Our Annual General Meeting - Have your say

The provision of services by the external auditor and the potential costs and benefits of entering a tender process are considered at least annually by the Audit Sub-Committee. This consideration takes into account the effectiveness of the current audit process and an assessment of the auditor’s independence and objectivity.

During 2021 the Audit Sub-Committee decided that due to a forthcoming audit partner rotation, this was an appropriate time to carry out a tender process.

We went through a rigorous audit tender process which included six firms in total.  Of these firms three were mid-tier firms, however it was decided that Deloitte LLP were best placed to provide members of the Society with the required level of audit assurance.

There is a legal requirement to undergo a tender process within 10 years of an auditor's appointment, in this case before the 2032 year end. In addition we are legally required to change the audit firm at least every 20 years.

In a future tender process, we would also seek to invite suitably experienced firms to tender from both within the “Big 4” and from outside this group. Our selection of a future audit firm will be driven by our assessment of the factors noted above regarding auditor effectiveness, independence and objectivity, together with our assessment of whether the firms concerned have sufficient insurance technical capability to audit a Group such as ours.

The continued impact of the cost-of-living crisis, as well as big life changes such as a relationship breakdown or unemployment, can lead to stress and money worries. So, we created online support pages for our customers, providing support with finances, bereavement, health and disability, mental health and more. Customers experiencing financial worries can also get in touch with our customer service team to find out what support is available to them. This could include a payment holiday on their policy, or quicker access to their funds.

We use our voice to speak up on issues that are affecting our customers. So, since 2020 we have been leading on an industry-wide solution to the difficulties faced by the families of teenagers with mental incapacity in accessing their child trust fund (CTF) and junior ISA (JISA) accounts, who are currently expected to apply to the Court of Protection (CoP) to access small balances that average around £2,200.  Many of these young people have degenerative conditions and the money that is held in their accounts could purchase an important piece of life-improving equipment or be used to create happy family memories. To help them, we’ve enabled nearly 1,300 families to access their child’s OneFamily account through the industry’s Fair Access Protocol since September 2020. We have also been campaigning for change, urging the Government to simplify the lengthy, complicated, and sometimes expensive CoP process.  As part of this we attended a Westminster Hall Debate earlier in 2024 that recognised the support that OneFamily is providing to the families of these young people and our role in keeping the profile of this issue high.

Our Young Person’s Education Grants are available to help with the costs associated with further education. Buying a laptop, travelling to a work placement, or getting the right equipment for an apprenticeship can be unaffordable for many young people and their families. Customers can apply for up to £250 to support someone aged 15-19, helping to remove some of the barriers to achieving their ambitions. In 2023 we awarded over £28K to 111 young people, helping them to invest in a better future.

Our Over 50s Life Cover policy gives customers access to a range of support services, at no extra cost. This includes guidance following a bereavement, emotional support to help deal with a terminal illness and practical information if a customer or their family member needs specialist care.

We give our ISA and Lifetime ISA customers the option to invest their money in a fund that considers the climate credentials of companies when deciding which to buy shares in.

Our Global Equity fund gives each company on the MSCI World Index a climate score based on five factors: green revenues, adaptation score, carbon intensity, fossil fuel reserves and brown revenues.

The fund is more likely to invest in those with the highest climate scores within their industry.

The Global Equity fund also excludes companies that make 10% of more of their revenue from activities that are deemed unethical, such as building controversial weapons.

Learn more about our climate selection criteria.

We are committed to continually improving our operations and regularly review our practices. We have implemented the following in our offices:

• Recycling initiatives: centralised collection points on all floors to encourage and enable efficient recycling.
• Motion sensor LED lighting installed in the Brighton office to reduce electricity consumption.
• A ‘no waste goes to landfill’ policy – currently operating in the Brighton office with a view to roll out across all sites if possible.
• In our Brighton office, we have removed all paper towels from the washrooms and replaced them with energy efficient hand dryers.
• We have removed our under-desk bins to encourage more centralised recycling across our Brighton & Swindon sites.
• Our policy across all sites is to purchase products made from recycled materials wherever possible.
• We have replaced all of our computers with energy efficient laptops across all sites.
• In our Brighton office, we have replaced our existing boiler and chiller system, with a more modern energy-efficient system which only operates during core hours to reduce our usage.
• We have disconnected the heating in our Brighton office staircases to reduce our usage.
• We have installed a new energy efficient UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) system that feeds the essential services in our Brighton office.
• We are using video conferencing and online meetings where possible to reduce emissions relating to travel (as opposed to face-to-face meetings).
• Purchasing of carbon offset fuels for our Generator diesel tank and participation in carbon offsetting to compensate from the emissions released from our generator tank fuel in the Brighton office.
• Compliance with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, where we assess our energy use and identify efficiencies and with Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting, where we measure our carbon footprint and look at ways to reduce / offset this.

Our commitment to minimising our environmental impact also extends to the employee benefits we offer to colleagues:

• We continue to encourage our employees to use public transport wherever possible by providing ‘easit’ travel discounts (for the Brighton & Hove area) that provide discounts on public transport (buses & trains).
• We offer a cycle to work scheme, season ticket loans and an electric car salary sacrifice scheme.

Our focus on gender equality in the workplace forms part of our broader Diversity & Inclusion strategy to increase awareness and best practice, promoting equality for all.

Our 2023 gender pay gap report can be found here.

This is a Government initiative which encourages organisations to promote the right practices and culture in the workplace. The report illustrates the difference between the average and median pay of all men and women in a workforce expressed as a percentage of men’s pay. The gender pay gap reflects that OneFamily, like most financial services organisations, currently has more men in senior leadership roles. The financial services sector has a larger gender pay gap than many industries.

OneFamily’s 2023 mean gender pay gap is 18% down from 18.8% in 2022, a slight improvement however we recognise the need to continue being proactive in supporting and developing our female population. The national average in 2023 was 14.3% (ONS, 2023), which we recognise is now lower than our median, and we are continuing to look at initiatives to support the development of our female population and ensuring that all colleagues continue to be paid fairly and proportionately.

At the end of 2023 our Board comprised 4/7^ths female and 3/7^ths male directors. At the senior management level, we have 42% females and 58% males.

As an organisation we remain committed to addressing and reducing the gender pay gap over time and we know there is more we can do as an organisation. We will continue to support diversity through:

• Aligning our Diversity & Inclusion strategy with our business strategy.
• Driving accountability through our senior executive team.
• Monitoring our recruitment strategy and practices to ensure balanced shortlists and gender-neutral job adverts.
• Improving our family friendly policies and develop new policies and support in areas such as menopause.
• Understanding the challenges that prevent females from progressing to senior roles.
• Enhancing development initiatives and opportunities to support progression; and pay equality.

We created our charity partnerships to support charities that share our goal to support access to education, boost financial wellbeing, and improve life chances for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The partnerships allow us to develop meaningful relationships with each charity, rather than just providing a one-off donation.

Our local charity partners in Brighton were selected via an employee vote in 2021, and we’ve continued to support each charity financially and through colleague volunteering.

The 3 local charity partners are:

• Spear Brighton Trust

Spear Brighton Trust runs an award winning, six-week coaching programme designed to get 16-24 year-olds into work by helping them overcome their personal barriers, giving practical support and guidance, and by challenging their attitudes and behaviours.

• Team Domenica

Team Domenica provides personalised education and employment programmes to support young people with learning difficulties. The charity aims to develop each candidate’s confidence, communication, and work skills so they’re ready to enter meaningful employment.

• The Clock Tower Sanctuary

The Clock Tower Sanctuary runs the only drop-in day centre in Brighton & Hove for 16-25 year-olds experiencing homelessness. The charity provides a range of support and facilities to help young people to move from crisis to stability.

We also partner with IntoUniversity, a charity that supports young people facing disadvantage to attain their chosen aspiration, including further and higher education, employment, and work-based training. At each of their 41 learning centres students receive structured pastoral and academic support, designed to be aspirational and to promote a love of learning.

We’re working with IntoUniversity to provide funding and support their mentoring scheme. Seven OneFamily colleagues continued to mentor a young person in 2022/23, supporting with UCAS applications, researching their career and education options, and even helping with the practical parts of planning a gap year.

We’ve been working with our national charity partner, RedSTART, since they were selected via a customer vote in June 2022. The charity is working to improve financial education for children in the UK, levelling the playing field and transforming the life chances of children in some of the UK’s most deprived areas. We’re delighted to be working with a charity that shares our belief that access to financial education and support is key to financial wellbeing and a fundamental right for everyone.

We’re supporting RedSTART with their new research programme, Change the Game, which aims to find out how learning about finance in primary school can help people later in life. As well as providing funding, OneFamily colleague and customer volunteers supported the delivery of school-based activities and workshops in 2023.

OneFamily colleagues are encouraged to spend time working with our charity partners and other causes in their own local communities, with three days of volunteering leave each year. Colleagues can also fundraise and take on long-term volunteering roles.

You can find out more about our charity partners.