Corporate Social Responsibility Statement (continued)
b. Disability:
LSL’s objective is that where appropriate, upon employment reasonable adjustments will be made to accommodate disabled persons wherever the
requirements of the organisation will allow and if applications for employment are received from suitable individuals. If existing employees become
disabled every reasonable effort is also made to ensure that their employment with LSL can continue on a worthwhile basis with career opportunities
available to them.
Specific employment policies exist which employees are required to observe and over which the Group Chief Executive Officer has overall responsibility.
Compliance with legislation and Group policies is audited by the Group’s Internal Audit team with regular reporting to the Board, which includes
indicators such as staff turnover.
Employee Key Performance Indicators
The Group uses a number of key performance indicators to measure its progress during the year, including employee turnover and the makeup of its
workforce by gender.
2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Total Employees at 31st December 4,754 4,831 4,490 3,287 2,806
Total Employee turnover percentage (%) (Data excludes forced leavers) 26.7 24.8 28.5 19.3 24.2
Breakdown by Gender
Male 2,052 2,065 1,838 1,389 1,145
Female 2,702 2,748 2,652 1,898 1,661
Employee Training
LSL’s businesses place strong emphasis on the quality of service they provide to customers with employees (and where appropriate consultants)
undergoing appropriate training, for example:
a. Estate Agency and Related Services:
Within the Estate Agency Division’s branches, employees adhere to the Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents published by The Property
Ombudsman (TPO), which is a code approved by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and which exceeds the legal requirements of the Consumers, Estate
Agents and Redress Act 2007 (CEARA). In addition, following the Government announcement of its intention to repeal the Property Misdescriptions
Act and to amend the Estate Agents Act and the publication by the OFT of its guidance on the application of the Consumer Protection Regulations to
Estate Agents, LSL has recently reviewed the training program which is delivered to its employees. Employees of the Estate Agency Division receive a
specially designed training course and the quality of service is monitored on a regular basis.
The Financial Services businesses also place strong emphasis on the quality of service provided to customers and all advisers complete a specially
designed comprehensive training programme which is supplemented by effective supervision, regular monitoring and regular refresher training
sessions.
b. Surveying and Valuation Services :
In addition to the training initiative undertaken with Mitre, and described on the previous page, all surveyors receive continuing professional
development through a variety of methods ranging from distance learning, regional workshops and an annual conference.
During 2012, the Group training expenditure was:
Expenditure Expenditure
2012 2011
Division £ £
Estate Agency and Related Services 1,232,368 1,129,230
Surveying and Valuation Services 152,688 133,567
total Expenditure 1,385,056 1,262,797
This includes in house training costs of £700,623 (2011: £611,127).
5. Health, Safety and Welfare
LSL places great importance on the health, safety and welfare of its employees. Policies, Group standards and procedures are in place, which aim to
identify and remove any hazardous areas, reduce material risks of fire and accidents or injuries to employees and visitors and, in conjunction with its
HR policies, manage workplace stress levels.
52 ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2012