Santander UK has worked with The Fostering Network to update its internal Family Leave Policy to better support staff who plan to apply to be foster carers.
The bank will now offer these staff members up to 35 hours (five days) of paid leave to attend pre-fostering appointments required as part of a fostering application. These can include introductory training courses, meetings and panel interviews.
Santander’s continuous improvement of its Family Leave Policy has led to recognition as a Fostering Friendly Employer by The Fostering Network.
Juan Ignacio Echeverria, Santander UK Chief People Officer, said:
“Good fostering is extremely important. Statistics show that outcomes for children in care are lower than their peers.
“We as an employer consider it vital that we do our best to support those who are managing fostering responsibilities alongside their everyday roles.
“By offering colleagues wanting to apply to be foster carers up to 35 hours of paid leave to attend pre-fostering appointments, we hope to make it easier for them to balance this important role with their day job. We are very proud to be recognised as a Fostering Friendly Employer by The Fostering Network.”
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Notes to Editors
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. At 31 December 2022, the bank had around 19,000 employees and serves around 14 million active customers, via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the FCA and the PRA in the UK. Santander UK plc customers’ eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS in the UK.
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful presence in 10 core markets in the Europe, North America and South America regions, and is one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization. Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform providing services to individuals, SMEs, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. Santander is building a more responsible bank and has made a number of commitments to support this objective, including raising €220 billion in green financing between 2019 and 2030. In the first quarter of 2023, Banco Santander had €1.2 trillion in total funds, 161 million customers, 9,000 branches and 210,000 employees.
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