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Employee involvement

Our mission of helping people to do more, feel better and live longer can be achieved not just through medicines, vaccines and consumer products but also through employee involvement.

We encourage our employees to become involved with deserving causes in their local communities around the globe. We support their time and dedication with various internal programmes and opportunities to encourage active employee involvement.

The PULSE Programme

The PULSE Volunteer Partnership Programme is an integral part of GSK’s commitment to serving communities around the world by empowering high-performing employees to volunteer their professional expertise towards sustainable change in the areas of healthcare, education and the environment.

Launched in 2009, PULSE aims to make a positive, sustainable difference for non-profit organisations and communities; support leadership growth and development of employees; and, foster a culture of simplification, creativity, ingenuity, and teamwork in the Partner organisation, and ultimately back at GSK. A PULSE volunteer works full-time for three or six months with a partner non-profit or non-governmental organisation, using their  expert skill-set and knowledge to make a significant impact in communities in need around the world. 

Read more about PULSE, or view the PULSE fact sheet or the PULSE Impact summary.

Introduction to PULSE Volunteer Partnership

Orange Day

Orange Day, introduced globally in January 2009, has enabled thousands of employees to make a significant difference through engaging with their local community.

The initiative allows employees to take one day fully paid to volunteer for a chosen community project, organisation or cause which they support. Building on the strong number of active volunteers currently within our organisation, Orange Day has developed volunteering within the company to substantial levels. Not only does the employee benefit from the team building experience but the organisation receives help with projects at no cost.

Events which have recently been supported include distributing rice to the homeless in North Carolina, volunteering in charity shops in the UK, refurbishing nursing homes in Sri Lanka, planting trees in Mexico and donating books to children in China. GSK hopes this is a way to encourage employees’ interest in long-term volunteering.

Employee support for charities

We promote active involvement from our employees with the charities they support. Therefore those who have pledged their time, effort and regular commitment to a cause, are invited to apply for financial grants through our Making A Difference (MAD) programme in the UK and the GSK Investment in Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) in the US.

If an employee regularly volunteers their own personal time to an NGO or charity, they may be eligible to receive a grant for that organisation. In the UK alone, GSK has donated in excess of £2 million to local charities through the MAD scheme.

Give As You Earn

Give as You Earn (GAYE), is a payroll giving scheme where an employee or pensioner can donate to any charitable organisation in the UK, straight from their pay.

United Way

In the US, we match donations from our employees and retirees to the value of over $5 million and have given $1.4 million to match employee donations to our annual United Way campaign.