Octopus Energy Anti-Nepotism Policy

Nepotism’s not a pleasant word but the definition is pretty straightforward: “The practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.”

This is just one of so many forces which make it harder for those from less privileged backgrounds to get the opportunities which others enjoy. This isn’t just bad for society - it’s bad for business.And it’s a bit tricky because when someone introduces a friend or relative, it’s hard not to at least have a look.

Networking is different. If you meet one of us at an event and introduce yourself… fab! And our team all know that if they’ve worked with someone themselves and they were awesome, the recommendation is fab.  This is just about nepotism.

So I’m writing this to make it easier for our team to bat back requests, or for friends and relatives to decline to participate in something which they can feel uneasy about.

Octopus is a wonderful place to work for many people (obvs not everyone, although we try!) and offers opportunities for people to find fulfilment whilst making a difference.

If you have a link to us, and know someone who might be right for us - and where we might be right for them - fab! Just point them at our careers page, or my twitter, or my email - or that of anyone else who’s publicly findable - and let them write for themselves. Best they don’t mention their connection to you cos otherwise it’s just the same as nepotism through a different route.

Of course, now we’ve written this, if I get any emails I get about a son wanting an internship, or a daughter with experience we may benefit from, or a god-child with a wish to be part of this, I’ll respond with a link to this page. We may well love to meet them, and genuinely, thank you for thinking of us, but best they come through the same door as everyone else.

And literally no exceptions - so if you’re a big investor, or a very well connected member of the great and the good, or anyone else, I’ll point at this. If the person to whom you’re connected is right for us, they’ll definitely do well in the process - but have the pride and satisfaction of knowing they’ve done so on their own merits.