Savanta:

Introduction

At Savanta UK we publish several policies and procedures that provide you with helpful information and support to navigate your career with us.  You should familiarise yourself with these policies and refer to them when you need to. If you have any questions about the content of the policies and procedures, please contact the HR team @[email protected].

Probation

During your probationary period Savanta will support new joiners with a structured programme and give opportunities for you to check-in with your Career Manager at intervals during your probation.

Information Security Accreditation (ISO27001)

At Savanta we take information security seriously as such we are an ISO27001 accredited agency. As part of your onboarding you will be introduced to ISO27001 and your responsibilities on data security. More info can be found here

Benefits

Savanta benefits focus on support and wellbeing and we hope they are something you value in addition to your contractual package.

Benefits are available to all permanent employees after successful completion of probation period (or three months where six-month probation periods apply) unless otherwise noted.

Pensions

As a business we encourage individuals to save towards their retirement. Savanta offers a pension scheme that meets auto enrolment requirements. Further information is available by contacting [email protected]

Dress Code

We don’t have a dress code at Savanta as we encourage our people to be who they are. We do however expect that everyone maintains an appropriate standard of dress and personal appearance at work.

When your role necessitates meetings with external clients, suppliers and so forth we would ask that you promote a positive professional image.

Wellness / Sickness

Short term absence:  At Savanta, we believe that having a day or two off to get ‘well’ is important for you to fully recover and be as healthy as you can be before returning to work.

You should inform your career manager of any wellness issues that restrict you from working prior to 10am on each day of your absence. When you return to work your Career Manager will check in with you and remember to always log your days off in BambooHR.

Longer term absence:  Contact HR for support and an overview of our full policy.

Maternity, Paternity and Shared Parental Leave

At Savanta we want to support and celebrate the birth of a new child.

Maternity Leave: Employees can take up to 12 months away from work on maternity.  Please see policy for details.

Paternity Leave: Subject to eligibility, fathers can take up to three weeks OPL. Paternity leave expires after 56 days after the birth of the child.

Shared Parental Leave: Subject to eligibility, you and your partner will be able to take Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) if you’re having a baby or adopting a child. With SPL, you can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between you.

We have a reduced working hours policy to support returning parents.  Please check out the full policy or ask HR for more details.

Other types of Leave

Dependency – Savanta’s dependency leave policy falls in line with statutory requirements. A dependant is either your spouse, civil partner, parent or child, a person who lives in the same household as you but is not your tenant, lodger, boarder or employee, or is someone who reasonably relies on you to provide assistance. A maximum of five days paid dependency leave is available for employees in any 12-month period.

Compassionate – Compassionate leave is granted for occasions where a direct family member dies or is in a life-threatening condition, and for attending a family members funeral. As standard up to five days paid compassionate leave is available for employees in any 12-month period. For more information see here

Parental – Subject to eligibility, employees can take unpaid parental leave to look after their child’s welfare. For example, this might be to spend more time with their children, to look at new schools, to settle children into new childcare arrangements, and to spend more time with family, such as visiting grandparents. The entitlement to parental leave is up to 18 weeks’ leave for each child and adopted child, up to their 18th birthday. For more information see here

Jury Service – Savanta supports all employees required to attend jury service. Please contact HR for more information or see here

Flexible Core Hours and Working From Home

Savanta support working from home and offer a 10am-4pm flexible core hours policy enabling you to work around your personal commitments, as long as client needs are met (e.g. 8am-4pm, 9am-5pm or 10am-6pm).  You should discuss and agree your working pattern with your Career Manager.

This flexibility is a benefit.  Performance and contribution may be monitored and you should be fully contactable and responsive at all times.  The majority of meetings should be possible via Microsoft Teams but if you are required to come into the office or attend meetings face-to-face this must take priority.  Please clearly show in your calendar if you are working out of the office.

Should you wish to explore other more formalised flexible working arrangements please contact HR on [email protected]

Weekend Working Policy

We understand and appreciate that from time to time employees may be required to work additional hours at the weekend.  We ask that these hours are preapproved. The Weekend Working Policy provides additional information on the process to follow to seek approval for taking time back.

Health and Safety

It is Savanta’s duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of our employees and other people who might be affected by our business.

Equal Opportunities

Savanta aims to create an environment where all individuals are able to make the best use of their skills, free from discrimination or harassment, and in which all decisions are based on merit.

We do not discriminate based on the full range of protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation).

Our principles of non-discrimination apply to the way in which we all treat our visitors, customer, suppliers, clients and former employees.

Anti-Harassment and Respect at Work

Bullying and harassment of any kind are not tolerated at Savanta. If you believe you may be being bullied, harassed or feel you are not experiencing the respect you deserve at work please refer to our policy which should guide you on how to raise this or contact HR.

Resolving Issues Effectively

This policy outlines how to formally raise a grievance through HR.

Environmental Statement

Savanta fully accepts its obligations towards the environment and society and you can access our Environmental Statement here.

Office Policies of Note

The Woolyard Office, Emergency Plan – More Here

Visitor Policy – when you have an external visitor visiting our premises, for security reasons you should ensure that you have signed them in by filling out our visitor book and provide them with a lanyard. Once they are ready to leave you can simply sign them out and return the lanyard. If you have any queries on our visitor policy please get in touch with Cid Brandon or Chelsea Blues, [email protected].

Clear Desk Policy – in a flexible environment we are conscious that employees are respectful of a shared space. More here