It's my best guess that the company gets a nice little tax break as well as all the reflected good publicity once they hit a charitable donation threshold? really quite ironic for a UK bank given some of their less than charitable practices. At least American banks can choose to pay a set amount of their profits back into local economic development programmes in return for tax breaks and seats in local fora of alleged influence.
It would be interesting to know who pays for the member of staff to come round with the electrodes and mind control techniques? New legislation was passed recently that should require a 'chugger' (charity bugger) for those who are unaware of the growth of this high street phenonemon to introduce themselves and explain what cut they personally get for every penny you donate etc
I wouldn't be surprised if the company has them on a PRP type contract thus incentivising them to try extract as much as they can from the members of staff who can least afford it. Why doesn't the bank try and get a motion passed at its AGM to forego 1% of it's dividend payment, or for the bosses to donate their share options or bonus payments for their sub-prime mortgage investment decisions.
As regards the issue of companies can legally expect you to do in terms of imposing their values? There are certain things like the 'promotion of equal opportunities and best work place practice' which are common to many public sector contracts. Conducting yourself in a way that is both legal and unlikely to bring the company into disrepute is another. Political restrictions is another thing that has been brought in the public sector (I'll let you guess by whom :laughing: ). Come to think of it, it was the same person who made Trade Union members organise and pay for ballots to decide if their members wanted to continue to pay a political levy. She never brought in similar shareholders to require companies who made political donations to obtain consent off their shareholders first.
A lot of football clubs make it a contractual condition now that playesr are supposed to give so many hours a week over to community good works and quasi charitable stuff. In truth this has more to do with promoting the clubs brand amongst potential customers, and the bank is probably doing like wise.
You do get strange ones though as witnessed this week, when Chris Bell decided that ladbrokes staff weren't to fly BA any longer in retaliation for his daughter being bumped off her club class reservation. Strictly speaking if he were signing the cheques by way of expenses claims, he could do that, but he couldn't insist on staff making their own personal arrangements in their own time (although I have heard of such situations of staff choosing to make personal purchases from rivals, using their market knowledge knowing that their own brand is inferior and of worst value) and getting in all sorts of trouble for it.
See if your Chief Exec will match out of his own pocket, what ever the staff raise Sols
Somehow, i doubt he will
Then again, according to a comment posted on that site by someone also a forumite on here, I'm always telling people about my sex life.....that pearl came up in a recent thread where I was slagged off, again, nice!
