Better Health for All

Serco's core services involve extensive direct healthcare provision, including supporting health insurance eligibility for millions of Americans

, operating field hospitals for public health crises , providing specialist clinical staff to over 100 facilities and 75+ public hospitals in Australia , and delivering clinical care in correctional facilities . The company also manages the U.S. Army's Holistic Health and Fitness System and partners with healthcare providers to improve patient outcomes, reduce length of stay, and enhance patient experience . However, Serco has faced significant safety challenges, including two safety prosecutions with fines totaling £2,490,000 . In 2023, while major injuries decreased by 24% and lost time incidents reduced by 3% , the frequency rate of lost time incidents increased by 5.4% . Specific incidents included an employee's arm being trapped in a hangar door , another's foot crushed by a lifting trolley , and a needle stick injury leading to hepatitis . The company demonstrates strong commitment to mental health, ranking in Tier 1 for three consecutive years in the CCLA corporate mental health benchmark among top UK companies . It has trained 97% of managers in mental health awareness , established over 1,000 wellbeing allies , and supports over 5,000 colleagues via its Employee Assistance Program , also being ISO 45003 certified . Serco provides mental healthcare in correctional facilities and psychological health services for the U.S. Navy, including 15,000 annual assessments . Serco supports its healthcare workforce by deploying a surge staffing model in Australia, engaging over 2,500 health professionals , and offers extensive learning and development opportunities, including tuition assistance up to $5,250 annually . During the COVID-19 pandemic, Serco supported the setup and operation of a field hospital for 3,000 patients in Dubai and assisted vaccination programs in Australia's vulnerable communities . It also provides preventative health checks for employees in remote areas , offers health education to prisoners , and facilitates health insurance access for qualified citizens .

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Serco Group PLC primarily provides public services, not consumer financial services. However, it manages basic trust accounts for prisoners. Each man has access to a trust account to purchase small items from the canteen and pay for phone calls to approved phone numbers.

The terms for these accounts are highly transparent and simple, with a maximum allowed balance of $200 and a maximum weekly spend of $70. These clear limits ensure easy comprehension of the financial product's rules.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Serco reported a lost time incident frequency rate of 0.972 per 200,000 hours in 2024, reflecting a 22% reduction in lost time injuries and a 31% reduction in lost working days.

The median hourly gender pay ratio in the UK for 2024-25 was 0.938, indicating women earned 94p for every £1 men earned. Employee engagement stood at 72 points in 2024. The company has faced four substantiated labor-law or human-rights violations in the past three years, including a 2024 order from the UK's Information Commissioner's Office to cease unlawful biometric data processing for employee monitoring, a 2022 workplace safety violation, a 2021 benefit plan administration violation, and a 2021 employment discrimination finding that led to a $150,000 payment to 35 female IT employees. Union members at Great Western Hospital initiated strikes in 2024 and 2025 over Serco's refusal to pay bonuses awarded to other NHS staff. In 2023, GMB union members protested against Serco in Sandwell, alleging unfair pay practices and aggressive management tactics. Conversely, Serco workers in North Norfolk and Breckland secured a 20% pay rise for the lowest-paid staff in 2023 after strikes.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Serco's Supplier Code of Conduct applies to all its suppliers and is a condition of doing business.

This code includes robust and enforceable ethical-sourcing clauses, such as prohibitions against child labor, forced labor, discrimination, and ensuring freedom of movement and association. Serco reserves the right to assess and request evidence of compliance from its suppliers. For the period of January 1 to December 31, 2022, Serco reported no incidents of modern slavery or human trafficking in its operations or supply chains.

Honest & Fair Business

Serco achieved a Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating of 18.4 in 2024, indicating a low risk.

The company also scored 88% in the Workforce Disclosure Initiative in 2024.

Kind to Animals

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided articles to assess Serco Group PLC against any of the 'Kind to Animals' KPIs. While articles mention environmental initiatives like tree planting

and a 'Pups in Prison' program , the information does not include measurable biodiversity impact metrics, humane certifications for animal operations, or details on animal agriculture ethics as required by the rubric's quantitative thresholds. There is also no evidence regarding animal testing , cruelty-free certifications , or ethical sourcing of animal-derived ingredients .

Planet-Friendly Business

Serco's emissions reduction targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in 2024

and are designed to keep global warming below 1.5°C , with defined near-term targets for Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 2030 . The company moved to 100% renewable-sourced electricity globally in 2024 . Serco has achieved 100% diversion of waste from landfill . The company reports under the TCFD framework and has a compliance statement available , but lacks explicit mention of climate scenario analysis. Serco initiated work in 2024 to understand its impacts and dependencies on the natural environment, including using TNFD tools , and has employee-led projects like tree planting and wildflower meadow creation , but these are minimal pilot projects without quantifiable portfolio-wide outcomes.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Serco has established at least 13 formal partnerships with indigenous or local community groups, including Edith Cowan University, Gurehlgam Corporation, Sea Heritage Foundation, Prince’s Trust, TAFE NSW, and the Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network.

The company has not reported any cultural appropriation incidents. Serco's Aboriginal Support Model and Tactical Elders Program function as a form of cultural impact assessment and mitigation. A "Serco Grievance Policy" exists, indicating standard grievance processes. The Aboriginal Support Model also leverages community links to support the management of cultural incidents.

Safe & Smart Tech

Serco has demonstrated significant failures in data protection and ethical AI deployment. The company unlawfully processed biometric data (facial recognition and fingerprint scanning) for over 2,000 employees across 38 facilities, failing to offer alternatives or clear opt-out mechanisms, effectively making it a condition for payment.

This led to 9 enforcement notices from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in February 2024, which also mandated the destruction of unlawfully retained data. The ICO found this practice neither necessary nor proportionate, indicating a failure in data minimization and privacy by design. In 2023, Serco also reported four substantiated complaints from data protection regulators and experienced a data breach affecting over 10,000 individuals via a third-party vendor. Furthermore, Serco utilizes a "secretive algorithm" (SRAT) to assign risk ratings to immigration detainees, which is "prone to errors" and "lacks transparency," leading to potential misclassifications and unjust treatment without their knowledge or consent, with no evidence of remediation for these harms. The company relies on password access for systems, with no evidence of multi-factor authentication. While Serco provides annual and quarterly security training and uses encryption, specific details on their effectiveness, coverage, or investment are not provided.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Serco Group PLC demonstrates strong performance in waste diversion, achieving 100% diversion of waste from landfill across its UK sites through a partnership.

The company has set a target to divert 90% of waste from landfill for Serco-controlled sites by 2030. Serco implements numerous waste reduction initiatives, including repurposing waste materials into items like animal beds and bags for the homeless, repairing and reissuing clothing, and establishing dedicated food organics recycling streams. One such food organics recycling stream at Fiona Stanley Hospital was recognized as a finalist for a Project of the Year award in 2023. The company provides basic customer waste education through communication strategies to increase recycling across communities and hospitals, and by teaching prisoners new skills in reusing items. Serco recorded one solid waste violation in 2024 by a subsidiary, which resulted in a £0 penalty.