Our workplace culture and benefits

There is a shared culture and passion at the Soil Association, which makes it a great place to work. Our staff live our values and care for each other, as well as the environment.

Working at the Soil Association, you will have more than a job with great staff benefits. You will be part of an organic community and part of our growing good food movement.

Our core values

Our organisational values are:

• grounded
• inclusive
• nourishing 

They were developed with our staff and our executive team. They shape our organisation’s culture and are reflected in the way we work.

Our workplace culture is one of respect, celebration, support and accountability. From raising our colleagues’ voices to furthering their development through mentoring and apprenticeships, we have a collaborative and sustainable work ethic, which runs throughout the entire organisation.

Our accreditations

The Soil Association is signed up to the Good Business Charter. It's a pledge to care for our employees, suppliers, clients and the environment, while paying our fair share of tax. In line with this, we:

• commit to ethical sourcing
• offer space for open feedback
• have programmes of work dedicated to wellbeing, the environment, and diversity and inclusion

The Good Business Charter is a great framework to work towards, and for us this comes to life through our values – grounded, inclusive and nourishing. Our values challenge us to always keep rooted in reality, look for more ways to include everyone in our work, and to show care for our colleagues, clients, communities and the natural world around us through everything that we do. Nicola Spencer, Group Resources Director

Equality, diversity, and inclusion is important to Soil Association culture. As well as being proud signatories of the Bristol Equality Charter, we are Disability Confident Committed and a Living Wage Employer. 

 

Connection and development 

We have a great range of communications channels, as well as shared and individual learning opportunities and clubs:

• Employee voice: Our colleague forum ‘Soil Matters’ meets quarterly to get colleague insight on important matters & generate new ideas. They work with the social committee to organise our yearly Christmas party and other events through the year.
• All Team briefings: We run these once a quarter, keeping all colleagues updated and involved.
• Mentoring scheme: We run the peer learning scheme once a year for employees of all levels and any department to learn a new skill from their colleagues, helping them to develop their career.
• Apprenticeships: We work with local education providers for team members to gain a new qualification that is relevant to their position and get ‘on the job’ training.
• Shared lunches: We run regular shared lunches across departments and sometimes even have bake-off competitions!
• Lunchtime running club and after work climbing club.

I really enjoyed being a mentee... I gained some new skills and developed a new-found confidence, which I successfully put to use when an opportunity for progression came up within my team... I’d recommend the programme to everyone. Ruth C, Senior Brand and Internal Comms Manager

Open communication is more important than ever and, whilst we can’t run all of our meetings and events in person, we are keeping as much running as possible with online meetings for our Soil Matters staff forum and our quarterly All Team briefings.

We have also set up a staff portal, which includes access to Yammer so that you can stay in touch with the team whilst working from home.

Our employee benefits

We offer a range of benefits to help you take care of your health, plan for retirement and maintain a great work-life balance.

Soil Association staff benefits include:

• 27 days annual holiday plus bank holidays, increasing to 30 days with service (purchased holiday also available)
• A defined contribution pension scheme - contributions increasing with length of service
• Discounts on organic produce
• Farm visits
• Volunteer days to give back to the local community or support green initiatives
• Family friendly policies and flexible working
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Loyalty awards
• Cycle to work scheme
• Staff Showers and secure bike storage
• CharityComms Organisational Membership

 

Our hybrid-working policy

The Soil Association is in the process of assessing the most appropriate way forward for hybrid working. We are currently in a six-month trial period where colleagues have been asked to spend at least 40 percent of their time each month with colleagues or customers, with additional flexibility in exceptional cases. We are about to embark on our review process, which will include asking colleagues for their views. We want to find a balance that considers all of these factors as wider surveys through organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development suggest they are equally important.           

Since joining the Soil Association, I have been involved in some great work, including our Diversity and Inclusion project. This has been extremely rewarding for me and has excited me to continue making positive changes. Jared W, HR Advisor

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