Europe: Volunteer Activities in the UK
Since May 1, 2022, to encourage greater social participation by employees, some Panasonic Group companies in Europe have adopted a program allowing up to 16 work hours a year to be used as paid holidays for engaging in volunteer activities.
Using this program, six female employees of the Panasonic Group worked as volunteers for the UK charity Smart Works. This charity provides support for women when job hunting by giving them the confidence, clothes, coaching, and other means. Some 72% of clients find a job within a month of using the charity.
The volunteers, who participated for two days each, were all of them found it very rewarding.
The General Affairs Department, Panasonic Business Support Europe GmbH (UK branch) is providing some of its conference rooms at no cost to the Samaritans (a UK charity) from September 23, 2023, to February 24, 2024. The Samaritans provide a 24-hour 365-day-a-year contact service in the UK to help prevent people from committing suicide. Each day several thousand people use this service. The charity is able to use the rooms each week from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. for training staff to handle calls. The Samaritans commented that "Our trainers have been able to do a better job because everything they need is there and works! By not charging, the charity can put the money to better use. We are super grateful."
