At Caval we are committed to providing a service that continually exceeds the expectations of clients and candidates alike, ensuring our business runs in the most efficient, ethical and considerate manner possible. Our Caval Cares page outlines the ways in which we, as a company, strive to protect the plant and prioritise people ahead of profit.

This CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Policy goes one step further, aiming to provide a detailed and transparent code of conduct – our guarantee that we will take environmental, ethical, philanthropic and economic responsibility for our actions.

Who we are and what we do

Launched in 2008, Caval is a limited company, currently employing over 55 members of staff and recruiting and supplying several thousand candidates per year. As a recruitment agency working in the construction industry, our stakeholders consist of: our clients (from SMEs all the way up to national tier one contractors), our staff and candidates, our regulatory bodies and the wider community who may be affected by any perceived impact caused by our clients’ construction projects.

Our Caval mission is to source and provide the best available talent from across all construction sectors, giving our clients an unrivalled level of customer service and helping to facilitate their construction projects.

Looking after our staff, candidates and clients

A good working environment, offering training, incentives, equal opportunities, enrichment and job satisfaction, is the essential foundation of our business. If our staff and candidates are happy, we’re happy, and this in turn has a positive impact on any interaction and dealings with our clients.

We aim to provide this by:

• Conducting honest and fair relationships with all of our associates including clients, candidates and employees to ensure commitment and trust
• Supporting equal opportunities and diversity throughout our organisation, whether it be for our own employees or when recruiting candidates for our clients
• Adhering strictly to REC guidelines and all other relevant legislations and best practices
• Applying a health and safety policy that takes into account all of our associates, particularly candidates, whose well being is paramount to us as a recruiter
• Providing mental health support, with Mental Health First Aiders now trained in every office
• Offering additional holiday allowance for staff, including time off for birthdays etc.
• Fully endorsing the CSCS scheme to check our candidates’ accreditations prior to job placement
• Providing staff with the training and skills needed to improve both their quality of work and their future job prospects
• Offering incentives to staff with a view to rewarding hard work and helping towards maintaining a focused, driven team
• Improving work spaces, including the creation of new break-out spaces with free fruit and refreshments
• Ensuring that all staff are paid correctly and on time, with wages always meeting (and in most cases exceeding) the National Living Wage. We also offer an opportunity to join a private healthcare scheme, as well as pension top-ups. Where the job role requires a vehicle, we offer monthly car allowance payments on top of salary
• Constantly striving to make sure we remain an Equal Opportunities Employer as per the Human Rights Act 2010. Our Compliance Team undergo training in order that they can teach the rest of the resource teams how to identify modern slavery in the workplace, in line with the Modern Slavery Act 2015
• Encouraging and facilitating staff training and personal development wherever possible, as well as taking on apprentices across the business on a regular basis
• Placing the utmost importance on staff welfare. Directors and Associate Directors attend regular board meetings regarding this; if there are areas of concern, positive action is taken
• Holding regular meetings between divisional managers and their teams; any areas of concern with regard to HR issues can be discussed and then dealt with appropriately.

Protecting the environment

As outlined over on our Caval Cares page, we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and have outlined various, specific ways in which we can become carbon neutral, including:

• Reducing the need for meetings by having a fully functional website through which recruiters, candidates and clients may interact
• Eliminating paper wastage by emailing all materials to clients, candidates or associates, where possible
• Recycling materials within our office and recommending that our associates dispose of any hard copy materials from us in an environmentally-friendly manner
• Creating a sustainable working environment by applying guidelines and best practices provided by the government and environmental agencies
• Reducing energy emissions by switching off all electrics at the end of each day
• Aiming to always use materials that are recycled or have been sourced ethically
• Encouraging staff to walk, cycle, car-share or use public transport to travel to and from work, whenever possible.

Community engagement

At Caval we want to use our business as a force for good. For us, this is about becoming an integral part of the communities in which we operate. Our focus is, and always has been, people; our aim is to enhance their lives in whatever way we can. Yes, we can provide jobs and make the working environment for our Caval staff and candidates as positive an experience as possible, but what of the wider population? What about their families and their friends, their acquaintances and the people they pass in the street? How far can we feasibly reach?

For starters, we established The Caval Foundation, a way for us to raise funds and awareness on behalf of eight charities local to the physical location of our offices and also to our hearts.

Our regular, ongoing fundraising initiatives aim not only to help us provide financial support to those who need it, but also endeavour to create a sense of unity, drumming up support and creating positive shared experiences. We know it sounds corny, but we genuinely do care.

In addition to providing this support as a company, we also encourage our individual staff members to volunteer or undertake charitable opportunities, allowing an allocated amount of time for this within work hours.

We also take pleasure in sponsoring local clubs and groups, getting behind sporting events and cherishing cultural activities that make life enjoyable and enriching for everyone.

To find out what we’re up to in your area, why not read our latest news?

Monitoring our CSR goal

It is of paramount importance to us that the above aspirations are continually and consistently at the forefront of our day-to-day actions; as such, we agree to regularly monitor and assess our behaviour, ensuring people and the planet always take precedence.