PEOPLE HANDBOOK
Businesses are built on people. Empowering our team to make decisions, giving you ownership and opportunity enables you to create change, going beyond the accepted to achieve a new standard.
We have a culture that creates a desire to go further, to do better and work harder to realise shared ambitions and make a difference to the lives of those we connect with.
Smith, Chief Executive
Gemma
Our values
Our values guide the way we do business. They set the tone for everything we do at Strata. Our book of values and beliefs is your guide to our culture, behaviour and everything we believe in. Everyone receives a copy of this on their first day, as it’s important that you understand our values right from the very start. We hope that our values seem obvious to you in everyday life not just at work, that’s why you have chosen to join our team.
Human Connection
We are a modern family business of like-minded people whose sole purpose is to enrich the lives of others and engender a deep sense of trust and belonging.
Equality
We believe everyone should be seen, heard, valued and empowered to succeed.
Hearing diverse perspectives fuels innovation, deepens connections between people, and makes us a better company.
Agility
We are not scared of change and we thrive in challenging situations, we strive to be the best we can be and encourage continuous learning and growth.
Responsibility
We act responsibly towards our customers, each other, our wider communities and the planet.
Trust
We earn the trust of our customers, our team and extended family through transparency, honesty, compliance, and performance.
What makes us different?
Doing things differently starts with our team, so we’re always happy to find people who don’t have any preconceptions about industry norms - just lots of fresh ideas. They fit right in here. Personal relationships are at the heart of everything we do. We see the people who come together under our roof as a family - a diverse group of people who share our values and our passion foe going beyond. Whether we are recruiting the next member of our team, working with a key partner or talking to a first-time buyer, we always work hard to build and maintain connections.
We look for open-minded, positive people who want to play their part in delivering amazing experiences. Everything else, like what they’ve done before, is secondary. In fact, people with a background that has nothing to do with this industry are sometimes the best fit for us.
Our home
Our Support Office is where we call home. This building is where our team, partners and customers come together to plan, collaborate and share ideas. In order to fulfil our purpose, we wanted to create a space that would capture our spirit; a different kind of working environment; a place that would embody our values and allow our unique culture to flourish.
In our home, you’ll never find people shut away in individual offices. We think it’s important to maintain an open environment where collaboration is encouraged.
The same goes for our extended family of partners, suppliers and contractors. They are always welcome in our home. We hold a drop in morning each month where anyone who works with us can join us and catch up over breakfast, to talk about how we can work even better together.
A sense of belonging
There isn’t a typical Strata team member. Each one of us is different, with our own skills, background and life experiences. The important thing is, we bring together talented people who share the same drive to create homes and experiences like no other. We work hard to create opportunities, experiences and moments so that each and every team member really feel like they belong.
From time to time, we host a Fika in our Family Kitchen. Fika is a Swedish concept which is often translated as “a coffee and cake break”. It means making time for friends or colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat. In Swedish culture it is important to make time to stop and socialise: to take a pause. It refreshes the brain and strengthens relationships.
Fika is an opportunity for our teams to “down tools” and come together over coffee and cake and get a chance to fully catch up, often with people they don’t see on a daily basis.
It’s just one of the ways we are able to grow small and keep the family feeling of belonging as our business continues to grow.
Anything is possible at Strata, there is no limit to what we can achieve. We are driven by making a difference to people and the world.
It is a creative innovative place to work where everyone has a share of voice. Workplace (our internal social network) has been fully embraced by our team, they share updates to the whole business, celebrate and cheer each other on.
Sally - Forecast Manager
Your development
The success of our business relies on enabling our team to grow and flourish. Growth for us isn’t necessarily that next promotion, it’s whatever way we can support you to develop yourself, both in your role and as an individual. Each year we run our My Development 121’s. This is a focussed conversation about you, your development, and your career with us at Strata. You have the opportunity to give feedback to your manager and receive feedback on what you are doing well and how you could grow further. Through this process we identify your development areas and any training needs required to support you in flourishing in your role. You then receive a development plan with your agreed focuses for the next 12 months, including any formal training that has been agreed.
Workplace
Workplace is our key communication platform that we use to share news, talk about what each team is working on, recognise each other and celebrate special moments. It’s a place where we can come together online, to make sure that no matter where you are working, there’s always a central place to connect with each other.
Benefits
Whilst your offer letter and contract of employment will stipulate what benefits you are entitled to, here is a summary of what we offer:
Health Cover
You will be registered with Westfield Health and provided with level 1 health cover in the month after you join us for both you and up to 2 dependent children. This is a health cash plan that allows you to claim back specified amounts each year for treatments such as dental, optical, physiotherapy, holistic therapy, private GP appointments and much more. The plan comes at no cost to you but is a taxable benefit which is reported on your P11d at the end of each tax year. You have the option to opt out of the plan if you want to, but you also gave the option to increase your cover too. If you do choose to increase your cover, then that payment is managed between you and Westfield directly. Details of your entitlement will be communicated to you in your Westfield pack which you will receive shortly after you join us. If you’d like to opt out of this benefit, please let a member of the People and Culture Team know.
Pension Scheme
After two completed months service, you will automatically receive an information pack about the Aviva pension schemes and information on how to opt in. If you have not responded by your 3rd completed month of service, Strata are then required to auto-enrol you into the scheme. The auto-enrolment scheme is a personal contribution of 2.4% and a company contribution of 6%. If you join voluntarily and are under the age of 40, then the contributions are 3% & 6%. From 40+ the contributions are 4% & 7%.
Company Bonus
You can earn a bonus of up to 20% of your basic salary each year with our discretionary company bonus scheme.
Salary Reviews
Your salary will be reviewed in line with industry benchmarks alongside your performance each year.
Company Cars & Car Allowances
Where your role deems that you are an essential car user, you will be entitled to a company car or car allowance which is stipulated in your offer letter when you join us.
Our company car scheme through Lex Autolease gives you plenty of choice including many electric and hybrid vehicle options. You will be able to place an order for a company car once you have successfully passed your probationary period, and can either choose to receive a car allowance or be provided with a hire car by us prior to receiving delivery of your vehicle.
Where you opt for car allowance to arrange your own private vehicle, you are able to change this and opt into the company car scheme at any time.
Company cars are a taxable benefit, so if you have any questions, are unsure on how this may impact you or for more information on the scheme, please contact The People and Culture Team.
Holiday Entitlement
Our teams work hard, and you need time to rest and recharge throughout the year. That’s why we offer 26 days holiday per year, plus the usual bank holidays. We ask our teams to save 3/4 days holiday per year to cover the Christmas period, where we close our Support Office and Hubs.
Where your role requires you to work bank holidays, your bookable entitlement is 34 days, minus any mandatory bank holidays where our Sales Office close such as Christmas day and New Year’s day. For any additional days where we close our Sales Offices, you will be required to use your holiday entitlement on those days. Any additional closure days will be communicated to you in good time, usually in January at the beginning of each new holiday year.
Death in Service
Our Death in Service for our Team members is 4x basic salary.
Benefex
As part of the Strata team you’ll have access to our partner platform Benefex, which gives you access to purchase a whole host of discounted benefit options via salary sacrifice such as:
• Dental Payment Plans and Support with Simply Health
• Critical illness cover with Canada Life
• Health Screening with Bluecrest
• Will Writing & Power of Attorney with James McKenzie
• Up to 50% discount at many restaurants, and family activities with Kids Pass Activity Pass
• PHC Private Medical insurance
• Spread the cost of technology and home items through salary sacrifice with Blackhawk Tech and Home Vouchers
• Restaurant & Dining Vouchers
• Gym Memberships to over 3600 gyms across the UK
• Hair, Beauty, and Spa treatments
• Salary Sacrifice Cycle to Work Scheme with Evans - bikes and associated accessories
• Access to a Discounts and Cashback website Discounts and Cashback website
Personal Development Days
Each quarter you are able to block out 1 day to focus on your own personal development. This allows you to undertake uninterrupted focussed development time relative to your development needs, Personal Development Days need to be agreed with your line manager in advance. So whether its attending a webinar, completing e-learning or reading up on some industry related content, everyone will have the opportunity to take some time out for their own learning and development.
Charity and Social Events
There’s always a whole host of charity and social events to get involved in. From Total Warrior and Skydiving, to Bowling and our Summer Ball, there is something for everyone.
Download this year’s Charity Events Calendar
Health and Wellbeing
The Health and Wellbeing of our team members plays such an important part in enabling our teams to flourish. For us, a healthy team is a happy team. We encourage our team members to prioritise their own health and wellbeing and offer a range of services and initiatives to support them to do so.
Our Health and Wellbeing strategy supports our overall business strategy. So you can see how important it is for us to invest in supporting our team to achieve and maintain positive overall health and wellbeing.
Here are just a few of the opportunities and support provisions we offer to support you in taking care of your overall health and wellbeing:
Health Assessments:
Each year you will have the opportunity to complete your own health assessment through the Champion Health wellbeing platform. The platform takes the information you enter and provides you with a personalised health and wellbeing report, which gives you a full picture of your overall health and wellbeing. It covers physical, mental and lifestyle health factors. You will be able to see what is going well, but given advice, tools and techniques on how to make positive changes to improve your overall health and wellbeing.
Access to The Netflix of Wellbeing:
Access to a whole host of content from “The Netflix of Wellbeing” with our partner Champion Health to give you the tools to improve and proactively manage your health and wellbeing.
Listening Service:
Dealing with day to day life can be challenging. When this starts to affect how you are feeling, it’s important to know there are people around you to talk to. Our listening service provides you with an independent and confidential listening ear who you are able to offload your thoughts and feelings to.
If you’d like to use the service, you can book a virtual or face to face appointment directly by emailing sycls@sycls.co.uk or telephoning 07903899751.
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP):
Our EAP through BHSF gives you 24 hour access to confidential support and advice whenever you may need it. Details of how to access the EAP can be found within the Benefex platform.
Wellbeing Warriors:
Our Wellbeing Warriors are here to offer immediate support and understanding to anyone feeling overwhelmed or out of sorts. They are trained to provide the right kind of help, listen, and create a safe space where you can feel respected and supported. Beyond listening, our Warriors drive wellbeing initiatives within Strata and help raise awareness, aiding to encourage healthy behaviors and foster a culture of wellness.
Download details of our Wellbeing Warriors
Wellbeing Mornings:
Having a culture where you know it’s okay to take time out when you need it, and you feel psychologically safe to do so, is so important to us. It has been key to building a motivated and successful team. So each quarter, we hold a Wellbeing Morning at our Support Office. Our Wellbeing Mornings are an opportunity to take time out from working and come together to enjoy trying out new activities as a team. We enjoy breakfast together in our Family Kitchen throughout the morning and host different workshops for you to join up until lunchtime. From climbing to yoga, macrame to art workshops, there’s always something physical, creative and fun to choose from.
Wellbeing Calendar:
Each year there are lots of health and wellbeing initiatives, workshops and sessions to get involved with.
We share all of the details of our wellbeing opportunities regularly on Workplace and via email.
Our Support Office
Our Support Office is where many of our teams work from to support our developments. Based at Lakeside in Doncaster, there are lots of local amenities around our office and you’ll find a map of the surrounding area overleaf.
Start Times
Your contract of employment stipulates your hours and location of work. Our Support Office opens between 8:15am to 4:45pm Monday - Friday. Our Sites operate from 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday - Thursday and 8.00am to 4.30pm on Friday. Our Sales Offices open Friday - Monday 10.00am to 5.00pm and 12.00pm to 7.00pm on Thursdays.
Reporting Absences
It’s important that you make every effort to attend work at the usual place and time. We do understand that from time to time, things happen that are out of our control. If at any time you are having trouble travelling into work, you should call your line manager 1 hour before your usual start time, on that morning with an estimated time of arrival. If you are unable to attend work at all then you must make your line manager aware and where you cannot work from home, you may be expected to use either annual leave or unpaid leave.
Dress Code
We understand that the way in which we dress is an expression of our identity and who we are as individuals. With that, here at Strata we have a casual dress code where we encourage you to dress for the day.
Whilst we encourage a more relaxed approach to what we wear at work, there are some items of clothing we ask our team to avoid wearing, to maintain a certain level of professionalism and respect for each other:
• Tracksuits and sportswear
• Relaxed clothing such as lounge wear and jogging trousers
• Sports trainers
• Light blue, distressed or ripped jeans
• T-shirts with slogans that may cause offence to others
• Football / Sports team shirts
There are some roles where you are required to wear a uniform. These roles are usually (not exclusively) in our Sales and Production Teams. Where you are required to wear a uniform, you will be made aware prior to starting with us.
Our Policies
Here you will find a summary of all of our people policies. It’s important that you take the time to read and understand them, referring back to them as and when you need them.
We have provided summaries that pick out the key need to knows of each policy. However, if you want to access the full policies, please click here.
Policies and process are there to provide a fair framework for us to work within. The reality is, that everyone and everyone’s situation is different, and we want to apply the right, honourable principle within the framework to support you each in the right way.
General Data Protection Act (GDPR)
We take the care of your data, supplier, client and customer data very seriously. Data is split for the purposes of GDPR and our policy into different categories to ensure that data is processed, controlled and stored appropriately.
As a Company we take pride in doing the right thing in the right way in everything we do, and it is important to ensure you are aware of our policies and that you have completed all mandatory training to make sure we all remain compliant.
We will ensure that we process all data compliantly and lawfully. We will only ever ask for data that we need and use date in a legitimate and transparent way. The same principles apply to any third party that we use to support us in our employment or customer service provisions.
Please refer to our Privacy Policy and Data Retention principles for further information about how and why we use different types of data and how long it will be retained for.
Joining Us and Working with Us
We are a family owned and run business which has deep values about looking after our customers, clients, suppliers but most importantly our Team. We strive to be a fair and compassionate employer and we have a range of guidelines, rules if you will that help us to ensure there are clear expectations set between us and you. Ultimately, we all have a role and part to play in creating a healthy, happy and thriving work environment and Business. The onus is part yours and part ours and it is about us working together and holding each other to account to ensure we do the right thing in the right way for all.
If you have any specific questions, please speak to your line manager or a member of the People and Culture Team.
We pride ourselves on going above and beyond the statutory offerings that most organisations within the Construction industry do and we want to do what we can to look after you in the most appropriate way. That said, we must always have a lens on fairness and so we might not be able to meet your expectations at every juncture but the reasons for why will be due to fairness and integrity.
Culturally we want you to thrive so we believe our pay and remuneration offering is above the benchmark for our industry and the roles within our organisation. Subsequently, we want to trust and inspire you to be the best version for yourself every day and so we have adopted far more agile ways of working. We have clear expectations as to how we want to present as a business internally and to the external world and it is important you are clear on these expectations in terms of dress code and conduct.
We want to be a great place to work, we want you to be happy and productive and have a great work life balance so if you have any ideas about how we can continually improve, please do ensure you feed this in, most likely to the People and Culture Team.
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Guide
We are committed to ensuring the highest safety standards in everything that we do. We also have a general duty of care towards all team members in ensuring that health, safety and welfare is always looked after. With this in mind, we have a zero tolerance stance on being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, prescribed or illegal or otherwise while at work.
We also reserve the right to undertake on the spot testing, should we have reason to believe a team member is in breach of the above standards.
If you have reasonable belief that someone is under the influence of drugs or alcohol whilst at work, please discuss this with your line manager or the People and Culture Team in the first instance. As a team member, you have a responsibility and duty of care to take proactive action if you have such concerns. We must always prioritise safety and the working environment we share and this does not allow for people who are not in a fit state to be on any of our sites in any capacity.
Where you are struggling with any form of addiction, please speak to the People and Culture team who will work with you to agree a support plan. Ultimately, you have to do the work but we will provide a plan to enable you on the road to recovery.
Adverse Weather
We take the safety of team members with the upmost seriousness and so when it comes to adverse weather and travelling to, from or for work, it is important that we all take a sensible approach.
Everyone has different circumstances and we all live and work in various locations which can be impacted very differently from one region to the next in relation to adverse weather.
We ask you to have discussions with your line manager about your personal situation and agree what is the right thing to do each time this needs to be considered.
There are some options we can agree with you but it has to be mutually agreed and approved by your line manager for each situation in advance. Examples of which could include:
• To work from home where this can be accommodated
• To take unpaid leave whereby you are unable to work
• To use holidays whereby you are unable to work and wish to be paid
Please note that whatever the situation – this needs to be correctly logged in the People Portal.
The Company is not obligated to pay you for leave where the weather affects your ability to get to, from or to travel for work. We will always aim to support you as best we can and so sometimes there may be alternative ideas you have that might remedy a specific situation. In this instance, please discuss with your line manager or the People and Culture team.
Sickness, Absence and Disability
As a business we always aim to be supportive of team members who find themselves unwell and need time off work. We offer a generous sickness pay policy in the belief that this will only be used by team members when there is a genuine need.
Whereby this is abused, the company reserves the right to withdraw this offering and disciplinary action may be taken.
We ask you to keep us informed of any health issues that you have whether these be physical or mental, and work with us to ensure we support you with any reasonable adjustments you may need in the delivery of your role and objectives.
We may agree with you that a referral to one of our Occupational Health providers may be helpful in ensuring we are doing the right thing in the right way for you.
That said, it is a responsibility that is in equal measure between us and you, in the sense that you are expected to be accountable for your own wellbeing and ensuring you meet the expectations of what is agreed and what is required by the appropriate process we may enter into with you.
We manage absence in two distinct ways. We have short term absence management whereby you may have short period(s) of absence versus long term absence whereby your health is impacted over a longer period of time and there is a different level of requirement in terms of time and support needed by you from us.
Absence management is not a one size fits all process and so we will work with you in navigating the correct process for your specific situation to ensure that we are all working towards a positive outcome.
Short term absence triggers
Please refer to the full Sickness, Absence and Disability policy for further detail.
Long term absence triggers
Long term absence is classed as an absence lasting for 4 weeks or more.
Lateness
As a company we expect a professional approach to managing yourself and your workload.
We expect you to be on time and arrive not only for work but for meetings or work related events in a timely manner, which means arriving prior to the scheduled start time and being ready to start at the scheduled start time.
It is important to be aware of the impact of lateness on team members, clients, suppliers, customers, management and anyone else who may be appropriate to consider. It is important to acknowledge and apologise for your lateness and endeavour to ensure it does not become a repeat issue.
Being late of occasion is understandable but where this becomes ongoing theme – it may result in disciplinary proceedings, as it can reflect badly on your credibility and reputation as well as impacting our brand internally and externally.
Annual and Personal Leave
As a Company we provide a range of different mechanism for you to manage your life inside and outside of work. You are entitled to annual leave dependent on the hours you are contracted to. Please refer to your contract of employment or the People Portal for your annual holiday entitlement. In addition to paid leave for holidays, intended to provide you with a healthy work life balance, we have a range of paid and unpaid leave options to support you, dependant on the situation and scenario.
We understand that life throws curve balls, some more challenging than others and we want to support you with any obstacles you may come up against. Due to this, we offer a significantly enhanced sick pay provision as well as enhanced levels of family friendly leave. We also have the option of unpaid leave too.
Outside of the core family friendly leave policies, all other types of leave are in the main unpaid by statutory standards.
If you have a specific question please speak to a member of the People and Culture Team who will be able to advise you more specifically.
Maternity Leave & Pay
Every new birthing parent to be has a different situation in terms of role, timescales, experience and so we will often bespoke the process to meet your needs and that of your pregnancy/maternity leave. When we are made aware of a pregnancy, there needs to be a risk assessment undertaken which will be organised and undertaken by a member of the People and Culture Team.
Depending on your role and pregnancy, further risk assessments may be required. As an outcome of this process, it will be agreed with you what reasonable adjustments may be needed and next steps between the now and you leaving for your Maternity Leave. It is important to know that there will be a significant amount of information to take in and there is usually no rush to make big decisions straight away. We will discuss with you the big questions such as reasonable adjustments, workload, time off, returning and contact and support during this process.
Some key points to note:
• You must provide us with your MATB1 as soon as you can, and it needs to be the original copy - if you are unable to bring it in physically, please ensure it is posted recorded delivery.
If you do not meet the requirements for Statutory Maternity Pay you will have to apply for Maternity Allowance (which is the same amount) but with a different process of how you receive it.
• You are entitled to Maternity Leave from day 1 of your employment and can take up to 52 weeks of leave.
• Where you are eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay you will receive 39 weeks of pay in the 52 weeks leave, paid in line with statutory amounts. The first 6 weeks are usually higher than the remaining 33 weeks.
• Depending on your length of service, we offer enhanced rates of maternity pay. The table on the next page outlines eligibility requirements for enhanced maternity pay.
• Where you do a physical role, you are mandated to take the first 4 weeks post birth as maternity leave, where your role is not physical in nature you are mandated to 2 weeks post birth as maternity leave.
• We need to be notified as soon as possible about when you wish to return to work.
• Where you unfortunately suffer pregnancy related illness, we can decide to start your maternity leave early by up to 11 weeks. We would hope to agree this mutually with you for the wellbeing of you and your unborn child/children.
• You can check your eligibility for statutory pay and further information at GOV.UK.
Paternity
Paternity Leave is leave for the parent who is not classed as the Birth parent or the Adopting parent. This leave is there to support you to spend some important time with your new family after the birth or after the formal date of adoption. Pre birth or adoption, you are entitled to take up to 2 of your normal working days worth of time to attend antenatal or adoption meetings before the birth or adoption. This time off will be paid in full and you are entitled to this time off from day 1 of your employment.
Paternity Leave is 2 weeks and can be taken at any point during the 52 weeks after the birth or adoption, either in one week blocks or 2 consecutive weeks. Where you are eligible you will receive Statutory Paternity Pay. For team members who have 3 full years of service or more, you will be eligible for 2 full pay during your paternity leave.
Maternity Pay Structure
First 6 weeks
Weeks 7 - 12
Weeks 13 - 39
Weeks 40 - 52
Throughout my maternity leave I felt supported with my keeping in touch days. They helped me to feel in control of my return to work. There had been various changes to processes and systems whilst I was away, but I was given lots of support and training which enabled me to return feeling confident in my role.
Melissa - Experience Manager
Surrogate Parents
We understand that sometimes having or expanding your family doesn’t happen in the conventionally known way and we always aim to be fully supportive of our team members who find themselves in these situations. Surrogacy is supported similarly to maternity leave and while our policy has principles we will adhere to, we encourage you to speak to our People and Culture Team who will support you and discuss what we can do to support you. While there are no matched rights for surrogate parents to that of maternity or adoption, it doesn’t mean we are not open to discussing options with you in order to support you the best we can.
We understand that every family situation is unique and we want you to know that we care and are here for you, no matter the circumstance.
Shared Parental Leave
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is designed to allow parents of a birth or adopted child to share the pay and leave of the birth parent or adopting parents statutory entitlement. The purpose of SPL is to provide flexibility to you and your family life. It is a more complex policy in nature than that of maternity/paternity or adoption and there are requirements for both parties to meet the eligibility requirements in order for it to be applied.
Essentially SPL is applicable over a maximum of 50 or 48 weeks for birth parents on the basis that depending on the birth parents role, there is a compulsory 2 or 4 week maternity leave. For adopting parents, SPL is applicable over 52 week period are there is no requirement for physical recovery post adoption as there is post birth. Where you have less than 3 years service you are entitled to the statutory entitlements. Where you have 3 full years service or more you would be entitled to the enhanced Company pay relative to adoption or maternity pay.
Please speak to a member of the People and Culture Team directly so they can help you from the start and ensure you are clear on all aspects of your eligibility and rights.
Parental Leave
Parental leave is unpaid leave and is designed to give you more time with your child or children whether for general enjoyment or for a specific purpose. You are entitled as a parent to take up to 18 weeks leave for each child up to their 18th birthday. While the guidance is no more than 4 weeks a year for each child, we will always to be flexible on this (within reason) as we want to support you and your family life.
Please speak directly with our People and Culture Team for more information relative and specific to your situation and circumstances.
Adoption Leave & Pay
We understand that the adoption process can be an overwhelming time as there is so much to learn and consider, especially if this is the first time you are going through it as a manager or a team member.
What you need to know is that we are here to support you each step of the way. While there is a core policy for adoption leave and pay, every new parent to be has a different situation in terms of role, timescales, experience and so we will try wherever possible to bespoke the process to meet your individual needs.
It is important to know that there will be a significant amount of information to take in and there is usually no rush to make big decisions straight away. We will discuss with you the big questions such as reasonable adjustments, workload, time off, returning and contact and support during this process.
Some key points to note:
• You must provide us with your adoption certificate as soon as you can and it must be the original copy – if you are unable to bring it in physically, please ensure it is posted recorded delivery.
• If you do not meet the requirements for Statutory Adoption Pay you will have to apply for Adoption Allowance (which is the same amount) but with a different process of how you will receive it.
• You are entitled to Adoption Leave from day 1 of your employment and can take up to 52 weeks of leave.
• Where you are eligible for Statutory Adoption Pay – you will receive 39 weeks of pay in the 52 weeks leave, paid in line with statutory amounts. The first 6 weeks are usually higher than the remaining 33 weeks.
• Adoption leave and pay is specific for the adopting parent.
• We need to be notified asap about when you wish to return to work.
• We do offer an enhanced adoption pay provision dependent on your length of service.
• Please review the Adoption Leavd and Pay policy and/or speak to the People & Culture Team for more information specific to your situation.
• You can check your eligibility for Statutory Adoption Pay and further information at GOV.UK.
Adoption Pay Structure
Flexible Working
The world has changed significantly as a result of Covid-19. Prior to this we were an office and site based business, whereas we have adapted and now operate a far more flexible approach to work. That said, there are roles within our business that can only be done from specific locations such as the Support Office, our Experience Centers or our Sites.
Depending on what your role is, you may have a more increased level of flexibility as to where and how you work.
The core principle that we apply in relation to flexible working is that where and how you work must be agreed locally with your line manager as this can be managed on a more informal and agile basis.
Where you wish to make more fundamental changes to your work location or hours, you would need to submit a formal flexible working request for consideration.
It is important to note that although we aim to fulfil or accommodate these requests, we are not always able to agree to them. That said, we will always work with you to see what compromises we can make together to move forward.
Equal Opportunities
We are an equal opportunities employer. We understand that everyone is unique and different and we value that about each of you. We have a zero tolerance approach to anyone being made to feel discriminated against in any capacity. We are working hard as a business to provide infrastructure that helps to educate and increase awareness in regards to the things people might say or do, with or without intent, that could cause hurt or insult to others. We do not tolerate bullying of any form and want to ensure that everyone who works for us, with us and our customers us feels seen, respected and cared for in an appropriate and kind manner. If you have any concerns about something you have witnessed or may done yourself, please speak to member of the People and Culture team for further guidance and support.
Capability
Capability is all about your performance. Where your performance and delivery/outputs aren’t where they need to be, we may revert to a capability process. There can be two or three stages dependant on your experience which benchmark the expectations we would have in regards to your performance levels.
The capability process is a formal process and you are entitled to be accompanied by a companion at any formal meetings by either a colleague or a trade union representative.
We would always try to resolve any performance issues informally but where this does not result in the necessary improvements, the formal process would apply. There are a number of potential scenarios resulting from the capability process including demotion or even dismissal. This type of process can feel very hard to be subject to and yet the purpose of it is to try and help in supporting you achieve the performance levels required of you in your role.
You would agree a performance improvement plan with your manager using SMART objectives and work towards this for the agreed timeframe which would then be reviewed.
Mediation
Mediation is a process that can be informal or formal and can be managed internally or provided by a third party.
We use mediation to help individuals who have conflict with another, or others in the hope that the mediation process will resolve the issues and reunite or mend broken relationships, ultimately dissolving the need for formal action.
Security
The security of all team members, visitors, customers and suppliers is paramount to us all. Technological safety is probably the biggest threat to our security in the present day due to the ever changing sophistication of scams, but for the purpose of this policy security covers all aspects of keeping you and the business safe.
Please ensure you are aware of our policies and procedures for keeping Company and personal property safe at all times. When Company property is in your possession you are responsible for it, so it is essential that you are aware of our security processes and adhere to them.
Health and Safety
We all have a responsibility for Health and Safety at work and upon joining us you are asked to complete online Health and Safety training which has been assigned to you through My Development Portal. The training you have been assigned has been identified as necessary for your role.
Due to the nature of how seriously we take Health and Safety, we ask all team members to read our full health and safety policy upon joining us. Please refer to the full Health and Safety policy or speak with the Health and Safety team should you have any questions in relation to Health and Safety.
Smoking
Smoking and vaping is only permitted in certain specific designated areas, and we do not provide additional breaks for this activity. You may use your designated breaks as you wish (within reason) but where you smoke or vape it is expected that you use this designated time for that should you wish.
Smoking can be known to create a strong smell on those who do participate in this activity, so we ask where you do smoke that you are aware of this and ensure you take reasonable steps to reduce the impact of this on others in localised working environments.
Grievance
It is always preferable and usually much less stressful for both parties to try and resolve disputes or issues informally. We are happy to work and support you in this but where you feel that a grievance process is the right option for you we fully support you in that.
As a team member you have the right to put in a formal grievance against the Company or another team member. The process can take some time and would usually involve a formal grievance hearing with yourself followed by an investigation process and then a grievance hearing outcome would be given. The process can feel difficult for those involved and so it is important to go into such a process with clear expectations that factor in scenarios whereby you disagree or that might otherwise come as a shock.
For every grievance there are usually 4 key outcomes. The first is that your grievance is upheld and in this instance, you may or may not be privy to what the outcomes for others may be. The next is that some points or a point of your grievance is partially upheld. The third is that there are no findings to corroborate your grievance and it is therefore not upheld. The fourth is whereby you are found to have made false allegations and disciplinary action may then be taken against you.
Another scenario to be aware of is that where you put in a grievance against another team member, they may decide to put in a counter grievance against you. In this scenario and in the nature of natural justice, you and your conduct would then also be investigated.
Grievance hearings are formal hearings and you therefore have the right to be accompanied. You would be formally invited to any grievance hearing and we would agree with you how you want to receive the outcome of your grievance, post investigation. The investigation process is a fact finding exercise and can take a substantial period of time depending on the complexity of the allegations made.
Where you are not happy with the grievance outcome you have the right of appeal within 5 working days of the receiving the outcome, however this is agreed.
Collective Grievance
The principle of a collective grievance is the same as it is for a normal grievance, but it is where a group of team members join together due to the same complaint(s).
Rather than holding an individual formal grievance hearing with everyone involved, a number of elected representatives would be spoken to. The grievance would be investigated in the same way as an individual grievance would be, but everyone involved would receive a copy of the grievance outcome separately.
Disciplinary
Disciplinary proceedings can occur for a number of reasons but in the main, are usually due to conduct. Conduct is split into two core categories, misconduct for the less serious conduct concerns and gross misconduct which is for severe conduct issues. Misconduct or gross misconduct of any kind are unacceptable and will therefore be dealt with accordingly under the Company Disciplinary procedure.
A disciplinary hearing would occur after a full and through investigation had taken place and it had been determined that there was a case to answer. The disciplinary hearing is designed for the participant to respond to the allegation(s) against them and the facts ascertained from the investigation process.
A disciplinary hearing is a formal meeting and you are therefore entitled to bring a companion to the meeting with you, being either a colleague or a trade union representative.
You would be formally invited to the disciplinary hearing and you can bring any counter evidence you may have along to the meeting with you. The chair may provide you with their decision at the close of meeting – prior to which, you will likely experience an adjournment for the chair to contemplate their decision, or further investigation may be required which means that you would not receive an outcome until this further activity is under taken.
You will have the right of appeal to the outcome of the disciplinary process. You have 5 working days from receiving the written outcome of the disciplinary process to make your appeal, in writing.
Communications
There are all manners of forms of communication and subsequently risks and benefits to these different communication forms. We ask you to be thoughtful and diligent in your use of different types of communication and the forms in which you use. Even when you are outside of working hours, you are still a representative of our business and we ask that you act with integrity and kindness both inside and outside of work when it comes to communication.
There will be certain forms of communication such as email or verbal that are more appropriate for more formal work related matters and for less formal matters, forms of communication such as teams is appropriate. We ask that for remote working you optimise the use of your camera so that the participants on your meeting calls are able to see you and feel more comfortable in their interactions with you unless there are fair and valid reasons as to why you may not on occasion.
The use of company equipment that enables any form of communication is to be used solely for work purposes.
Social Media
As technology and online communication is continually evolving, it is important that we have a benchmark for what is deemed acceptable and what is not from a brand and employment perspective.
The boundaries between social media and work can sometimes feel unclear and so if you ever feel that this is the case, please speak to your line manager or a member of the People and Culture team to clarify these boundaries.
From a business perspective – we think it is fairly simple and straight forward. If any form of social media activity could bring the Company into any form of bad light or disrepute, it is unacceptable and disciplinary proceedings may ensue.
This sentiment is applicable to both your activity during your working hours and your personal activity on social media outside of working hours.
An example being of this could be; getting into a political debate online during your personal time and using defamatory language as an identifiable member of our business.
If an individual is able to take your information and establish who you work for on the same site or platform or readily find it on another, and the individual uses this information to name and shame our Company, this would be a breach of trust and misuse of social media in terms of our policy principles.
Whereby you act with integrity and use non emotional, factual information to stand by your beliefs, this would be a different situation on the basis that those beliefs are not illegal, racist, sexist or defamatory of any demographic.
Company Cars
A Company Car can be any form of vehicle provided by the Company to you.
Company vehicles are a benefit and one that we believe is of value to you for a number of reasons. It is a costly benefit for the Company to provide and so there are clear expectations laid out in the agreement you commit to in how you look after, maintain and manage your assigned vehicle. We expect you treat your Company Vehicle with the respect it deserves in terms of keeping it up to date with all necessary vehicle maintenance and ensuring it is safe and road worthy at all times.
You are expected to remain within the legal parameters when operating and any convictions must be reported without delay to the People and Culture Team.
Any breach of the agreement could result in a fine or the vehicle being revoked in line with our more comprehensive policy principles.
Training and Development
We fully support and encourage ongoing personal and professional development. Please speak to your line manager in the first instance but you may also want to discuss any ideas or requests regarding your personal and/or professional development goals with the People and Culture Team in the first instance.
As a Strata team member, you also have unlimited access to thousands of pieces of learning content through My Development Portal, which we encourage all team members to review in the first instance. We are also open to funding or securing third party learning and development whereby there is a clear return on investment for you and the Company.
All Strata team members are entitled to 1 personal development day per quarter. They should be booked through People Portal and used for selfled learning only, not formal courses organised by the company. For more information, please contact the People and Culture team.
Expenses
Claiming expenses is a standard way of recouping costs incurred by you on behalf of the business or for business purposes such as travel. We have a more detailed Expenses Policy about what and how you do this but the principles we want you to be clear on are that any claims made are true and correct and are processed in the mandated manner.
There will be some types of expenses such as mileage or subsistence that will be more routine and will not need approval before incurring the associated costs, versus other types of expenses whereby you will need to seek line manager approval before incurring the cost.
All expenses are reviewed and approved before processing for payment. On the occasion that approval is not granted, we would speak to you to agree how to rectify the situation.
You can find the latest mileage form in your People Portal. If you have any questions about what you can or can’t claim for please speak to a member of the Payroll team and consult the full Expenses Policy for further detail.
Download expenses form
External Relationships
We are a business that’s built on relationships and with that we work with a number of individuals, businesses or institutions to ensure we optimise effective working processes and the highest quality product. There are many benefits to having a large number of collaborative relationships but there are also risks and we ask that you are diligent to these risks so that you do not compromise yourself or the Company.
The more commonplace an external working relation becomes, the less aware we can be to the potential risks of compromise that may be at play. We all have a morale and a legal duty to ensure that we navigate our business in a legitimate, honourable and legally compliant manner at all times.
Here at Strata, our partners and our supply chain are part of the family. With that in mind, we understand to build and maintain external relationships we get asked to attend hospitality events and receive gifts from time to time.
Where you receive a gift, get invited to an event, or purchase products from our suppliers in excess of £50, we require you to complete an ethical business form which can be found here.
If you have any concerns or are put in a situation in which you feel uncomfortable in relation to an external relationship, please speak directly to your line manager or a member of the People and Culture Team.
Download the form
Conflict of Interest
In everybody’s work and personal life, there is always the possibility of a conflict of interest occurring. For example, if you decide to start a business that has a direct link or association to what we do at Strata, or you begin a relationship with someone who is linked to the business via a supplier or customer avenue, this could be classed as a conflict of interest.
It is in all of our interests that where the possibility of a conflict of interest occurs or has the potential to occur, that you proactively raise this concern with your line manager or the People and Culture Team. To not do so could be deemed as an act of gross misconduct and may result in disciplinary proceedings.
One of our core priorities as a business is to protect the brand and reputation of the Company which ultimately strengthens our integrity. Integrity is es sential for all manner of reasons and is something we are proud of. We hope that in your transparency a solution or remedy to the potential risk can be mutually resolved, but this requires you to do the right thing in such situations and we therefore place trust in our team members to do so.
Redundancy
Unfortunately, from time to time circumstances may make it necessary for us to consider reducing our number of team members within the business. Strata is a Home builder in a competitive sector that relies on a buoyant market, we need to maintain agility and a good business model to survive the more challenging times. We would hope that redundancies rarely occur and as such, we try to take each case individually on its own merit.
We are committed to running and managing fair processes and will do so in a legally compliant way.
There are 3 different types of redundancy processes:
• An individual redundancy consultation – this is applicable where there are less than 19 roles at risk. It is a generally faster process containing 3 meetings for individuals that are impacted. The first meeting is to check in and make sure you have heard the announcement and that you understand the process and that you have what you need for the process. The second meeting is to discuss how the proposal impacts you and whether you have a counter proposal for the business to consider, and the third meeting is the outcome meeting whereby you would be informed of the outcome for the process. You have the right to appeal the outcome.
• A collective consultation process – 30 days – this is where the number of redundancies impacts 20 to 99 roles. It will last for a minimum of 30 days and will involve a staff forum of representatives who consult with the business. An individual process will usually run within this time frame as well. You have the right to appeal the outcome.
• A collective consultation process – 45 days – this is where the number of redundancies impacts 100+ roles. It will last for a minimum of 45 days and will involve a staff forum of representatives who consult with the business. An individual process will usually run within this time frame as well. You have the right to appeal the outcome.
At Strata a redundancy package includes statutory redundancy pay, pay in lieu of your notice period plus any monies owed in respect of your normal remuneration up until your termination date.
Leaving us
There are an array of possibilities in which our working relationship may come to an end and you may leave us including Redundancy, Retirement, Dismissal, Resignation, or Career Break. Whatever the reason there will be an appropriate process that needs to be followed to ensure that the correct pay and documentation is created and processed for you in a timely and efficient manner.
For any questions about our leaver process please speak directly with the People and Culture Team who will be able to advise you or refer to our Leaving Us Policy for further detail.
Corporate Social Responsibility
There are so many ways that we are delivering on our commitment to be responsible in how we operate. A huge part of that success in delivering against our commitments comes from our team members and the daily things you do that contribute to the greater good. It is in everyone’s interest that we maintain high standards of corporate social responsibility from putting out waste in the correct waste bins to optimise recycling efforts, sourcing our materials in an ethical and socially aware way and making sure that we are not participating willingly or otherwise in processes and industries that are not fair, compliant or legal, in the UK or Globally.
We also operate a Volunteering Programme whereby it is mandatory that team members take part in volunteering during their normal working time for 2 days per year (1 day per 6 months) to a Company approved cause or event. Volunteering Hours should be booked via People Portal and approved by your line manager. Further details of our Volunteering Programme can be found within our CSR policy.
We would also love to hear of any ideas you have in how we can continue to strengthen our CSR agenda, so please feed any feedback or ideas you have in to the People and Culture Team.
Whistleblowing
Put simply, whistleblowing is a process in which you can report a concern that something corrupt or illegal is happening at an individual or Company level. Our Whistleblowing policy has further detail on this process and under this policy you are protected from any detriment due to making a disclosure of your concern.
For any Whistleblowing concerns please direct them in confidence to The People and Culture Team or our external supplier being Core HR Consultancy; lucy@ corehrconsultancy.co.uk whereby your concerns will be investigated with the upmost seriousness.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental Health is an area we are investing in at an increased level year on year. As a company we strive to provide a healthy, happy, highly productive working environment that is inclusive and safe for all. The reality is that we all have busy lives with varying demands and growing personal responsibility with family, friends, childcare, carer requirements on top of our work commitments.
Ultimately, we are each responsible for our personal mental health and wellbeing, but we recognise that things can get too much and additional support can be required.
We are committed to supporting you through the difficult times but there has to be a clear expectation that ultimately, the responsibility is yours to act on the support we are able to provide. We can provide support, implement reasonable adjustments but if you do not take or make use of these, that is a choice you make.
We have an array of support mechanisms from our Wellbeing Warriors who are qualified Mental Health First Aiders, Mental health training, different wellbeing activities planned and delivered throughout the year, a highly skilled and compassionate People and Culture Team, very experienced third-party support and our listening service. We can also optimise our Occupational Health partners too whereby a referral may be helpful.
We fully endorse the Five Ways to Wellbeing which include:
• Being active
• Slowing down and taking notice
• Learning something new
• Giving back
• Connecting
These are simple, evidence based, proven theories to enhance your mood and aid you in achieving better levels of wellbeing.
