RPMI Railpen will study how effectively U.K. companies are discussing and responding to social factors in the workplace, brought into focus by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The in-house manager for the railways pension schemes will work alongside the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, human resources and people development trade organization the CIPD and think tank the High Pay Centre to also understand investor expectations of company responses to the "S," or social factor, in ESG.
The group will look at the key workforce metrics that are of most value to investors and then examine FTSE 100 company annual reports to assess how well employment models and practices are explained in relation to company strategies, a news release said.
Areas including the disclosure of workforce composition including gender and ethnicity, of the stability of the workforce and of employee well-being will also be explored. Within those themes, metrics examined will include aggregate turnover rate, the proportion of full- and part-time staff and mental health sickness rates.
The study will build on earlier work by the PLSA, CIPD and the High Pay Centre that found investor interest in material workforce issues has not translated into consistent corporate reporting.
