People, culture and work
Our approach to corporate responsibility embraces our business, staff and the wider community. We believe everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect, to equality of opportunity and to justice. We see only value in creating a more inclusive society, where people from all backgrounds and viewpoints can fulfil their potential. Surveys show our people appreciate our
corporate responsibility programme. By enhancing our awareness of the wider ethical, environmental and economic climate, we can and do make a difference. The firm has a dedicated team that manages
our programme. We are members of the Corporate Responsibility Group, Chatham House, the London Benchmarking Group, Advocates for International Development and Arts & Business. We also provide support to a wide range of legal and educational charities. We recognise that a culture of fairness,
equality of opportunity and inclusivity helps retain, develop and attract the very best people. To this end, we have established five staff network and social groups:
Ethnicity and multiculturalism This group focuses on both black and minority- ethnic staff and those recruited from overseas. Matters relating to faith also fall within its remit. Its agenda includes seminars, speaker events and graduate recruitment initiatives.
HS Women in Business With a membership of over 500, this network is open to everyone in the firm. The HS Women in Business committee meets monthly. The network runs around six events each year, including workshops and networking activities.
LGBT The group provides formal and informal mentoring and support to LGBT employees and partners. It also develops contacts with clients who are members of the LGBT community. A key objective is to ensure that no direct or indirect discrimination occurs at work.
Work/Life Balance Work/life balance is an area of diversity and inclusion that affects the greatest number of people at Herbert Smith. Following the success of our ‘Family Week’ initiative in 2006, a Work/Life Balance network was formed. It focuses on a range of issues, including flexible working, care of dependants and stress reduction.
Sports and Social Committee (SSC) The SSC encourages staff to get involved in sporting, social and fundraising activities. The SSC is made up of people from across the firm and is open to all. The opportunities are too numerous to list in full, but they include theatre trips, quizzes and team events such as football, sailing, cricket and hockey. The highly popular Christmas quiz, one of many fundraising events, has become something of an institution in recent years. In the last three years, the SSC has raised
nearly £250,000 for its chosen charities. This year the firm has a fundraising partnership with WaterAid, a charity which helps some of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged people access clean drinking water.
16
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32