Labour Practices and Decent Work

Recruitment - Croda recognises ‘our people are our difference’ and the recruitment of a talented and diverse workforce is fundamental to business success. Recruitment and selection exercises will be conducted on the basis of merit, against objective criteria, aligned to our values, that avoids discrimination.

A professional and fair approach to recruitment and selection processes is key to helping Croda attract and appoint individuals with the high level of skills and attributes needed for us to fulfil our strategic aims and support the Company’s Purpose and Values.

In conjunction with local HR teams, it is the responsibility of the relevant site, country or divisional head to ensure local recruitment policies are in place that comply with employment legislation and Croda’s policies including the Code of Conduct and the Equal Opportunities and Data Protection policies. Regional Managing Directors and HR Directors will provide oversight within their region, offering advice and guidance as needed. 

Parental leave - All Croda sites will adhere to the minimum standards for parental leave globally. Where local arrangements provide additional benefits, these will continue to be applied.   

The global minimum will be 16 weeks leave on full pay for primary carers (maternity leave), and two weeks full pay for secondary carers (paternity leave). Where government or insurance arrangements pay less than full pay for these periods, Croda will make up the difference. 

In addition, primary carers who take leave for up to 26 weeks, will have the right to return to their same job. Again, longer periods are mandatory in some countries and these longer periods will continue to be applied. The same rights will also apply to the two weeks parental leave available for secondary carers.

The administration of parental leave is the responsibility of the regions.  

Partial Reporting

In 2020, voluntary and involuntary employee turnover across the Group was 8%.

Further details on how we are tackling the issue of recruitment and retention can be found in the “Fundamentals” section of our 2020 Sustainability Report.

Partial Reporting.

A total of 47 employees took parental leave in the UK in 2020.  The parental leave categories are Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, Adoption and Time off for dependants.

All policies relating to parental leave are freely available on our Company intranet and will, as a minimum, comply with the highest legislative requirement in any country in which we operate.

Basis for materiality

As a global employer, we have committed to promoting a workplace culture of health and well-being. Process safety is a top priority for us and ensures manufacturing operations and the health and safety of our employees meets reputational and legal requirements. Failure to meet health, safety and well-being requirements can have an adverse effect on productivity, employee morale, labour and operational costs. Further, our brand image can be adversely affected by negative incidents involving health, safety and well-being.

Contribution to value creation

We add value by minimising the risk of health, safety, and well-being incidents and therefore potential liabilities concerning both our people and the wider environment. We also accept that the mental and physical well-being of staff is a precondition for strong performance and retention of talent.

Boundary

Health, safety, and well-being are crucial for all our business areas, including management-controlled joint ventures including contractors as well as our employees.

Responsibilities and resources

Our Group Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (GSHEQ) specialists operate in all regions and countries and are responsible for managing occupational health and safety. The wellbeing of our employees is supported by local, regional and global HR (Human Resources) teams and initiatives in support of this occur regularly around the globe. The reporting of incidents is actively encouraged across all areas of the business and is the responsibility of the SHE Manager in each of our operations. All significant incidents and near misses are investigated by trained SHE personnel across the Group, with the ultimate management of such reviews resting with our Group Executive Committee, which receive a quarterly report through the SHE Steering Committee. In addition to this, our risk management procedure ensures that all of our regional boards review potential health and safety risks at least twice per year.

Goals and targets

We are focused on a target of zero work related accidents and a desire to entrench health & safety into the day-to-day life of all our operations. Achieving the target of Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) in the top quartile of chemical manufacturing companies with more than 1,000 employees also demonstrates our dedication to our people and the difference we make.

Further components

Read more: GRI 403-1 Occupational health and safety management system

Read more: GRI 403-2 Hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation

Evaluation and outcome

In order to protect our employees from occupational hazards each of our site locations undergoes systematic assessment related to temperature, humidity, illumination, sound, air quality and ergonomics. Minimum working requirements are well defined for each of these parameters and workplaces are redesigned to these requirements when they are not met. We regularly examine the health of our employees at our manufacturing sites, with some locations requiring extensive health checks in order to ensure the safety of all employees on site. We employ medical health professionals to perform health checks and anonymous reporting of findings to Group HR. This information is used to inform mandatory workplace risk assessments and dictates whether further personal health monitoring is required. We maintain medical confidentiality at all times.

Indicators

From 2016 we have adopted the American Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard for workplace injury reporting and have re-based our historical data to this standard. We focus on Recordable Injuries and SIF (serious injuries and fatal accident potential).

Safety Deviations and all Process Safety Events are continuously monitored at respective sites and quarterly at a global level.  When we detect a pattern in Process Safety Events that must be corrected, the responsible site is contacted and instructed to take corrective actions.

Safety Deviations and all Process Safety Events are continuously monitored at respective sites and quarterly at a global level.

When we detect a pattern in Process Safety Events that must be corrected, the responsible site is contacted and instructed to take corrective actions.

To ensure operational health and safety, we have several policies and an overarching Group SHE Manual in place which cover topics such as planning, implementation and operation, checking, management review and management of change. These policies highlight our commitment to social responsibility and workplace rights concerning our global workforce.

Numerous additional guidelines cover a large number of safety and security issues, such as fire and explosion precautions, the handling of hazardous substances, and the identification of risks associated with chemical production. Further, we have adopted the Precautionary Principle when dealing with risks where scientific understanding is incomplete. We have recently transitioned from OSHAS 18001 certification to ISO 4500. A gap analysis was conducted to identify improvement potential for our occupational health and safety management system, actions were defined and implemented, and training rolled out across the group. The new standard will apply to all employees and contractors where Croda controls the workplace. For workplaces that Croda does not control, the management system only applies to Croda’s employees.

We have established, implemented and maintain procedures to monitor and measure SHE performance on a regular basis, including the key characteristics of our operations that can have a significant environmental impact. These procedures provide both qualitative and quantitative measures, appropriate to the needs of the organisation; monitoring of the extent to which our SHE objectives and targets are met; monitoring the effectiveness of controls (for health and the environment as well as for safety); proactive measures of performance that monitor conformance with the SHE programme(s), controls and operational criteria; reactive measures of performance that monitor ill health, incidents (including accidents, near-misses, etc.), and other historical evidence of deficient SHE performance; recording of data and results of monitoring and measurement sufficient to facilitate subsequent corrective action and preventive action analysis.

Further, internal Croda guidance, activities and audits from local SHE departments helps to avoid work-related injuries and illness and regulates the identification of health hazards for the workplace.

At Croda, we promote health and well-being globally but responsibility rests with local SHE teams who provide programmes tailored to each site. We go further than legal requirements to encompass the total wellbeing of our people and we are continuing to invest in wellbeing initiatives. First and foremost, this is the right thing to do, but it also makes good business sense; when employees and contractors are safe and healthy, absence is reduced and potential loss of reputation due to serious breaches in policy or regulation are eliminated.

We also offer our employees free counselling by external specialists in the event of stress, fatigue, personal crisis, substance abuse, or other challenging circumstances. Additionally, flexible working arrangements can be made and apply to both work-related stress management and unrelated, extenuating circumstances. We perform assessments of health habits and special health needs of all employees and local teams update their programmes based on any findings.

The reporting of incidents is actively encouraged across all areas of the business and is the responsibility of the SHE Manager in each of our operations. All significant incidents and near misses are investigated by SHE officers across the group, with the ultimate management of such reviews resting with our Group Executive Committee, which receive a quarterly report through the SHE Steering Committee. In addition to this, our risk management procedure ensures that all of our regional boards review potential health and safety risks at least twice per year.

Health and safety committees operate at each of our manufacturing sites and offices with representation from all employee levels on each site. Formal consultation is a requirement laid down in our Group Safety Health & Environment Manual, and there is a requirement for regular meetings to take place at each of our manufacturing sites and offices. Each of our operations is required to refresh its safety awareness and behavioural safety programmes regularly.

As such, all 4,032 employees worldwide should be represented on a joint management and labour health and safety committee.

All our employees are required to complete a minimum of three mandatory health and safety training courses delivered via our online training and performance management platform, My Croda. However, due to current reporting restrictions we are unable to unable to report precise figures.  Though we aim to do this in future reports.

We believe that a good work-life balance contributes notably to the well-being of our employees and we seek to foster a shared culture of health and well-being. To support this effort, we offer a range of flexible working arrangements, such as working from home, agile-working, part-time work, mobile working and flexitime. Additional benefits intended to improve the work-life balance of employees include free healthy meals, facilities for the provision of fitness activities and access to a registered nurse practitioner.

Read more: page 26, 2020 Sustainability Report

Croda will ensure that all employees have the necessary skills and training to undertake the duties assigned to them. The responsibility for training and employee development is shared equally between the employee, their manager, and the Company.

Employees are expected to take responsibility for the continuing assessment and satisfaction of their own training needs using appropriate help from every available source. Employees are expected to explore their own abilities, to understand their strengths and weaknesses, to share their aspirations with their manager and to demonstrate their desire to continue to learn. This should be done in conjunction with the Croda Competency Framework.

All managers are expected to provide regular guidance and ongoing support to employee’s, to listen to individual aspirations to evaluate employees’ potential for future roles and to help individuals build realistic development plans and identify relevant opportunities to turn these plans into reality.

Croda believes in enabling employees to reach their full potential through development, training, and education, so that they can contribute fully and progressively to the success of the company.

Croda is committed to creating an environment which encourages continuous development and training in which employees quickly understand the key values and skill sets required for progression.

Partial Reporting

It is only through the continual development of our workforce that we will be able to meet the future demands of our customers in relation to enhanced creativity, innovation and service.

Our global competency framework and Cornerstone performance management system, My Croda, allows us to monitor the development, performance and potential of each of our employees. To help grow and retain our talented people, we must continue to invest both internally and externally in training programmes, graduate and apprenticeship schemes, coaching, leadership development and supporting those studying for formal qualifications. 

We are currently unable to report average training by gender or employee category due to limitations of our reporting systems.

Read more: page 31, 2020 Sustainability Report.

Partial Reporting

A Croda, we promote learning and training at all levels of our organisations, with 87% of our employees receiving training during the year. We offer a variety of training options including internal training courses delivered by our human resources department, funding for external training courses where relevant training cannot be provided internally, as well as funding and support for educational development. Several employees have completed part-time or distance learning degree programmes relevant to their position or career development, both funded and supported by the company. Where applicable we also bring in the expertise of external training providers to enhance the skills and behaviours of our employees.

The quality and relevance of training and development activities became more focused in 2015, through improvements in the identification of personal development needs. The launch of our internal ‘Learning Module’ within My Croda in 2018 has taken our performance development, learning delivery and accessibility to the next level, allowing all employees to have access to the training that is most relevant to them.

Read more: page 35, 2020 Sustainability Report.

Partial Reporting

In 2018 we introduced a new Performance Management System as part of a wider implementation of a new integrated global HR system called ‘My Croda’.

During 2020, 4,032 employees used this system and over 90% of those employees have completed an end of year appraisal.  As we work towards embedding Our Purpose, so far in the first four months of 2021 we have we have launched a SharePoint site for our new Competency Framework along with new functionality in MyCroda to allow our employees to create their own Development plans linking to our extensive eLearning catalogue.

We are currently unable to report by gender or employee category due to limitations of our reporting systems.

Croda is committed to creating an inclusive work environment where everyone can fulfil their potential in a workplace that recognises the value of diversity. Broad diversity of thought can create greater business success by enhancing the ideas we have and the way in which we deliver them.

Croda commits to building a workplace where everyone feels welcome and can give their best, providing training and education on D&I topics for all employees and understanding any potential biases in our processes, working to reduce them.

Everyone at Croda will be treated fairly, equitably, and free from bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, religion, political views or any other of the protected characteristics defined by Croda.

Leaders must ensure that all people decisions made are free from discrimination and bias and that broad diversity of thought and different perspectives are included in discussions and decision making.

Leaders will also ensure that they promote mutual respect between all employees, helping each other to understand difference.

Read more: page 26, 2020 Sustainability Report

Partial Reporting*

Diversity and Inclusion is a key priority for us, and it is one of the 14 Material Areas of our sustainability programme.

We aim to embrace and empower all individuals. We do this by supporting, valuing and respecting our workforce, and ensuring that all employees feel empowered and included. In this way, we attract and retain the right people and bring out the best in them to benefit from their expertise.

*Figures correct as of 31^st December 2020.

We are currently unable to report minority groups or age by employee category due to limitations of our reporting systems or regional confidentiality of data.

Further details on how we are tackling the issue of diversity and inclusion can be found on page 26 our 2020 Sustainability Report.