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HSBC HOLDINGS Plc Shadow Report 1999-2000

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HSBC HOLDINGS Plc Shadow Report 1999-2000 HSBC HOLDINGS plc Shadow Report 1999-2000 Report collated from information available in the public domain but which is not directly provided by the company through its corporate reports HSBC Holdings plc – Shadow Report Mission and Governance Report MISSION AND POLICY STATEMENTS No Data CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT GROUP BUSINESS PRINCIPLES AND VALUES The HSBC group has adopted the Global Sullivan Principles.1 These are a set of objectives that aim: to support economic, social and political justice by companies where they do business; to support human rights; to encourage equal opportunity at all levels of employment, including racial and gender diversity on decision making committees and boards; to train and advance disadvantaged workers for technical, supervisory and management opportunities; and to assist with greater tolerance and understanding among peoples; thereby helping to improve the quality of life for communities, workers and children with dignity and equality. The principles: As a company which endorses the Global Sullivan Principles HSBC pledges to respect the law, and as a responsible member of society to apply these Principles with integrity consistent with the legitimate role of business. They also agree to develop and implement company policies, procedures, training and internal reporting structures to ensure commitment to these principles throughout the organization. Further, the company states the belief that the application of these Principles will achieve greater tolerance and better understanding among peoples, and advance the culture of peace. Accordingly, the company agrees to: Express support for universal human rights and, particularly, those of employees, the communities within which it operates, and parties with whom it does business. Promote equal opportunity for employees at all levels of the company with respect to issues such as color, race, gender, age, ethnicity or religious beliefs, and operate without unacceptable worker treatment such as the exploitation of children, physical punishment, female abuse, involuntary servitude, or other forms of abuse. Respect employees’ voluntary freedom of association. Compensate employees to enable them to meet at least their basic needs and provide the opportunity to improve their skill and capability in order to raise their social and economic opportunities. Provide a safe and healthy workplace: protect human health and the environment; and promote sustainable development. Promote fair competition including respect for intellectual and other property rights, and not offer, pay, or accept bribes. Work with governments and communities in which it does business to improve the quality of life in those communities - their educational, cultural, economic and social well-being - and seek to provide training and opportunities for workers from disadvantaged backgrounds. Promote the application of these principles by those with whom it does business. It also agrees to be transparent in its implementation of these principles and provide information which demonstrates publicly its commitment to them.2 DRAFT 2 HSBC Holdings plc – Shadow Report Mission and Governance Report BOARD AND COMMITTEE STRUCTURE Board of Directors John Bond, the Company chairman was knighted in the Queens birthday honours list. Sir John joined the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank in 1961, and relocated to London following HSBC’s acquisition of the Midland Bank in 1993. He is also a non-executive director of the London stock exchange and Orange, the mobile phone service operator.3 REMUNERATION OF DIRECTORS Directors’ emoluments Sir John Bond, the company chairman, has been identified as “number three in the ten most “underpaid” table.4 It has been argued that his disciplined focus makes HSBC Holdings Plc. the world's best-run bank. In addition to the contribution made by the use of technology, Sir John also credits the bank’s success to a fundamental focus on thrift. He says "I turn out the lights when I leave a room because it costs $700,000 a year just to light our ten main buildings in London". He flies economy, takes the subway to work and his $1.1 million total compensation last year was a fraction of the $164 million package paid to a US counterpart6. Sir John also drives a small car and travels second class, a policy which is believed the have transformed attitudes in the company.5 As a result of this thrifty attitude, HSBC has been sneeringly referred to in the US as the "Home for Scottish Bank Clerks."6 DRAFT 3 HSBC Holdings plc – Shadow Report Employment Report EMPLOYMENT REPORT STAFF POLICIES As a signatory to the Sullivan Principles (see Corporate Governance section) HSBC is committed to respect employees’ voluntary freedom of association. Regulations in the 1999 Employment Relations Act took effect in June 2000, reintroducing compulsory procedures for union recognition in the UK for the first time since the Eighties. This law is expected to assist white collar unions in addition to those in the manufacturing and traditional service sectors. Unifi, the financial services union, has a longstanding dispute with HSBC about recognition for managers, and changes to the Act are expected to assist Unifi in this dispute.7 Graduate employees at HSBC take part in quarterly, six monthly and yearly appraisals. Mike Kinningley, senior manager of executive education, believes that `It's about planning to succeed, we define success and then help the employee to fulfil their potential.' The purpose of an appraisal is to improve performance, and it is realised that measurable targets, meaningful feedback and making staff feel valued result in better performances. The appraisal process involves input from both sides, and is not a pupil-teacher type conversation.8 REMUNERATION POLICY As a signatory to the Sullivan Principles (see Corporate Governance section) HSBC is committed to compensate employees to enable them to meet at least their basic needs and provide the opportunity to improve their skill and capability in order to raise their social and economic opportunities. HSBC, together with Reuters and Tarmac Quarry Products, has offered joining bonuses of pounds 2,000 or more to ensure they obtain the right candidates. Reportedly large gaps in salary expectations cause many graduates to think twice about choosing a `worthwhile' career, and student penury provides an opportunity to attract the cream of graduates by offering ‘golden hellos’.9 The company is also sensitive to the needs of employees with families for whom HSBC jobs are no longer available, and pays a pounds 1,000 supplement to any laid-off employee who has a child in full-time education.10 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY As a signatory to the Sullivan Principles (see Corporate Governance section) HSBC is committed to “promoting equal opportunity for employees at all levels of the company with respect to issues such as colour, race, gender, age, ethnicity or religious beliefs. It is also committed to operate without unacceptable worker treatment such as the exploitation of children, physical punishment, female abuse, involuntary servitude, or other forms of abuse”. Current Employees HSBC, together with other organisations including Natwest, Mazda Cars, William Hill, Hampshire County Council and the London School of Economics, has introduced an assertiveness training course for male employees. The course was developed by Springboard, which already ran a successful assertiveness programme for women, when it received numerous enquiries from clients about running a similar course for men. A recent report reveals that men are so threatened by the success of their female colleagues that it is affecting their health.11 DRAFT 4 HSBC Holdings plc – Shadow Report Employment Report Midland Bank, owned by HSBC, has raised its retention rate for women on maternity leave from 30 per cent to 80 per cent by allowing them to work flexibly on their return and by providing childcare support. Working parents are an important facet of the employment agenda, but interest in the issue has also been shown by ethical investors. Stockbrokers Rathbone Neilson Cobbold, for example, now assist clients to invest in companies that look after families. HSBC Midland is well placed to attract such investors, as the company is celebrating “10 years of family-friendliness”.12 As part of its family-friendly strategy, HSBC provides staff with constantly updated information on local childcare schemes, to assist working parents who face the stress of finding full-time childcare during school holidays.13 For employees with younger children, HSBC offers its staff 850 nursery places, 300 of which are on site. As it is heavily involved with the management of the nursery scheme, the company is one of only about 600 organisations that qualify for tax concessions for running nurseries for the benefit of their staff. Flo Armstrong runs the nursery project, currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, with five staff. She says that ''the availability of nursery care then and now is not enough to satisfy demand. So we continue to believe it benefits our employees and the company if we provide affordable and good quality childcare'. The bank subsidises between 40 to 50 per cent of the cost of its nursery care, and parents pay the balance.14 New Employees Expressing support for the employment of older workers, HSBC has argued that 'for all the merits of getting younger unemployed into work, the Government's efforts would be better focused on drawing discouraged older workers back into
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