Remuneration

Our pay strategy is designed to attract and motivate the very best people, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, disability or any other factor unrelated to performance or experience.

We aim to attract and motivate the very best people who are committed to maintaining a long-term career with us and to performing their role in the long-term interests of stakeholders.

The following key principles guide our remuneration decisions. We aim to:

Focus on total compensation with a strong link between pay and performance
Judge not only what is achieved, but also how it is achieved, and whether it is in line with the HSBC Values
Operate a thorough performance management and HSBC Values assessment process
Recognise and reward our employees for outstanding positive behaviour
Design our policy to align compensation with long-term stakeholder interests
Apply consequence management to strengthen the alignment between risk and reward

The Group Remuneration Committee oversees the Group’s reward policy and its application to Group businesses. All members of the Committee are independent non-executive Directors of HSBC Holdings plc.

More information on our remuneration practices and governance, including our current Directors’ Remuneration policy, can be found in the Directors’ Remuneration Report of our Annual Report and Accounts.

Employee share plans

To help align the interests of employees with those of shareholders, share options are granted under all-employee share plans. Since 2005, discretionary options have not been granted on a widespread basis.

Particulars of options under employee share plans can be obtained by downloading the following documents: