tours online through the use of iPhones and Gimbals.

Sales offices reconfigured

Wash stations

Our sales offices have been reconfigured to reduce the number of desks and chairs, and the remaining desks have been fitted with Perspex shields to protect our employees and customers.

We have provided additional hand wash stations and other welfare facilities.

Of course, these are just some of the changes we have made, and all site-based employees have to familiarise themselves with the processes they need to follow. These are available in the COVID-19 section of Docushare, which is located at: Barratt Developments PLC >> 040 Group Support >> 001 Safety Health & Environmental >> COVID-19

We understand that this is a worrying time. While many people in the business are staying safe by performing their jobs from home, this poses its own challenges. Working from home (or ‘Living at Work’) can have negative impacts on mental health. It is important that people are able to switch off at the end of a workday and find ways to unwind, while also maintaining the social contact with co-workers that is an important part of any workplace. More information on the resources available for people who are home working can be found on page 21.

KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE / 7

Build back better

Playing our role in the green recovery In June we set three new climate targets as part of our contribution to ‘building back better’ as the economy begins to recover from the impact of COVID-19. Over the last few months we have also put forward a strong case for policies that can unlock low carbon housebuilding to government ministers and in parliamentary forums.

Now, as the lockdown is being eased, housebuilding is seen as an essential industry both to get the economy moving and provide lower-carbon living for the future. And with the COP26 international climate conference being held in Glasgow in November 2021, there is an opportunity to show progress to the world.

An autumn and winter of climate protests, flooding in Britain and forest fires in Australia had put climate action at the top of the agenda before COVID-19 reached the UK. In response to this, we set sciencebased carbon emissions targets for both our direct operations and our wider carbon footprint (such as our homes in use and supply chain) aligned with efforts to keep climate change below 1.5°C.

As Christopher Pincher MP, Minister of State for Housing, told our Supply Chain Conference in July, “We need to build back better, greener and faster… it’s going to be an economy which is based upon the green agenda.”

To prepare for this, our new targets are: To become ‘net zero carbon’ in our operations by 2040

By reducing carbon emissions from construction sites, offices, sales arenas and our directly owned vans as much as possible

To build net zero carbon homes from 2030

And much lower carbon homes along the way through methods which could include insulation improvements, new heating and renewable technologies

To make sure all the electricity we purchase is on renewable tariffs by 2025 We currently use enough electricity on sites and in offices each year to power over 1,390 homes.

David Thomas, Chief Executive of Barratt Developments, said: To accomplish these aims, and for other housebuilders to join us, we’ve said to government that we’ll need a clear direction of travel, incentives to unlock innovation among our suppliers, a public awareness drive and people with the right skills to deliver it all.

8 / BUILD BACK BETTER

“This is why we are working with the sector, our partners and customers, to take a lead in tackling climate change.”

FOUNDATIONS

Diversity and Inclusion A

s a business, the focus on looking at how we can become more diverse and better represent the communities we work in is as important as ever.

Back in 2017, we launched our Diversity and Inclusion strategy and over the past couple of years we have looked at how we can improve the representation of different groups across the business and better support them. This has seen us introduce our enhanced family friendly policies, launching female leadership programmes and our first employee-led

network to help tackle the issue of gender inequality. We’re continually looking at how we can improve what we do as a business and as a result of recent events, we are in the process of updating our overall Diversity and Inclusion strategy and will be sharing further details of this shortly.

Promoting equality for all As part of our response to the Black Lives Matter movement, we reminded colleagues that Barratt are absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone is treated equally regardless of their differences. We have zero tolerance of harassment, discrimination or unwelcome behaviour of any kind. In the past year, we’ve looked at what more we can do to support colleagues from

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and held focus groups to hear colleagues' perspectives on what it’s like to work at Barratt, as well as to understand what we should consider doing differently. We used the information gained in these focus groups to help create our BAME Strategy which we launched at the start of this year. Our strategy looks at what other organisations have done, considers

recommendations from the governments McGregor-Smith review and defines our actions. A summary of our BAME strategy actions can be found online. We have also signed up to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter, which supports the actions set out in our BAME strategy and our aim to ensure that ethnic minority employees are represented at all levels in our business.

Celebrating Pride Over the summer, we’d normally be celebrating Pride and flying flags at some of our developments to show our support for the LGBT+ community. We all know that coronavirus has unfortunately put a halt to a number of plans, but we’re still keen to hear how colleagues have continued to mark Pride and share their stories of what Pride means to them. Tom Oxley, one of our colleagues from Barratt London shared his thoughts on what Pride means to him and how he’ll be marking it this year. If you want to share how you marked Pride this year, please get in touch with us by emailing employee.communication@barrattplc.co.uk.

Keeping connected We are aware that many colleagues across the business will continue to face challenges as lockdown restrictions change. To support our people, we are inviting you to connect with others (via Teams) and join our new weekly drop in sessions, where you’ll be able to share experiences and ideas with others, offer words of encouragement or simply be reassured that you are not alone. The first group is called Barratt Parent Connect, and is for parents with children of any age. We recognise that working whilst children have not been at school or with normal childcare arrangements for a prolonged period is challenging.

The second, called Barratt Connect, is for people who are home working and perhaps feeling isolated, they may be living alone or missing the social interaction of work. Or maybe you want connect with others as you’ve been shielding for health reasons or have been caring for others. If you would like more information about the sessions, or would like to be invited, please email Jo Clay (jo.clay@barrattplc.co.uk) and Becky Nicholls (becky.nicholls@barrattplc.co.uk).

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION / 9

Biography Imperial College Chair of the Council (2020 – present) CBI Vice President (2020 – present) CBI President (2018 – 2020) Tesco PLC Chairman (2015 – present) Barratt Developments PLC Chairman (2014 – present)

Life in lockdown How have you found the lockdown? If I am honest, I found that lockdown consisted of many hours of video conference calls using the new technology and systems which I am sure has accelerated the introduction of more flexible working. How have you kept connected with people? Well thankfully, the technology that’s kept me so busy has also helped me keep in touch with my grandchildren. What have you been doing to unwind? I’ve been playing a lot of chess online and when I’m away from the computer screen I have been reading a lot of books – mainly thrillers and books on history. And any new skills you’ve picked up? I have been learning Italian, something I’ve said I’ll do for years!

I was just incredibly impressed at how quickly and decisively everyone across the company acted to shut our operations down."

10 / THE BIG INTERVIEW

FOUNDATIONS

The Big Interview John Allan CBE W

e spoke to our Chairman to hear his thoughts about the economic impact of coronavirus, how Barratt has responded to the crisis and to talk Brexit.

As Chairman of Barratt, Chairman of Tesco and President of the CBI when the coronavirus pandemic took hold, what are your reflections on the last few months? In a word, busy! The word unprecedented has been used a lot but it certainly fits the situation we have found ourselves in. The global economy paused and while some businesses like Tesco had to continue to operate to ensure food and vital goods were still available to people obviously many companies had to temporarily close and all have had to change how they operate. That’s created the most challenging environment I have experienced in my career – even compared to the Global Financial Crisis. How has it differed from the 2008 Global Financial Crisis? It’s been the sheer speed and effect on all sectors at the same time which has just been something we have never seen before. In a business sense we have had to figure out new ways of operating in a very short space of time without necessarily fully understanding whether the steps we are taking to combat the pandemic are working or not and so having little visibility of the future. Hopefully we are now further along and as we come out of the lockdown and move into recovery we can actually plan out the recovery of our own business and the wider economy. Although, of course, uncertainty still remains about the future of COVID-19 we can be more confident that government and the general population understand the steps that need to be taken to control the virus – and we have more capacity to deal with it.

How did you see the initial response to the pandemic from Barratt?

How long do you think it will be before the economy recovers?

I was just incredibly impressed at how quickly and decisively everyone across the company acted to shut our operations down. In the space of days, the largest housebuilder in the country closed 400 construction sites, sales centres and 27 divisional offices. That’s a serious undertaking. In addition, in days our IT department was making it possible for people to work from home at a time when every company was trying to do the same – that was remarkable.

In business, and perhaps in life more generally, it is always a good idea to hope for the best and plan for the worst. I think it will take a minimum of two years to get the economy back to where it was at the start of the year but I hope I am wrong and it is much quicker.

Now we have moved through restart in a careful and controlled manner it has been heartening to read and hear from our teams how much they have appreciated the work which has been done to keep them safe, to keep people paid their usual salaries and to keep the company in a strong position to face the challenges ahead. The Executive Committee deserve a lot of credit for their leadership over the last few months. What is the greatest challenge we face as a business in the months ahead? Undoubtedly the wider economic environment. There is going to be an increase in unemployment alongside a fall in consumer confidence and we’ll see an economic downturn. The crucial issue is how quickly the economy recovers and how well placed we are as a business to weather the storm. I believe that the work we have done in recent years to boost our efficiency, strengthen our balance sheet and focus on our quality and service will all help to stand us in good stead through a more difficult period. While there is a huge challenge coming, we can also see an opportunity to come out of it stronger, more flexible and more resilient.

To that end, I am chairing a newly created ‘COVID Recovery Commission’ with the aim of producing new, bold practical policy ideas over the coming months to support higher productivity levels, encourage business investment right across the UK and promote a culture of innovation over the next five years and beyond. If anyone has any ideas please do send them through to me! How do you see Brexit taking shape? Brexit has had remarkably little coverage since February for obvious reasons and yet as we move into the second half of 2020 arguably it is going to be the most important factor in deciding the speed and strength of the economic recovery in 2021 and beyond. Personally, I think that a no deal Brexit would be bad for both us and for the EU and I am confident that a deal will be struck – perhaps towards the end of the year – although it may be a little thin on detail.

THE BIG INTERVIEW / 11

Celebrating long service O

ur long service awards celebrate and reward those who have shown loyalty and commitment to the business. We now recognise colleagues locally from five years onwards with a cash award as well as a certificate and letter at five yearly intervals. Those achieving 20 years and more receive an invitation to our annual Long Service Celebration Dinner. In our summer issue of Foundations, we would normally be celebrating our colleagues who have achieved long service milestones in the past year. In April, we should have held our fifth annual Long Service Celebration Dinner, recognising colleagues from across the country who have celebrated their 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 year anniversaries! While we’re hoping we’ll be able to rearrange the dinner, we would like to congratulate all of our colleagues who have celebrated these incredible milestones in the past year, and we look forward to marking this fantastic achievement and your dedication as soon as it’s safe and possible to do so. We also want to congratulate all of our colleagues who have reached other long service milestones in the past few months and during this period. It’s a real shame that we haven’t been able to celebrate these in the normal way, with your teams or in your offices,

Marking the occa sion with colleague s in 2019

but we're looking at how we can mark these milestones as we adapt to this new way of working. As we’ve continued to say throughout the coronavirus pandemic, our people really are the heart of our business. The skills, dedication and commitment of our colleagues across the business are the key to our success, and our long serving employees are a testament to this, so thank you to all of you – and congratulations once again to those of you celebrating milestones.

Long service employees

more Our dinner in 2018 celebrating ues eag coll than 100

Celebrating key milestone s at the

2017 dinner

Colleagues celebrating at the 2016 Long Service Dinner

In each issue of Foundations we recognise those who have reached a 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 years’ long service milestone over the last six months. Congratulations and thank you to all of you who reached a milestone between January and June 2020.

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William Donald – YE ARS OF SER North Scotland

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Andrew Donoghue – Yorkshire West Paul Bellamy – Yorkshire West David Cooper – YorkshireYEEast ARS OF SER David Hyman – East Midlands David Ward – Group Support Centre Lynn Czekalla – West Scotland James Harris – BD Living Jon Neville – BD Living DEVELOPM TT

S OF SER Shirley Goodman – South Midlands Diana Harris – West Midlands Mark Woolham – Manchester Paul Holmes – North East

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12 / CELEBRATING LONG SERVICE

30 years of service

Ann Cox – Group Support Centre Paul Astbury – Group Support Centre Nicholas Gallo – Group Support Centre Peter Sharp – Group Support Centre

ENT

Jane Jordan – Bristol David Wilks – Yorkshire West Carn Davies – Yorkshire West Mark Thomson – Yorkshire East Andrew Willson – Yorkshire East Paul Stones – Yorkshire East Andrew Holding – North West Andrew Sweeney – North West Margaret Martin – North West Ryan Lincoln – North East Gary Hibberd – South West Terence Scannell – South West Christopher Price – South West Andrea Evans – South Wales Peter Scott – Southampton Peter Robertson – West London Robert Ager – Eastern Counties Jeffrey Pankhurst – Southern Counties

DEVELOPM

Stephen Chapla – North Scotland Stuart Dodson – West YE ARS OF SER Scotland Daniel Goulding – Manchester David Jones – Manchester Michael Varty – Manchester Neil Goodwin – Manchester Kevin Denis Furey – Manchester Darren Howard – Exeter Clair Simmonds – Exeter Paul Stubbs – Exeter Sandra Reynolds – South Midlands Martin O'Connor – South Midlands Fiona Santini – North Midlands Richard Hall – East Midlands Marlene Maguire – East Midlands Abby Pearson – East Midlands TT

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20 years of service

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FOUNDATIONS

Supporting great causes D

uring these unprecedented times, colleagues have been finding new ways to support their local communities and good causes. We take a look at what some of you have been up to…

Before the lockdown in March a group of 90 GSC colleagues from Bardon came together to cycle the distance from Leicester to John O’Groats over the course of a week on spin bikes. Congratulations to the team for cycling over 1,100 miles and raising an incredible £5,000 for PROSTaid, a local prostate cancer charity in Wigston. Amanda Amass from West Midlands, showed her gratitude to key workers through hampers and small acts of kindness. She created hampers for her local police neighbourhood team, the local bin men, and workers on the night shift at Walsall Manor Hospital.

5k Challenge 2.6 Challenge A number of our people got behind the 2.6 Challenge. With the help of her personal trainer, Emma Wearn from GSC hosted a series of online workouts and asked those taking part to make a donation to Samaritans. Stephen Pargiter from West London gave himself the feat of running a marathon distance, 26 miles over 7 days to help raise money for homelessness charity, Crisis. And Alex O’Donnell, also from GSC, got the family involved and took the kids out for a bike ride to help raise money for NHS Charities Together.

Colleagues also got involved with the 5K Challenge - where you need to take on 5K and then nominate 5 people and donate £5 to a good cause. Luke Marshall from Southern was nominated four times by family and friends - so decided to take on his 20K challenge in one go. Barry Coleman from Kent, raised money for The League of Friends of Conquest Hospital, which has been helping to support hospital staff at Conquest Hospital in St Leonards on Sea through coronavirus. While Michelle Turner from GSC, was challenged by her daughter and managed to beat her time by 1 minute! She donated to a local charity who are providing food to the vulnerable.

SUPPORTING GREAT CAUSES / 13

Meet the team C

oronavirus has caused unparalleled disruption across the UK economy and like all businesses, we have sought to manage our way through the crisis. We have been determined to do the right thing with our all of our stakeholders, including our employees and customers as well as our suppliers and subcontractors. For our rearranged Barratt Supply Chain Conference, we spoke to four of our suppliers, Andrew Harrison (CEO, Plumbing & Heating Businesses of Travis Perkins), Joe Hudson (CEO, Ibstock), Matt Pullen (CEO, British Gypsym), and David Stockill (MD, Harlow Timber Systems) to find out how coronavirus has affected their business. How has coronavirus impacted your business? Andrew: Our business is over 250 years old, and nothing has ever affected us so much that we have had to close the business; something that even two world wars did not achieve. The fact we had to close the business completely, and then rethink how we would reopen the business safely, clearly has been a major challenge for a business like ours. Joe: Coronavirus has had a big impact on our business; we closed over 40 of our sites and sales offices. We lost 90% of our revenues in clay business and 70% of our revenues in concrete business. What steps have you taken to manage the business since the lockdown? Matt: Initially as we shut down our operations, we focused on putting in new safe site operating procedures that adhered to the guidance from Public Health England, and built on some best practice from Saint-Gobain around the world. David: Coronavirus made us take a step back and assess how we work as a business, and how we manufacture our products in terms of social distancing. We restructured the whole of the manufacturing floor of all the factories with 2-metre working zones and one-way systems. In spite of the negative impact, it has been good to reset our working practices and improve our efficiency.

Clockwise from top left: Andrew Harrison, Joe Hudson, David Stockill and Matt Pullen.

14 / MEET THE TEAM

What sort of key industry projects were you involved in during the lockdown?

Are there any key learning points from this experience?

Andrew: When lockdown first started, we had to think carefully about whether we were deemed as an essential business, and the answer came back quickly that we were, and that our prime role was to support the NHS. We helped to build Nightingale Hospital, maintain other hospitals, care homes and essential infrastructure.

Joe: There have been a lot of learning points for us as a business, for example we’ve had to learn how to work with pace, and work in a very collaborative and virtual way.

How has this affected your supply chain and your business? Matt: Coronavirus has affected our supply chain quite dramatically; we shut down the majority of our operations. Confidence was provided by the government when the construction sector was given the green light to continue as long as it was safe to do so. After 4 weeks of not manufacturing and distributing, the stocks in our business, the distributors, the merchants and DIY stores were also very low. We’ve scaled up operations relatively quickly as the construction market has recovered, in order to get us up to 95% of our pre COVID-19 capability.

Nothing has ever affected us so much that we have had to close the business; something that even two world wars did not achieve.

How has your interaction with Barratt been throughout this period, and is there anything further Barratt can do? Andrew: We were happy to be able to support the reopening of Barratt sites by helping them source and distribute their hand wash stations. As we go forwards, there is a lot of anxiety and confusion over what the future holds, so forecasting is very important for us, so that we can ensure the materials Barratt needs are available. Joe: The interaction with Barratt has been excellent. We’ve been given very accurate schedules and good pictures of where we need to be, and what we need to do from a health and safety perspective. Moving forwards, we need to continue to work together to ensure we deliver the right service quality products and use this as an opportunity to drive inefficiency out of the industry. David: I made it a priority to keep in contact with many of the regions that we work with. In terms of deliveries to site, and health and safety going to site, we’ve followed the protocols that Barratt want.

Workforce Forum update A

t Barratt Developments, one of our priorities is investing in our people to create a great place to work. To help us achieve this, in 2018 we launched the Workforce Forum to improve the ways in which we engage with our employees and ensure that colleagues remain well informed. The forum, which has nominated colleagues from across the regions and GSC, represents a cross section of our business and provides input and feedback from a range of perspectives. With the support of the Group Board, the forum allows us to gather more employee input and add real value in areas like SHE, health and wellbeing, employee benefits and working conditions. By having a presence in divisions, the members are able to feedback on how new ideas and systems work for employees day to day. At their last face-to-face meeting in January, the forum members were joined by Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Steven Boyes, Senior Independent Director on the Board, Richard Akers, and Group HR Director Rob Tansey. They picked up from their last meeting where they discussed Barratt’s Remuneration Strategy, and the key areas they are keen to see improvements: company pension scheme, holiday entitlement and purchase caps. The group then talked about our charity initiatives across the business, with their recommendation of changing the amount colleagues could claim using the Individual Matching Scheme, leading to the change in March which means colleagues can now apply for matching if they fundraise between £500£1,000. They received updates from Ade Brant, Group IT Director about changes to our ways of working and health and wellbeing from HR Business Partner for London & Southern, Andy Penhaligon. Members praised the enhancements to health assessments meaning that all grades can now access some sort of screening. They also think it's a positive step that mental health awareness training is being rolled out to managers across the business, although they’d like to see something similar rolled out to all employees. Emma Balfour, Group HR & Reward Manager, then provided an update of the improvements we’ll be making to colleagues’ benefits package, including clearer information in the annual Total Reward Statements and improvements to our benefits website. As we continue to look at how we can improve the rewards package that Barratt employees receive, we hope to be able to share updates in these areas soon.

Although their next meeting in April had to be postponed due to coronavirus, a virtual meeting was held in May where, as Chair, Rob Tansey, was keen to understand from members how colleagues felt the business was responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Over the course of the meeting, the forum discussed how our employees were experiencing the crisis, whether they were furloughed or working from home, the actions we were taking and what more we could be doing to support our workforce. The overall feedback was that members were happy with the way the business has responded to the crisis, and was doing the right thing and making decisions based on what is best for our employees. The forum commented that colleagues felt proud to work for the business because of these actions, particularly as they heard how some of our competitors had reacted to the pandemic. They also agreed that the level of communications overall has been good and consistent, however they felt that on occasion, we could have responded quicker to some of the changes announced by the government. The next forum meeting is in August where members will discuss employee engagement and the results from the 2020 annual employee engagement survey, and the actions we should take across the business. They’ll also hear about the results from the COVID-19 response survey and any additional steps we should be taking as part of our response to the coronavirus pandemic.

They then had a sustainability workshop and talked about how we can improve our credentials across the business, and what more we could be doing on site to help reduce waste and emissions.

We’ll continue to share updates from the forum, but if you have any queries or questions, or want to suggest something that should be considered as an agenda item for future meetings, please get in touch with members by emailing workforce.forum@barrattplc.co.uk. WORKFORCE FORUM UPDATE / 15

Our charity initiatives

E BARRA TH

e recognise that without local identity and supporting infrastructure, developments are just houses as opposed to homes. This is why we are committed to building strong community relationships and ensuring our work creates a positive legacy that helps local communities to thrive.

IT Y P L A N

As part of our charitable giving strategy, we support a range of local and national good causes, and encourage divisions to get involved with both fundraising and volunteering. We take a look at some of the things we’ve been doing.

Charity partnerships We continued to support our charity partners Whizz-Kidz, who recently took part in the BBC Lifeline Appeal. Lifeline is a monthly 10-minute programme broadcast on BBC One highlighting the work of a charity and appealing for donations to support its activities. As part of their BBC Lifeline Appeal, we matched Whizz-Kidz fundraising up to £30,000. In total Whizz-Kidz BBC Lifeline Appeal has raised more than £125,000. The funds raised could supply up to 22 powered wheelchairs or 32 manual wheelchairs, helping children and young people lead fun, free and independent lives. Following on from the launch of our partnership with the Outward Bound Trust (OBT) earlier this year, we have further pledged our support for the charity with an additional £100,000 donation to help young people transition out of lockdown. Our donation will help young people recover, with OBT offering 1,000 days of adventure throughout August at their centres in Ullswater, Lake District and Aberdovey, Snowdonia. These activity days are fully funded, with free places being prioritised for young people aged 11-17 who are eligible for free school meals. And following on from the success of the Big Barratt Hike last year, and as we’ve had to postpone the 2020 Big Barratt Hike this year, we are looking at new ways we can hold a ‘virtual hike’ with employees across the business. We’ll be sharing more information with colleagues in due course.

Volunteering days! Don’t forget that as part of our Special Leave Policy, you are entitled to one day of paid leave a year to volunteer for a charity of your choice, in addition to your annual leave. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve seen a number of colleagues volunteering while they’ve been on furlough and supporting their local communities. We’ve seen individuals volunteer in a variety of ways, from helping to keep community spirits up, supporting the frontline heroes and pitching in at local food banks. With everyone back in the business, and when it’s safe to do so, we want to remind colleagues that they can still use their volunteer day and we look forward to hearing how colleagues are using theirs. Share what you’re doing by emailing us at employee.communication@barrattplc.co.uk. 16 / OUR CHARITY INITIATIVES

FOUNDATIONS

£2.08m Do

Divisional matching

nated!

We’re pleased to see lots of our colleagues continue to make the most of divisional matching, which has been so key to our charitable activity in the recent years and helping to support local causes. In 2019 our divisions raised £1.08million for their chosen charities, which together with Group matching saw £2.08million donated to good causes across the country. Divisions are able to claim up to £15,000 matching per year and support up to six charities a year, meaning your chosen charities can benefit even more. For example colleagues from our Bristol division organised a ‘Question of Sport’ gala dinner earlier this year, and raised an impressive £155,000 for the charity KidsOut. With the help of divisional matching, you can donate even more to your chosen charities and help a number of worthy causes. Congratulations to all our colleagues on their fundraising efforts!

Above: Funds raised at the Bristol Gala Dinner Left: Colleagues in East Scotland raising funds in lockdown through their Barratt themed bake off

Barratt & David Wilson Community Fund Now more than ever it is crucial to support local charities and causes around the country, which the Barratt and David Wilson Community Fund supports our divisions in doing. Two of the Group’s five principles are ‘Building Strong Community Relationships’ and ‘Being a Trusted Partner’. To support this each of our divisions can donate £1,000 each month to local charities of their choice, and many of them are using this money to help assist vital services in their local communities.

GSC colleagues volunteering at the Dogs Trust

Individual matching Colleagues can now apply for individual matching if they fundraise between £500-£1,000. Over the course of the lockdown, it was great to see so many colleagues raising money for great causes and applying for individual matching to help boost the amount they’re giving to charity. Find out more about the scheme, including how you can apply, online.

West Midlands donate £1 ,000 to The Friendship Pr oject OUR CHARITY INITIATIVES / 17

Improving customer rights E

arly next year will see the launch of the much talked about New Homes Ombudsman and a ‘beefed-up’ Consumer Code of Practice. Whilst the code will place more requirements on everyone involved in building, sales and the aftercare of new homes, crucially it will also better protect customers. We put our customers at the heart of everything we do which is why we are so supportive of the New Homes Ombudsman because it gives consumers more protection. Anything which gives customers greater confidence and protection in the house buying process is only a good thing.

The need to better look after customers comes from government. Following their 2016 report ‘More homes, fewer complaints’, they made it clear that they expect the housebuilding industry to improve the quality of new homes, deliver better customer service and to strengthen consumer rights.

The new code and ombudsman will involve:

Requirement for builders to provide more detailed information to customers during the sales process.

Tightened up final sign off process to ensure the home is ‘complete’ before mortgage money is released.

What this means in practice is that customers will get more and better information at every stage of their journey. It will also enable them to check the quality of their home prior to legal completion. This will provide additional reassurance at a time when they are making what is likely to be the biggest purchase they have ever made. We have been part of the HBF working group reviewing the new code so that it provides the necessary remedy for customers, but is also workable for housebuilders of all sizes. As we are the only major national housebuilder to have 5 stars for customer satisfaction for 11 years in a row, it is really important that we play a big part in driving these changes that will improve standards right across the industry.

18 / IMPROVING CUSTOMER RIGHTS

Responsibility for builders to deal with any snagging issues within a set time in years 1 and 2 of occupation.

The ambition is that a New Homes Quality Board will be in place by autumn with a view to the new code and ombudsman being in place by the start of 2021. There will then be a transition period for builders to sign up to the new arrangements. Across the business we are looking forward to the launch of the New Homes Ombudsman and will be signing up to the new protocols and requirements as soon as we can.

FOUNDATIONS

Changing our ways of working O

ur Business Change Project teams are continually looking at how to improve our ways of working through our IT systems and processes, by making them more efficient and effective. As we’ve looked to improve our IT systems over the past few years, the key driver has been that IT systems and processes should enable colleagues to get on with their day jobs and help to make their lives easier, by streamlining and improving the efficiency of processes.

Online expenses We’re replacing all current expense forms with a single, secure, online system, reducing everyone’s administrative workload by removing paper-based processes. Online expenses will be accessible on most devices, including personal mobile phones, either via an internet browser or an app, so that everyone in Barratt who needs to claim, approve and process expenses can do so quickly and conveniently wherever there is an internet connection. All expenses claim types, including fuel and credit cards, can be claimed through the new system. It will automatically work out mileage from postcodes or the names of Barratt offices, and does not require you to attach paper receipts, as photographs can be uploaded instead. As the online expenses system will pull most of its information from MyHR, it’s a good idea to log in to MyHR now and check that all your information is accurate and up to date. The pilot for the project is currently taking place, with the plan to roll this out across the business in the autumn.

Unfortunately, some of these projects have been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need for our IT teams to focus on increasing the capacity for remote working as well as supporting our new ways of working. However, Business Change continues to be a priority for Barratt and here we look at some of the changes and new systems we’ll be implementing in the coming months:

This project will replace the existing iCom’s solution with COINS BoQ. The new solution will help our Commercial teams to remove multiple manual processes, systems and trackers, replacing them with a single tool that is much more automated. Bringing these systems into a single place and automating a number of manual processes will enable our Commercial teams to focus on other important activities. For example, surveyors can spend more time on site, reviewing valuations and reducing overspend – with these valuations quicker and more accurate as a result. This proactive cost management will help to improve margins, with higher margins meaning higher profitability, which is good news for everyone in Barratt.

When the pilot activities with Bristol, West London, Mercia, South West and Yorkshire East are completed, we will begin a phased COINS rollout to the other 22 divisions.

We’re replacing our end to end customer relationship management system (CRM).

seamless. Microsoft Dynamics 365 will play a key part in improving our lead to sale conversion rate and customer satisfaction scores.

The new system will replace a number of the aging systems that we currently use, including Adobe Marketing, PRADA, Sales Manager and iCare. By moving onto a single system, we can improve our customer experience by making each interaction simpler, quicker and

The first deployment wave is targeted for the end of October 2020 and will include Exeter, North Midlands, North East and Yorkshire West. The second deployment wave is targeted for the end of February 2021 and will include divisions from the Central and Southern regions, with the final wave in April 2021 rolling out to divisions in East and Scotland.

Although predominantly Sales, Marketing and Customer Care teams will be impacted by this change, nearly every department in the business will interact with the new system.

CHANGING OUR WAYS OF WORKING / 19

Employee benefits W

e launched My Barratt Benefits in 2010 because we recognise the need to motivate our teams. We work hard to ensure that we constantly improve the benefits we offer to employees. Regular research, surveys and reviews help ensure the scheme is relevant, beneficial for our people and can help us attract new people into the business. My Barratt Benefits covers a range of voluntary benefits you can opt in to receive. Did you know we offer the following to employees? Lifestyle Healthcare

Halford Rewards: 10% discount voucher for use at any Halford store.

Bupa Cash Plan: Offering colleagues salary sacrifice healthcare, helping you to cover the cost of everyday healthcare expenses.

Halfords Cycle2Work: You can still save at least 32% on the cost of a new bike and spread the cost over 12 months.

My Active Discounts: Provides employees with savings on health, sport and fitness products including online classes and home equipment.

Reduced hotel rates: Preferred hotel rates at a range of hotels across the UK, including Manchester and London.

My Barratt Staff Shop

Financial ayroll giving: A tax-efficient way to support P good causes and charities of your choice from just £5 per month.

Make savings at major retailers with eCodes, gift cards and shopping cards plus you can save on hotel stays, days out and much more!

ife Assurance Scheme: A level of life cover for L all employees on a Barratt contract.

All employees have access to free and confidential support and advice:

Visit www.barrattflexiblebenefits.co.uk for further information on all of the above benefits

The Construction Industry Helpline is managed and funded by the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity. Download their free app which is aimed at construction workers who would like more information about how they can help themselves or if necessary, take the next step in seeking professional help.

0345 605 1956 Construction Worker Helpline

A free, confidential service for construction workers and their ‘living in household’ dependents. Set up by B&CE’s Charitable Trust, it offers support, advice and a guiding hand in times of need. Visit their website for further information or call them in confidence 8am-8pm, 7 days a week.

0808 801 0372 20 / EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Our confidential hotline, Safecall, allows colleagues to raise any concerns about improper conduct you may encounter at work. If you have any concerns that you feel you can’t speak to your manager about, you can contact Safecall confidentially. The line is open 24/7 and calls are not audio recorded. Find out more about Safecall and our procedures on Our Place.

0800 915 1571

FOUNDATIONS

Looking after your health and wellbeing E

nsuring the health and wellbeing of our people is our number one priority.

In these uncertain times, it is more important than ever to remember to take the time to look after our own health – both physical and mental – and to support those around us so that we can all come out of this crisis stronger than ever. The last few months have shown us the importance of friendship and community, supporting people through hardships and sharing in the joys, even if only virtually and not in person. At the beginning of lockdown, our business faced new challenges that nobody could foresee – from migrating our entire workforce to homeworking, to furloughing 85% of our colleagues. Throughout this period, we’ve worked hard to provide support for our colleagues, particularly those who are vulnerable, and also ensure all employees (furloughed and non-furloughed) have been kept up to date on the latest government guidance, and our business activities, through the weekly coronavirus update. In May we marked Mental Health Awareness Week, which this year focused on the theme of kindness. We encouraged everyone to take a moment to consider their mental health and how much of an impact kindness can have on encouraging positive mental health. We were also reminded of the importance of enjoying regular exercise and ensuring we continue to spend time with

our loved ones – virtually and in person – as this all has an impact on our mental health and overall wellbeing. We recently published a Health and Wellbeing support guide, which takes into account the different experiences of colleagues, from juggling work and childcare to feeling anxious or experiencing burnout, or having financial worries. The guide aims to address some of these areas, with information and guidance on how to improve your mental, physical and financial wellbeing, working on site and in sales offices, working from home, flexible working and balancing roles at home. The guide also looks at how you can stay connected, with details of our new support groups (you can also find out more about these on page 9) and how to avoid burnout and exhaustion. It also reminds colleagues about our online learning opportunities, with a range of 60 second skills modules on positive thinking and relaxation, as well as a series of short eLearning modules on mindfulness and stress-management. The team continue to offer a range of 45 minute webinars as well, covering the topics of mindfulness, developing trust, motivation and organisational skills. There’s a wide range of online learning modules and sessions focused on improving your health and wellbeing, so be sure to visit MyLearning for more information. And don’t forget, you can access all of the resources we’ve shared throughout this period on Our Place and also online through our Barratt Developments Issuu page.

Seeking support We know that it can be difficult to manage the pressures of everyday life, particularly in these uncertain times. Please remember that whatever you need, there is professional, confidential support and help available to you. Please take a look at our Health and Wellbeing page on Our Place, for more information on the support available.

Our Employee Assistance Programme provides everyone with access to 24/7 confidential support through their freephone helpline, which is manned by professional counsellors to support your wellbeing. They provide expert information and advice on a range of areas including finances and parenting and have a range of handy tips and guides online. Plus colleagues have access to counselling sessions as well as advice on legal issues. Contact our EAP provider, Unum LifeWorks, on freephone 0800 048 2702 (UK) or visit the LifeWorks website at www.unumlifeworks. co.uk (user id: unum, password: lifeworks).

LOOKING AFTER YOUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING / 21

And finally… Caption competition Community spaces are so key to our developments, and Brooklands in Milton Keynes is no different with our Sales Adviser Tom Ustic, from South Midlands, recently showing new homeowners some of the perks of living on site, but can you come up with a funny caption for this photo?

7 8

"Thanks for all your help, ewe guys rock!"

And the winner is… Thanks to all the readers who sent in captions for our last competition, with the team at East Midlands donating to a local animal sanctuary as part of the Barratt and David Wilson Community Fund. The winning caption came from Kate Walsh, Receptionist at Southern Counties who has won a Marks & Spencer gift card worth £50.

Builders one-liners Thanks to colleagues who submitted their building one liners to the employee communications team, here’s a pick of some of the best… "The lifts on my last job were bad, they were wrong on many levels" Devlin Coulton, East London

Julian Digby, North West

Email us at employee.communication@barrattplc.co.uk by Friday 30 October to be in with a chance of winning a gift card. We’ll print the best suggestion in the next issue.

"I’d like to start with the chimney jokes – I’ve got a stack of them. The first one is on the house."

The prize crossword Across

Down

2. CEO of British Gypsum (4,6)

1. W e received this status from the Home Builders Federation (4,5)

3. Ran a marathon over a week (7,8) 6. Volunteered with Labman to make visors (7,5) 7. W hen the Long Service Celebration dinner should have been (5) 8. Ran an Easter Colouring Competition (7,6) 9. To become 'net zero carbon' these need to reduce (6,9)

2. Replaces our current end to end CRM (9,8) 4. These partners take young people outdoors for adventures (7,5,5) 5. Offers employees and their immediate family support with challenging events (9)

10. Launching in 2021 (3,5,9) 11. G SC colleagues volunteered here (4,5) 12. G SC colleagues used these to go from Leicester to John O'Groats (4,5)

Closing date :

Friday 30 October

To take part in the prize crossword you can either fill in the form online by following this link or print out and take a photo with your phone, then email your entry to employee.communication@barrattplc.co.uk. Name Address

Job title Location

Congratulations Congratulations to the winner of our crossword, Lesley Slaven, Buyer in Southern who received a Marks & Spencer gift card worth £50.

"There were two builders working on a house. The first was fixing planks to a wall, but every so often threw a nail away. The other one came over and asked why. “Because the point’s on the wrong end,” said the first. “You fool!” said the other. “They’re for the other side of the house.” Steve Metcalfe, GSC

Submit your building one liners to employee.communication@barrattplc.co.uk