Enable our employees to realize their full potential, as part of one winning team

Essity offers its employees development opportunities and remuneration based on market rates comprising salary, pension and other benefits. The company follows local remuneration structures, provided they do not conflict with internationally established rules for minimum wages and reasonable compensation.

Essity’s global human resource strategy aims to secure long-term capabilities and ensure that Essity is a safe and healthy workplace based on ethical business practices and is perceived as a great place to work. Essity recruits and develops employees in line with its strategic workforce plan. The plan is based on the company’s strategy, access to expertise and demographics, and determines which measures the company needs to implement to meet future requirements for expertise and resources.

The ambition is that all employees are to have an individual development plan that is defined and followed up during annual performance reviews. The reviews identify the capabilities necessary for employees to achieve stated targets. The employees and managers agree on the manner in which these skills should be secured, primarily through internal development opportunities. Essity works proactively with employee health and well-being that addresses both the physical and social work environment. Employee commitment and satisfaction are measured every second year through a global employee survey that is followed by systematic work to identify and implement measures.

Essity endeavors to provide its employees with efficient and flexible opportunities to perform their duties. Through the company’s working from home policy, Essity is leveraging modern technology and new working methods that allow employees, whenever necessary, to perform their duties outside the ordinary workplace. This offers increased flexibility for both employees and employer. Periodically working from home could be one approach to achieve a better balance between work and private life and strengthen the company’s position as an attractive employer.

With an aging workforce in some markets, Essity is facing new challenges since absence related to musculoskeletal disorders increases with age. This has resulted in Essity creating a workplace program containing technical improvements and attitude changes to create a more ergonomic work environment and production lines.

Transparent communication is fundamental to the trust between Essity and its employees, as well as their representatives. Essity recognizes the right of each employee to join unions and to partake in union activities. The European Works Council (EWC) represents about 18,000 of Essity’s employees. Essity meets the EWC and other employee representatives on a regular basis to inform them of and discuss matters such as the Group’s performance and earnings, as well as health and safety and employment terms and conditions. The aim is to communicate changes well ahead of time. Essity also has an agreement with IndustriALL Global Union that represents 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors. In parallel with Essity’s expansion, the Group encounters new circumstances and challenges, including challenges pertaining to its employee dialogue. When there is no union representation, Essity establishes other channels where possible, such as workers’ councils.

Essity supports Global Deal, a global partnership with parties in the private and public sector. The aim of Global Deal is to improve the dialogue between parties in the labor market and national governments to improve employment conditions and productivity.

In connection with organizational changes, Essity works to support the employees affected. This is done through discussions with labor unions at an early stage and by preparing a social action plan that is adjusted to local conditions. The action plan normally includes assistance in seeking other employment and/or education, opportunities for early retirement or other financial incentives.

Health and safety

Essity implements the international OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) standard to ensure that uniform processes are deployed across the Group, and that Essity units continuously improve their workplace health and safety. OHSAS specifies requirements for an organization’s occupational health and safety management systems.

Essity has a Group Health and Safety Instruction. The Group’s governance system encompasses risk assessment, training, targets and monitoring. All Essity’s facilities have procedures in place to increase workplace safety.

Reliable near miss and accident reporting is key; it is vital that Essity analyzes both serious and less serious occurrences to ensure that they are not repeated. Essity has a reporting system that employees use to report accidents and near misses, meaning events that could have led to an accident. The system offers the company good opportunities to perform risk assessments, analyze and improve working methods, and continuously monitor performance.

In the event of a critical incident, information is communicated within the entire Group, enabling all units to gain access to the conclusions and learn from the occurrence.