The benefits offered by Wave

The benefits on offer at Wave:

Pension

• A master trust pension scheme for all employees. Those aged 22 and over are auto enrolled, but it is open to all employees.
• Matching contribution levels: 3% employee contribution, 6% employer; 4% employee 8% employer; 5% employee and 10% employer. Employees can contribute as much as they wish as long as it does not take their take-home pay below the minimum wage.

Healthcare and wellbeing

• Employer-funded private medical insurance (PMI) scheme available to the leadership team and a small number of employees who transferred via Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment (Tupe)) from Anglian Water.
• Annual employer-funded health screening for the leadership team.
• Group income protection employer-paid for all employees, subject to acceptance by the insurer. Two years paid at half salary at time of acceptance. Subject to regular checks that make sure the employee still qualifies. Age limits are 16 to state pension age. 26 weeks deferred period.
• Health cash plan and surgery choices plan: employer paid for all non-leadership team employees, and those who receive PMI due to their Tupe status.

Employee wellbeing and mental health support

• Employee assistance programme for all employees.
• Referrals for one-to-one counselling sessions as part of early intervention scheme, allowing employees rapid access to psychiatric assessments and support.
• In extreme cases, Wave has funded private psychological help for an employee.
• Access to wellbeing videos and exercise programmes.
• Access to meditation videos, hypnotherapy and various workouts including yoga.
• Regular speakers on wellbeing-related topics such as a psychologist specialising in trauma and burnout during Covid, Terrance Higgins Trust, suicide prevention (3 Dads Walking), cancer awareness, menopause education and so on.
• Employee groups that offer additional support and around topics impacting employees' lives and their families: menopause (The Hot Flashes), one for those with PMT/period problems (Go With the Flow) and men's health group.
• Combined business travel/personal accident/sickness insurance policy, employer paid for all employees.
• Life insurance for all employees with a death-in-service benefit of four-times salary. Age limits are 16 to state pension age.

Financial education

• Financial education programme including topics on managing money, pre-retirement planning, pensions and new topics for 2023 that may include a guide to mortgages, a mid-life MOT and early career financial awareness.

Voluntary benefits scheme

• Retail and leisure discount scheme, available to all employees. It offers a range of retail discounts as well as instant digital e-vouchers. Wave gives all employees 40 flexi points each month which can be used immediately on coffees, snacks, streaming movies etc. or saved for up to 12 months.

Work/life balance or family-friendly policies

• Dependant care leave.
• Enhanced maternity pay: 12 weeks full pay with the remaining at statutory maternity pay (SMP) rate.
• Paternity leave of two weeks full pay.
• Two weeks paid bereavement leave for close relatives.
• Two weeks paid bereavement leave for those who have gone through miscarriage (male or female).
• Hybrid working.
• Parent coaching.

Holidays

• 24 days as standard, plus a day off for birthday and half days on Christmas eve and New Years eve.
• 25 days after two years’ service, 26 after six years’ service.
• Employees can purchase up to the equivalent of their working week at two points in the year.

Employee recognition scheme

• Performance and development portal, Culture Amp, centres on continual recognition from managers, and peers and anyone across the business.
• Recognition schemes available through various providers.

Incentive pay/performance-related pay

• Whole company salary increases are applied in April each year depending on affordability.
• Front-line staff work through their salary range via a transparent role progression matrix which outlines levels of skills/knowledge and values that must be achieved at each level.
• Every employee has access to a non-contractual bonus. The amount of bonus potential in Wave is grade dependent but every employee can earn up to 8% bonus.

Company car

• Cash for car option, depending on job grade or a role that requires a specific amount of business miles per year.