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Equality and diversity
This section on equality and diversity and the following section on expertise and restructuring together represent the bank’s reporting in relation to its activity and disclosure duty.
Equality means equal worth, equal opportunities and equal rights. Diversity in the workplace entails us reflecting the society of which we are a part.
In Sparebanken Møre, equality and diversity must be integral and natural elements of our personnel policy. Everyone should have equal opportunities, and this must be reflected in our procedures for the working environment, recruitment, pay and working conditions, facilitation, development and promotions. A diverse working environment helps to improve decision-making processes, increases innovation and improves the customer experience. From an external perspective, we want to exercise influence by stipulating requirements for suppliers, customers and partners.
The bank practises zero tolerance for all forms of discrimination, including verbal, physical and sexual harassment, discrimination on the basis of gender, pregnancy, parental leave or adoption, care obligations, ethnicity, age, language, religion, life stance, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or physical disability. We are also interested in practising good, easily accessible whistleblowing procedures.
Of the Group’s total 369 employees in 2020: 223 were women (60.43 per cent) and 146 men (39.56 per cent). The table below shows the gender ratio per position level, stated as percentages (GRI 405-1):
| Gender ratios per position level | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 0.00 % | 100 % |
| Level 2 | 33.33% | 66.67 % |
| Level 3 | 45.45 % | 54.55 % |
| Level 4 | 43.68 % | 56.32 % |
| Level 5 | 72.67 % | 27.33 % |
| Level 6 | 57.14 % | 42.86 % |
| Total | 60,43 % | 39.57 % |
| Percentage on the Bank's board of directors | 50.00 % | 50.00 % |
In 2020, the age composition per position level and stated in percentage was as follows (GRI 405-1).
| > 30 år | 31-50 | 51 år + | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 0.0 % | 0.3 % | 0.0 % |
| Level 2 | 0.0 % | 0.8 % | 1.6 % |
| Level 3 | 0.0 % | 5.7 % | 9.8 % |
| Level 4 | 0.0 % | 11.9 % | 11.9 % |
| Level 5 | 3.3 % | 24.7 % | 21.7 % |
| Level 6 | 3.8 % | 3.0 % | 1.6 % |
| Total | 7.0 % | 46.3 % | 46.6 % |
The table below shows women’s pay as a percentage of men’s pay in a 100 per cent position at different position levels (GRI 405-2).
| Proportion of women | Pay in relation to men* | |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 CEO | 0.00 % | 0.00 % |
| Level 2 Executive management group | 33.33 % | 98.27 % |
| Level 3 | 45.45 % | 98.56 % |
| Level 4 | 43.68 % | 86.73 % |
| Level 5 | 72.67 % | 92.66 % |
| Level 6 | 57.14 % | 91.88 % |
| Total | 60.43 % | 82.36%** |
| * Women's pay as a % of men's (average for 100 % position) | ||
| **The main reason for the difference between women’s and men’s total pay is the gender ratio per position level, with the largest proportion of men at levels 1-4, and the largest proportion of women at levels 5-6. | ||
| Average salary | Share | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 39.57 % | 678 083 |
| Women | 60.43 % | 558 504 |
| Total | 100.00 % | 605 817 |
| *Average NOK in 100% position | ||
Sparebanken Møre must help ensure employees can take statutory leave and wants to promote a more balanced ratio of work and family life among parents. The table below shows the use of parental leave in total number of person-days and as percentage of own gender (GRI 401-3).
| Taken as parent leave | Total no. of person days | As of own gender |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 401 | 1.03 % |
| Women | 1 960 | 3.47 % |
| Total | 2 361 | 2.47 % |
Sparebanken Møre wants to contribute to low work-related sick leave through systematic HSE work, good management and a good working environment. We have seen a low doctor-certified sick leave rate over time, which was 3.86 per cent in 2020. The table below shows doctor-certified sick leave as the total number of person-days and as percentage of own gender.
| Sick leave | Total no. of person days | As of own gender |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 419 | 1.42 % |
| Women | 3 267 | 6.34 % |
| Total | 3 686 | 3.86 % |
The bank recruited 19 new employees in 2020 (GRI 401-1 a).
| New employees | > 30 | 30-50 | 50 + |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Banking Division | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| Corporate Banking Division | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Section | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 1 |
16 employees left the bank in 2020 (GRI 401-1 b).
| Left | > 30 | 30-50 | 50 + |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Banking Division | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| Corporate Banking Division | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Section | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Total | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Sparebanken Møre wants to enable employees to work reduced hours if they need to for health, social or welfare reasons. In 2020, 39 out of a total pf 369 employees worked in a reduced position. The bank also had 18 temporary employees. The table below shows recruitment by contract type for the bank and for Møremegling (GRI-102-8).
| Employment contract/type | Parent bank | Møremegling |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent full-time employee | 330 | 11 |
| Permanent part-time employee | 39 | 1 |
| Total permanent employees (incl. on leave and sick leave) | 369 | 12 |
| Temporary employees | 18 | 0 |
Measures implemented in 2020
In connection with the stricter requirements for the activity and disclosure duty, all personnel policy documents and procedures have been reviewed in order to identify harassment and discrimination risks. Some measures have either been implemented or plans are being made to implement them in 2021. Part-time employees have also been surveyed. None of the bank’s employees reported working part-time involuntarily. An overview of our general personnel policy procedures and the measures that were implemented in 2020 is provided below.
Working environment
Sparebanken Møre wants to lay the groundwork for jobs created by interested and engaged employees. We are committed to achieving a good working environment through personnel policy measures, employee involvement and development, and well thought through feedback. Good feedback on this and a high level of employee satisfaction will in turn be reflected in a perception of us as an attractive employer.
We measure employee satisfaction every year and analyse the working environment, engagement, management and communication, as well as the risk culture in Sparebanken Møre. The results provide us with an understanding of what we are good at as an organisation and where we could improve. For 2020, we scored 8.3 on a scale from 1-10 in the employee satisfaction survey, which indicates a very good working environment. The results also show that our employees were highly likely to recommend Sparebanken Møre as a place to work.
Recruitment
Sparebanken Møre has designed and applies a recruitment process based on a DNV certified model. The process takes into account the requirements of the Working Environment Act and the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act. This means, among other things, that it is illegal to discriminate against applicants on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religion, life stance, family planning, disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. The interview templates used by the HR Department take these matters into account.
Pay and working conditions
The levels of remuneration in Sparebanken Møre should contribute to the Group’s achieving its targets and encourage appropriate conduct.
Furthermore, the levels of remuneration should act as a means of good management and control in relation to the Group’s risk, counter unwanted risk-taking and contribute to the avoidance of conflicts of interest.
The pay of Sparebanken Møre’s employees is determined by individual agreements, collective bargaining (collective agreements) or administrative decisions. Sparebanken Møre has established key principles for the Group’s remuneration strategy.
The bank’s annual pay review process is intended to minimise the pay gap between women and men. In addition to rewarding good performance, the pay settlement in 2020 focused on equalising larger pay disparities. Health insurance was also introduced as standard for all employees.
The following components can be included in Sparebanken Møre’s remuneration (GRI 401 -2):
- Fixed salary
- Variable one-off remuneration based on delivery and performance
- Bonus
- Pension scheme
- Personal insurance
- Common benefits
Promotion and development opportunities
Sparebanken Møre wants to facilitate career development, with both a management and technical orientation, and will focus on both career paths. Quarterly reviews are carried out of substitutes and potential successors of executive personnel. This work must take the breadth of the organisation into account. Annual reviews of the organisation with substitutes and potential successors are also conducted by the bank’s remuneration committee.
A minimum of four follow-up calls are made each year, one of which is an employee performance and development interview. The working environment survey showed that 95 per cent of those surveyed had employee performance and development interviews in 2020 (GRI 404-3). The information provided to employees in connection with employee performance and development interviews in 2020 highlighted that family planning, sick leave, reporting harassment, ethnicity, religion, life stance and political views must not result in discrimination in connection with promotions and development opportunities.
Facilitation and balancing work and family life
Sparebanken Møre is working to be an inclusive workplace for employees in all age groups and phases of life. The bank promotes a healthy workplace and encourages physical activity through an active corporate sports club, SMIL, as well as by support employees’ own exercising. Workstations and duties must be adapted when health or other causes dictate it.
Sparebanken Møre must facilitate good corporate health services. The corporate health services provider reports on any areas requiring improvement with respect to the working situation/ergonomics once a year, at an organisational level. As a supplement to the corporate health service, Sparebanken Møre has also signed an agreement on psychologist assistance with an external party.
Sparebanken Møre wants to facilitate a good balance between work and family life. Employees who are on parental leave for a minimum of 5 months are entitled to rise at least one pay grade upon returning to work. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that employees who are on parental leave for a long time do not get left behind as far as pay is concerned, and to motivate people to take longer periods of leave.
We have a flexi-time scheme and practice what we call ‘flexibility both ways’. Employees can also work from home when circumstances dictate. Overall, Sparebanken Møre wants its operations to be based on limited overtime work. We have good social schemes such as a corporate sports club, good personal insurance policies and company cottages/apartments that employees with family can use.
Whistleblowing
Sparebanken Møre wants to facilitate an open culture of free speech. A good climate for free speech is important for the working environment, the well-being of individuals and in achieving the best possible operations. It is important that illegal situations, wrongdoing and other adverse situations are uncovered and followed up as early as possible. Sparebanken Møre focuses on making employees feel confident that addressing adverse situations is a natural element of an individual’s responsibilities in the workplace.
Sparebanken Møre has good whistleblowing routines that are designed to facilitate secure and proper whistleblowing. Employees have a statutory right pursuant to the Working Environment Act to report unacceptable conditions in the workplace, and in some cases employees also have a statutory duty to report, including in case of suspected bullying, harassment or discrimination. The whistleblowing procedures are made available to all employees via the intranet. All employees also receive regular training in our whistleblowing procedures via e-learning courses. No notifications or reports of cases of discrimination were received in 2020 (GRI 406-1).
Planned measures
The overall impression from reviewing the personnel policy documents and procedures is that Sparebanken Møre has good guidelines, principles and standards that address diversity, equality and non-discrimination considerations. Naturally, these will, therefore, continue to guide our personnel policies going forward.
We can, however, see areas where improvements are needed that will be included in the plans for next year. Sparebanken Møre currently has no specific guidelines for its work on equality and diversity, and it therefore plans to draw up specific guidelines for this in 2021. The guidelines should provide a framework for both its internal work and for its work with suppliers, customers and partners.
Working environment
Sparebanken Møre will strive to maintain the good working environment in the organisation and has set itself the goal of keeping employee satisfaction and loyalty high in 2021.
Sparebanken Møre has a tradition of involving employees in implementing the bank’s strategy through the preparation of separate departmental plans with associated employee or management agreements. For 2021, it has set itself the goal of ensuring that employees are also more involved in the actual formulation of the bank’s strategy.
Recruitment
The gender ratio between women and men shows that the largest proportion of women can be found at level 5 (73 per cent) while the largest proportion of men is at level 2 (67 per cent). Sparebanken Møre wants a more even gender composition and, therefore, has set itself a long-term goal of having at least 40 per cent of each gender at all levels in the bank.
It will also conduct a separate project related to diversity in the context of recruitment. The purpose will be to encourage more groups of applicants to apply for vacant positions in the bank to ensure that we can better promote inclusion and reflect the diversity of the population.
Interview templates used by the HR Department take account of the requirements of the Working Environment Act and the Anti-Discrimination Act. In 2021, we will also provide all of the bank’s employees who participate in the recruitment process clearer information about the questions people cannot be asked.
Pay and working conditions
In addition to rewarding good performance, there will be a greater focus on equalising larger pay disparities in2021.
Promotion and development opportunities
In order to achieve the equalisation of gender differences at the different levels in the bank, the bank has an ambition for each list of successors to contain at least 40 per cent of each gender. It has also been proposed in the bank’s strategy that employees’ career plans and the development of talented people should be followed up more systematically and uniformly in the Group.
Facilitation and balancing work and family life
In the Covid-19 survey, more than 80 per cent of the employees who have been working from home responded that they want to continue this option to increase the flexibility in their working day. In 2021, Sparebanken Møre will draw up guidelines for working from home in a normal situation. The guidelines will ensure greater flexibility in people’s everyday lives and at the same time safeguard the secure and efficient operations of the Bank.
Measurement and evaluation
Gender distribution and pay situation per position level, use of parental leave, sick leave, number of full-time and part-time employees, number of reports and the results of the working environment survey will be followed up every year. Equalising gender disparities per level is an important strategic objective for the bank and there will, therefore, be a greater focus on this in the annual evaluation of measures.
Responsible unit(s)
Measures for equality and diversity are initiated and followed up by the Organizational Department. Significant changes to rights that affect the bank’s employees must be approved by the executive management group and employee representatives, and possibly be considered by the remuneration committee and approved by the bank’s Board of Directors.
The remuneration committee is elected by and from among the Board’s members and is intended to contribute to thorough and independent consideration of matters relating to the remuneration of executive personnel, etc. in the bank. A recruitment committee has also been established in line with the main agreement between Finance Norway and the Finance Sector Union of Norway. The committee deals with pay and working conditions upon recruitment and assesses employees’ pay conditions on an annual basis.
Both of the above committees must take account of gender equality and non-discrimination in relation to pay and working conditions.
Governing documents
The governing legislation is the Working Environment Act and the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act. The employees’ conditions are also governed by the main agreement between Finance Norway and the Finance Sector Union of Norway. The most important governing documents are the Company Agreement signed between the executive management group and employee representatives in Sparebanken Møre, the Personnel Handbook, the guidelines for remuneration system, the Code of Conduct and CSR Policy and the bank’s strategy.
GRI indicators:
102-8, 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, 401-1, 401-2, 401-3, 405-1, 405-2, 406-1