Volunteering

At Legal & General we know the value of volunteering, having seen first-hand the difference it can make in our local communities, as well as to our employees directly.

During this global crisis it is even more important to us that we engage with our employees to encourage and support their volunteering ambitions, as we truly believe that people who have a purpose outside of their everyday working role are more motivated, healthier and happier.

Volunteering can be fun and fulfilling, allowing our employees to experience many diverse opportunities not always possible elsewhere and that’s why we build volunteering into our culture at Legal & General.

We feel these opportunities build confidence, skills, improves health and allows us to meet people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Our employee volunteering policy shows our commitment to encourage employees to get involved, allowing them time off during working hours and as a reward for volunteering outside of work we offer time matching. Our employees then convert their volunteering time to cash for their charity or community group.

You can find out more about the large number of national charities we support here

We also encourage all of our employees to volunteer for organisations that matter the most to them and offer support to these activities where needed.

Volunteer case studies

The Royal Voluntary Service is a national charity built on local volunteering which supports people who need it, in hospitals and communities. The partnership between Royal Voluntary Service and Legal & General began in 2014. Since then Legal & General staff have experienced the rewards of volunteering by supporting the charity’s work in the NHS, running hospital cafés and on-ward retail trolley rounds with the support of local volunteers.

During the recent Covid-19 pandemic, a large population of their members have been forced to self-isolate at home, losing out on the social activities that had been arranged by The Royal Voluntary Service. A large number of Legal and General employees have been participating in a telephone befriending programme, being matched with these vulnerable people across the UK giving them much needed support and comfort during this time. The programme has been so successful it has now been adopted by two further L&G charity partners, Independent Age and Carer’s First.

Legal & General Mature Savings colleagues raise £100,000 fundraising for hospice care.

They proved that the workplace can be a real force for good by raising an astonishing £102,853 for St Barnabas House in just three years, beating their original target.

The partnership with St Barnabas House began in 2017 and over three years, a passionate team of colleagues from Legal & General dedicated hundreds of hours to organising and hosting a wide range of fundraising events, as well as volunteering for the hospice, determined to hit their £100,000 target during lockdown, the thought outside the box and continued to fundraise - holding a virtual pub quiz and two makeup auctions which raised an incredible £3,000.

Legal and General sponsored the first ever Wales-wide Virtual Pride 2020, the first pan-Wales Pride event, which took place at the end of July - #keepingcymruconnected

In partnership with Legal & General and FOR Cardiff, Business in the Community Cymru launched its new guide to help businesses in Wales take practical steps to respond to homelessness. The toolkit, Designing Out Homelessness: Practical Steps for Business, features hints and tips to help businesses support people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, and case studies from organisations across Wales who take a proactive approach.

Employees in Cardiff rallied to the plight of communities in South Wales who were devastated by Floods earlier this year. Not only did they raise over £1,200 to support the front line organisations helping the people in those communities but they also gave their help in bucket loads, quite literally! Together, with help from our friends at Kier, they donated a car full of cleaning products. This included buckets, mops, disinfectant, bleach, floor cloths, sanitisers, toiletries along with many other items.

With support from Legal & General’s time matching programme, employees in Cardiff gave up their weekend to support Llamau’s “Virtual Sleep Over” in August. They slept in the garden in tents, built dens in the living room and helped raise nearly £6,000 to support the work of Llamau, the leading homelessness charity in Wales. Llamau supports care leavers, people who have been involved with the criminal justice system, people who have experienced domestic abuse and people who have had chaotic and disadvantaged lifestyles.