Our commitment to Fair Work First

We listen to our people. We  recognise that transparent and collaborative two-way dialogue between decision makers and the people affected by decisions is healthy and a vital part of running our organisation. 

In addition to regular Q&A sessions held by our Executive team, surveys, and open communication channels, our staff have the opportunity to elect Staff Council representatives from each Directorate. Sanctuary Group Staff Council is made up of 258 colleagues who champion the  voice of our people and engage with management on key issues. Staff Council Congress brings together our 38 National Representatives from across Sanctuary with the Executive Team, operational leaders and members of the Senior HR Team. In this way, Staff Council enables our teams to have a say in the running of the business and to shape our organisation. 

We continue to develop the role of Staff Council and expand the annual Congress. We encourage a collaborative culture where leaders listen, reflect and openly feedback answers to questions raised.

Sanctuary Scotland provides access to training and development for all staff in order to support colleagues to achieve their full potential and develop our next generation of leaders. 

Sanctuary Scotland has achieved Gold accreditation from Investors in People for its commitment to employee development and well-being. This recognition highlights the organisation's strong leadership, supportive culture, and focus on employee growth, including learning and training opportunities. The accreditation is not limited to one specific division, with various Sanctuary Scotland departments, including development, student accommodation, housing, care, and supported living, already holding the Gold standard.

We offer fair pay, and provide secure, meaningful employment that supports long-term wellbeing. 

We can confirm that all UK-based staff who are directly employed by the grant recipient, Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association, are paid at least the real Living Wage and further confirm that all UK-based workers who are not directly employed but are directly engaged in delivering the grant-funded activity, whether they be sub-contractors or consultants would be paid the real Living Wage or above. We operate a pay review in April every year and conducts benchmarking exercises to ensure we maintain competitiveness and fairness. The purpose of benchmarking is to provide a comparison against other similar organisations and can include salaries, contract terms and bonus payments. Sanctuary is committed to ensuring that employees are fairly and competitively rewarded in their respective roles.

We create a positive, purpose-driven workplace where our teams can take pride in the difference they make to people’s lives.

We foster a culture of dignity, inclusion, and fairness—where everyone is treated with respect, regardless of their role or background. At Sanctuary our goal is to be a diverse, inclusive organisation where our people thrive and respond to our customers with fairness and empathy. As outlined in our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy ‘Inclusion for all’, we are committed to improving our equality data insight to help us make meaningful progress. Though there is no requirement to publish our ethnicity pay gap, we are choosing to include this along with our gender pay gap. Sanctuary is committed to taking action in this area.

We support flexible working arrangements that promote work-life balance and reflect the diverse needs of our workforce. Following investment in new technology, our flexible working policy offers a new balance of home and office-based working for office-based staff and greater access to information and services for frontline staff. 

We are committed to fair and predictable working patterns and do not use zero-hours contracts inappropriately. We actively look to avoid the use of zero-hour contracts and monitor this routinely to ensure that our employees enjoy the benefits that come with stable employment and contracted hours.