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

At Essity, all employees are to be treated with respect and offered an opportunity to develop in their career. The company values, and works continually for, increased diversity. All employees are recruited, evaluated and promoted based on objective criteria without negative discrimination with regard to gender, marital status, origin, sexual orientation, religious faith, political affiliation, age, disability or other categories protected by law.

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 competence plan. The plan is based on Essity’s strategy, demographics, and access to expertise 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 regularly measured through a global employee survey. This is followed by systematic work to identify and implement measures.

Essity offers its employees development opportunities and remuneration based on market rates comprising salary, variable remuneration, 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. The company works continually to narrow and prevent unjustified pay gaps and differences in other employment conditions. The variable remuneration programs (STI and LTI) target, in addition to the Executive Management Team and senior management, other key positions.

The company endeavors to provide its employees with efficient and flexible opportunities to perform their duties. Through its working from home policy, Essity leverages modern technology and new working methods that allow employees, whenever necessary, to perform their duties outside their usual workplace. Essity faces new challenges in some markets with an aging workforce, since absence related to musculoskeletal disorders increases with age. Essity has created a workplace program containing technical improvements and attitude changes to create a more ergonomic work environment.

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 company meets with employee organizations at various levels on a regular basis to inform them of and discuss issues concerning the Group’s performance and earnings, as well as health and safety and employment terms and conditions. Essity also has an agreement with IndustriALL, the industry union. The aim is to communicate changes well ahead of time. When there is no union representation, Essity establishes other channels where possible, such as partnership councils.

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 plan normally includes assistance in seeking other employment and/or education, opportunities for early retirement or other financial incentives.

Essity supports Global Deal. This is a global partnership with members in the private and public sector, whose aim is to improve the dialogue between parties in the labor market and national governments to improve employment conditions and productivity. Employee data for 2019 is in Note H13.

Health and safety

Essity’s work on health and safety for its employees is based on compliance with the company’s Code of Conduct and responsible business operations. Essity’s aim is zero workplace accidents and it works continually to improve the work environment, which provides employees with the possibility of a sustainable work life. Health and safety for employees is a top priority. The well-being of our employees is a prerequisite if they are to reach their full potential. Essity’s strategy for healthy workplaces integrates physical, mental and social health. The capacity of the workplace to manage health issues through reactive, preventive and proactive initiatives is measured using the company’s self-evaluation tool. 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 routinely 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 and a governance system for risk assessment and training as well as setting and monitoring targets. All incidents – those that resulted in an accident and those that could have – are reported, analyzed and followed up so that they do not happen again. This means the company has good opportunities for performing risk assessments, continually monitoring performance and working proactively. Read more about work in 2019 on health and safety in Note H14.