BUILDING society staff have been giving back to the community through a voluntary scheme enabling them to help out at a local charity.

A team of Yorkshire Building Society used their time to work at the Daisy Chain autism charity based in Norton, near Stockton.

As part of the community engagement scheme, staff are allowed up to 31 hours’ paid leave to help out at a charity or good cause of their choice.

Pauline Giroux, corporate responsibility manager at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “We know that our colleagues have a wealth of expertise that they are more than happy to share to make the maximum impact on their local communities, and we wanted to give them the opportunity to do just that whether through befriending and mentoring schemes or offering their skills pro-bono."

Staff are encouraged to take part in one team challenge per year which could involve gardening at their local hospice, helping to tidy their local park or spending the day at a food bank. The rest of the hours can be spent on strategic roles such as becoming a trustee at a local organisation or teaching financial skills to young people.