Business must have purpose with profit and continuing with our 2019 highlights series we’re looking at the ways in which SSE does.
At the end of the year SSE plc was once again Fair Tax Mark accredited – the 6th year in a row we’ve received this prestigious mark of ratification.
As the first FTSE100 company to achieve Fair Tax Mark accreditation back in 2014, we have consistently championed the need for a culture of openness, transparency and pride in paying your fair share of tax and we have remained enthusiastic champions of it.
The Fair Tax Mark sets an independent standard for businesses and customers to trust that those companies achieving the mark have been through a thorough process which ensures they’re paying the right tax, at the right time and in the right way.
June also saw the business commit to support a brand-new campaign aimed at tackling insecurity over working hours – the Living Wage Foundation’s “Living Hours” initiative.
It is being launched with the objective of holding employers to a series of commitments which include providing workers with at least:
- Four weeks’ notice of shifts
- A contract that accurately reflects hours worked
- A contract with a guaranteed minimum of 16 hours a week
It’s part of our commitment to doing the right thing as an employer. And this was all the more important as in September SSE kickstarted the careers of almost 100 apprentices as the business recruited the next generation of energy workers to help tackle climate change.
In the last five years SSE has recruited more than 650 apprentices with around £80,000 invested in the training and development of each.
With government setting ambitious targets to achieve net zero by 2050 the new recruits will be at the frontline of efforts to decarbonise the UK; from building wind farms to maintaining flexible electricity grids to transport more clean power.