Occupational Health and Safety Management

Companies must make it a priority to ensure safe workplaces and to promote the health of their employees. This work includes avoiding occupational accidents and providing preventive health measures. By doing so, the company not only complies with the law, but can also protect its employees and prevent longer absences. To be as effective as possible in ensuring health and safety, it is necessary to integrate these aspects properly into the company’s structures.

Health and safety is an area of action in the Employees pillar of the REWE Group’s sustainability strategy. With its activities in this area, the REWE Group aims to guarantee occupational safety and to preserve and promote the health of its employees.

Principles

The REWE Group ensures a safe and healthy working environment. It takes care to abide by the legal principles and requirements of social accident insurance institutions (employers’ liability insurance associations) for occupational health and safety.

Responsibilities

Occupational Health and Safety is organised as an HR service unit that provides its services for PENNY, REWE, REWE Digital, REWE Fulfillment, toom Baumarkt DIY stores and other small units. The department operates throughout Germany with six teams and around 45 occupational health and safety experts. National coordinators work to continually update and improve occupational safety processes. In addition, there is a national fire safety and hazardous goods officer.

The responsibility for the REWE Group’s occupational health management at Retail Germany lies with the Health & Innovation Centre of Expertise (CoE). This centre consistently works for the benefit of the employees, not only in the area of “traditional” occupational health and safety.

At REWE International AG (RIAG), occupational safety is coordinated by the Corporate Security department. Its occupational health and safety experts look after the central units and commercial companies in accordance with the legal requirements. Within the framework of a continuous development process, it identifies possible areas of action, regularly reviews focal points and coordinates their further development.

Implementation

The commercial company analyses and checks relevant work processes for potential health and safety risks and takes appropriate measures to reduce hazards. For this purpose, the Occupational Health and Safety HR service continuously develops occupational safety processes with the help of experts within the entire occupational safety team. This is organised by a national coordinator for occupational safety processes. Expert working groups meet regularly to oversee the analysis, organisation and further development of important topics such as risk assessments and operating instructions.

The occupational safety experts regularly inspect workplaces, paying close attention to government and employers’ liability insurance association regulations. Their tasks also include performing systematic accident analyses and evaluating occupational safety reports received from authorities such as the district government, trade supervisory centres, the German Occupational Safety Agency or employers’ liability insurance associations. In addition, they hold regular coordination meetings with responsible sales managers or experts from the construction department.

It is crucial to sensitise managers and employees to occupational safety as well as to work conditions and processes that promote human health. Therefore, occupational safety experts also attend meetings of the Occupational Safety and Health Committees in the business units at a regional or national level – in accordance with the management and responsibility structures. In addition, they participate in regular meetings with the units involved, for example in discussions with managers during site inspections. The business units’ communication systems are used to provide written health and safety information, as well as e-learning programmes and targeted training for managers and trainees. Notices are posted at the sites to announce occupational safety experts and company physicians as contact persons for questions or suggestions.

The area of action of the national fire safety and hazardous goods officer is currently being restructured. The relevant fire protection and dangerous goods processes are being reviewed and, if necessary, adapted to reflect a more advanced management approach.

With Lekkerland, which was acquired at the end of 2019, there is a regular professional and strategic exchange at the national level. The company has its own occupational health and safety organisation. Its occupational safety committees meet four times a year. The Lekkerland companies and sites are overseen by occupational safety experts and company doctors from the external service provider ias. They conduct regular inspections with regard to ergonomics and safety in the workplace, prepare risk assessments and carry out all relevant examinations. The company’s fire protection measures are monitored and inspected by DEKRA. Employees at Lekkerland are sensitised to the topic of occupational safety through company videos.

The REWE Group’s uniform occupational health care in Germany is offered by a single cross-company service provider for the sales lines REWE, PENNY, toom Baumarkt DIY stores and DER Touristik. The service provider is coordinated nationally by the CoE Health & Innovation on the basis of statutory operating hours. This is done in agreement with the heads of the business units and occupational safety experts in a needs-based manner that corresponds to strategic objectives.

Efficient risk assessment

One of the success factors for systematically recording and evaluating hazards is an efficient risk assessment. A system is used to record and evaluate the main areas of risk and to draw up proposals for suitable implementation measures. The electronic tracking of risks helps occupational safety officers with their work in this area. The administration sites, PENNY, toom Baumarkt DIY stores and REWE Digital Fulfilment Services (as well as the logistics sites belonging to these companies) use the “Online Risk Assessment” system of the Berufsgenossenschaft Handel und Warenlogistik (BGHW) throughout their operations: An electronic checklist that contains relevant issues is accessed using a tablet, laptop or a PC in the store in order to identify risks and develop appropriate measures. For REWE Markt GmbH, further important steps were taken in 2021 to replace the existing, very individual risk assessment systems and implement a uniform system. More activities are planned in this connection in 2022.

In 2021, the required risk assessments with regard to the coronavirus and the associated hygiene concepts had to be regularly adapted to the current status. The “blueprint” to be used to document case numbers on site, which was developed and agreed upon by the occupational safety experts, was checked and adapted on a recurring basis and made available to the responsible managers for further processing. As a complementary measure, a specific risk assessment for vulnerable risk groups (such as older employees, employees with pre-existing conditions or pregnant women) was developed in 2020. This allowed the company to develop and agree on the necessary protective measures for employees who are particularly at risk – for example, taking on a different job, mobile working or a ban on employment for their protection.

Mental risk assessments are carried out using either employee surveys or checklists, depending on the business unit, with IT-based documentation wherever possible. In addition, staff-oriented tools such as forums, (health) circles, work situation assessments and other moderated workshop formats are used for specific target groups.

Lekkerland SE conducted a survey on psychological stress among its employees, which was devised with the support of the service provider ias and completed by the end of 2021. In 2022, it will focus on evaluating the results, identifying hazards and deriving measures to optimise the framework conditions for a healthy organisation.

Training in occupational health and safety

Since 2012, e-learning courses on the subject of occupational health and safety have been available as a basic tool for instruction in all REWE and PENNY stores as well as in administration offices. The content is revised at regular intervals to reflect current requirements – most recently in May 2020, with further minor updates in 2021. Courses are completed by all employees and managers (the latter with an additional module on responsibility). Annual reviews are held to ensure that employees remember what they learned. Special topics, in particular local specifics as well as the implementation and use of machines and equipment, are regularly discussed on site between the responsible staff members and users. More than 200 operating manuals are now available for this purpose, which can be used as a basis for specific and target-group-oriented instructions. In addition, a checklist of subjects is being coordinated with the sales department, which will be used to document the specific instructions.

In summer 2020, toom Baumarkt too developed a comprehensive e-learning programme for its DIY stores and made it available in the course of the financial year. Further specific information, such as on responsibility in the context of occupational safety, on being an official representative or on giving on-site instruction on machines and equipment, can be found in a structured form on the process portal of toom Baumarkt.

PENNY uses the interactive training document “Azupoly” to instruct its trainees in a fun way. The programme has developed into a standard annual activity that has since been rolled out to other sales lines such as REWE and toom Baumarkt as well. In 2021, many classroom-based seminars were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. As an alternative, relevant topics were discussed online via digital formats where possible.

In addition, all stores train fire protection and evacuation officers as well as first-aid providers as required by law. REWE and PENNY qualify their fire protection officers by means of specific e-learning courses, which are supplemented by practical elements such as fire extinguishing exercises. The first-aid providers’ training is carried out by certified providers, where possible in in-house training sessions or on a decentralised basis.

The REWE Group in Austria also offers legally required occupational safety training and regularly inspects its operating sites.

In addition, it provides safety training for cars and trucks on an ongoing basis. These courses must be completed by all employees who have received a new company car.

The accident statistics tracked by the REWE Group cover occupational accidents and the lost work days caused by them. They also facilitate an evaluation by gender and work area. Like the statistics of the employers’ liability insurance association, the figures represent reportable accidents per 1,000 full time equivalents (FTEs).

In 2021, the accident rate increased compared to 2020, rising from 48.3 to 48.8 accidents per 1,000 FTEs, thus remaining above the goal of 43.5 accidents per 1,000 FTEs until 2025. The accident was fatal in one case. Sick leave at the REWE Group rose slightly during the reporting period. The total was 7.3 per cent in 2021 (2020: 6.9 per cent). Paid sick leave also went up slightly in the reporting period, reaching 4.5 per cent (2020: 4.3 per cent).

Target/KPI	2019	2020	2021	Status
Reduce accidents per 1,000 full-time equivalents to 43.5 by 2025	46.9	48.3	48.8
In progress Goal attained Not available Goal not attained

In addition to the accident statistics, an accident analysis dashboard was developed and tested in 2021. It was put into live operation in January 2022. Occupational safety experts are thus able to systematically assess all reportable occupational accidents (excluding commuting accidents) and to scrutinise and analyse them for possible causes as a supplement to the descriptive accident report. The aim is to derive suitable preventive measures and to make it easier to identify the main areas where action is needed.

Since 2008, the REWE Group has been producing a health report that covers all types of health insurance schemes and is discussed in various committees. The report summarises the cases of incapacity to work reported to the main health insurance providers in the REWE Group. Data on occupational illnesses is not documented. Experience shows that recognised occupational illnesses only occur to a limited extent at the REWE Group.

Like in the entire retail business, robberies remain an issue at the REWE Group. The employees affected can suffer both physical and mental damage, which can lead to longer periods of absence. The REWE Group follows a policy of acute intervention after traumatic events in the form of professional psychological counselling. One thing that has been observed throughout the retail sector in connection with the coronavirus pandemic is that there has been an increase in aggressive behaviour in the stores. This, too, is something that the REWE Group sees as an area of action in connection with traumatic events. The HR departments of PENNY and REWE are currently working together with the works councils and occupational safety experts to examine and develop measures and processes that ensure acute intervention following not only physically but also psychologically traumatic events and that also offer support in preventing such events. This includes, among other things, special instructions on how to prevent physical and psychological assaults as well as seminar modules.

In 2021, 168 employees in Germany and Austria were affected by robberies or assaults, two fewer than in the previous year. Assaults (such as verbal or physical attacks, for example when checking compliance with hygiene rules in the stores) were recorded and included in this category for the first time in 2021.

REWE Group service providers are generally independent decentralised contract partners. Data on accident rates, sick leave and fatalities in relation to external service providers is therefore not currently recorded.

Accidents, robberies and assaults, and fatalities

Days lost due to accidents

Sick leave

		2019	2020	2021
Region		%	%	%
Total (scope of the sustainability report)	Female	7.4	7.6	8.1
	Male	5.7	5.7	6.0
	Diverse	2.4	4.2	6.7
	Not specified	–	23.9	6.6
	Total	6.8	6.9	7.3
Germany	Female	8.1	8.3	8.7
	Male	6.1	6.1	6.3
	Diverse	2.4	4.2	6.7
	Not specified	–	23.9	6.6
	Total	7.3	7.4	7.8
Austria	Female	5.3	5.2	5.7
	Male	4.2	4.1	4.3
	Diverse	0	0	0
	Not specified	–	0	–
	Total	4.9	4.9	5.2

There is no evidence of employees having a high sickness rate or risk of sickness due to their job.

Principles

With regard to occupational health management, Retail Germany defined four areas of action in 2021 as part of a national occupational health management strategy in cooperation with the regions:

1. Optimised use of resources (e.g. drawing up key figures, process for annual action planning)
2. Increasing the reach and penetration rate (communication concepts for employees and managers)
3. Compliance with legal requirements
4. Prevention and occupational health-promotion programmes

The occupational health-promotion programmes at the REWE Group in Austria are based on three areas: physical, social and mental/well-being. There are programmes in place both in the stores and at the headquarters of the commercial companies to promote this holistic approach to biopsychosocial health.

Projects and measures

In Cologne, occupational health management offers prevention courses under the name Fit.Netz. A total of 3,362 participants enrolled on these courses between 2018 and 2021 – including just 532 participants in the financial year under review due to the coronavirus pandemic. After some course phases had to be cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, three course phases and a summer holiday programme were able to take place again in 2021. Most courses were offered online.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the REWE Group organised various online seminars for its employees in 2021 in cooperation with B-A-D Gesundheitsvorsorge und Sicherheitstechnik GmbH. The subjects included dealing with insecurity and fears, addiction, resilience for managers, skin screening as well as sleep and mindfulness (for more information, see section Other Examples of the Health-Promotion Programmes Offered by the REWE Group in the Financial Year). A new general works agreement was concluded in 2021 with regard to support for people suffering from addiction.

At the store level and in logistics, as in the previous year, the focus was on ergonomics at the workplace, as repetitive movements and incorrect lifting, carrying and standing often cause pain and days lost. For this reason, the company provides ergonomics training on proper lifting and carrying and on the correct ergonomic adjustment and design of workplaces, as well as, for example, campaign days on the topic of back health.

In addition, the sales lines offer a variety of preventive services at the regional level, such as consultation hours for personal counselling at all administration sites, psychosocial telephone counselling in all regions, as well as health days, fitness checks, cancer check-ups (skin screening), flu vaccinations, dietary and non-smoking courses, massages at the workplace, individual courses and workshops or online coaching courses in cooperation with DAK Gesundheit.

At the beginning of 2021, the REWE Group ran campaign weeks on the topic of a healthy diet. The online platform “Gemeinsam.topfit” featured content on healthy cooking, mindful eating, nutrition trends and sustainability. 112 employees took part in nutrition consultations and 450 in the prize draw. A brochure was also available, as well as measures, seminars and workshops in a digital health management toolbox, which the regions could access and realise as they wished – supported by the Health & Innovation CoE.

The health-promotion programme at the toom Baumarkt DIY stores is organised on a decentralised basis. It includes seminars on the topic of healthy management and a Health Olympics event in individual DIY stores. In addition, addiction counselling with trained counsellors is available in all regions.

At the REWE Group in Austria, the activities for employees and managers are divided into the aspects of ergonomics at the workplace, diet, psyche/relaxation, sports/exercise, preventive care and more flexible working hours. For example, the programme includes individual fitness classes or lectures to strengthen health awareness. Another focus is on sensitising employees to physical and mental health factors. At the store level, preventive check-ups and screenings are promoted through paid time off work for the duration of the check-up. In addition, the REWE Group in Austria offers training on proper lifting and carrying as well as ergonomic footwear.

Other examples of the health-promotion programmes offered by the REWE Group in the financial year:

• All regions offered flu vaccinations as well as relevant consultations at the administration and logistics sites. Where vaccinations could not be administered (especially in the stores), employees received time credits for the vaccinations they got.
• The “You are important” initiative was continued for all employees throughout Germany. Employees were credited one hour for participating in cancer screenings.
• All employees of the REWE Group were able to take part in a virtual running event as a substitute for various traditional runs.
• In the REWE Region South, health days and a variety of seminars were organised, including topics such as “Dealing with Difficult Customers”, “Healthy and Efficient During the Pandemic”, “Healthy Leadership from Home”, “Customers Suffering from Addiction or Dementia in Retail” and “De-escalation when Speaking with Customers”.
• The REWE Region Southwest offered ergonomic advice at the workplace, skin screenings, medical checks and flu vaccinations. In addition, employees had the chance to take part in online seminars on dealing with fears and worries.
• REWE West offered online workshops on “Resilience for Managers” and “Life Balance when Working from Home”, as well as ergonomic advice and active breaks. In addition, employees were able to undergo a skin cancer screening and an intraocular pressure measurement.
• Employees of the REWE Region Central were able to take part in online lectures on subjects such as “Fit at Home”, “Self-organisation and Mobile Working” and “Leading Virtual Teams” as well as webinars on sleep and mindfulness. There was also a seminar on getting a healthy night’s sleep despite times of crisis.
• Employees at REWE North were given the opportunity to participate in a skin cancer screening and in lectures on mental health.
• The REWE Region East offered stress counselling sessions.
• JobRad – an offer to purchase a company bicycle under a deferred compensation model – has been used by REWE Group employees more than 8,000 times since the end of 2016.
• In 2021, the REWE sales line introduced a trainee health day called “Fit on the Job”. Held in the first year of training, it aims to promote health awareness among trainees at an early stage and with lasting effect. Topics include healthy eating habits, exercise and ergonomics, addiction and mental health.
• Experts and doctors regularly give health tips for employees on PENNY LIVE (radio in the stores) before the stores open. The topic of health is also discussed by the in-store radio offered by BILLA, BILLA PLUS and PENNY in Austria:

Measures offered by the REWE Group in Austria include the management academy, which is mandatory throughout the group, with one module focusing on “healthy management” and the BILLA Burnout Prevention Curriculum. In addition, individual coaching for managers and occupational psychology coaching for employees are also available. For its high level of commitment in the area of health promotion, the REWE Group in Austria has already received the “company health promotion” seal of approval a number of times.

Easing employees back into work: Company integration management

Company integration management assists employees who return to work after long health-related absences. It focuses on legal regulations and takes account of company conditions like location and employee structures. A new general works agreement on company integration management was concluded in 2021. Company integration management (part-time reintegration) was introduced in Austrian law in 2017.