Workforce Engagement and the UK Corporate Governance Code

Report by the IPA and RHUL – Employee voice in the boardroom 

This report by the IPA and RHUL, on behalf of the Financial Reporting Council, takes an in-depth look at company responses to the 2018 Corporate Governance Code’s requirements for employee voice in the boardroom. Including a comprehensive review of FTSE 350 annual reports, a survey of Company Secretaries and 17 deep-dive case studies, this report explores the different ways boards are engaging with their workforce.

The report focuses on three key questions:

1. Why did companies choose their particular approach(es), and what did they base this choice on?
2. How have the chosen approaches been operationalised by different companies?
3. To what extent, after a year or more of employing the approaches, have effective outcomes been achieved both for the company and its employees?

In turn each of the major types of engagement suggested in the FRC Code are explored; a designated non-executive director, a workforce advisory panel, a worker director, or alternative arrangements. The report also concludes with a series of recommendations for firms regarding best practice.