Remuneration report

Remuneration philosophy and policy

Key tenets of our remuneration philosophy are that we act fairly and responsibly in our approach to employee remuneration and benefits at all times, ensuring our actions are sustainable, that they underscore our objective of being an employer of choice, and are aligned to the strategic and operational requirements of the business.

The objective of the group’s remuneration policy is to ensure that we attract and retain employees of the right calibre and skills and motivate them to achieve exceptional performance aligned to our strategic priorities. We aim to reward employees fairly and equitably through both financial rewards and non-financial benefits such as performance recognition, development and career opportunities. We believe our employees and their representative trade unions, where relevant, value the consistency and predictability of how the terms and conditions of employment are determined, both in times of economic growth and in difficult economic conditions.

Total rewards are set at levels that are competitive within the gaming, entertainment and hospitality sectors and the group utilises market surveys to ensure that the components of the remuneration structure are appropriate. The fixed and variable element mix of the remuneration structure differ depending on the employee grade.

Senior management and executive remuneration

Short-term incentives reflect a balance between annual financial performance and other specific strategic priorities over which the participant has influence in order to ensure that achievement of short-term financial performance is not at the expense of future opportunities. Between 15% and 40% of the potential award is based on non-financial strategic priorities dependent on the employee grade. Where relevant and if the information is publicly available, an additional 25% of the potential award is linked to the relative performance of a business unit against a regional or national market set.

The group seeks to ensure an appropriate balance between fixed and performance-related elements of remuneration, and those aspects of the package linked to short-term financial performance and to those linked to longer-term shareholder value creation. The combination of the components ensures that high pay is achieved only for high performance and high shareholder returns. Senior executives have a larger proportion of their total remuneration subject to performance-based variable principles. Long-term incentives are either cash settled, resulting in income statement volatility but no dilutionary impact to shareholders, or, in the case of nominated senior executives, structured as an interest-free facility for the purpose of acquiring shares in the company where the value for the executives arising from the facility will come out of the shares acquired in the market and there will not be a cash cost to the group, as per the existing share appreciation scheme, nor a dilutionary impact to shareholders.

The remuneration committee considers each element of remuneration relative to the market and takes into account the performance of the group and the individual executive in determining both quantum and design. The remuneration committee also considers the total remuneration (fixed pay plus short-term and long-term incentives) that may be earned at various levels of performance.