This case study reviews the establishment and operation of the VIVO staff association within the insurance group, Standard Life.
Standard Life provides life assurance and pensions, investment management and healthcare insurance products to over 6.5 million customers worldwide. The Group has around 10,000 employees across the UK, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Austria, India, USA, Hong Kong and mainland China. In the UK, the company is one of the largest life and pensions businesses with more than four million customers and around 8,000 employees out of whom 1,400 work in the Edinburgh head office.
VIVO constitutes a mechanism for informing and consulting employees that was developed out of the amendment of the long-standing staff association in 2008. The revised arrangements included greater autonomy of VIVO, right of input to the annual review of salary and benefits and inclusion of a new process for dispute resolution.