20 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024
Strategic report
Governance
Financials
Other information
Our people strategy (continued)
incidents are investigated in accordance with their severity, and appropriate remedial actions and improvements are identified and implemented. We strongly believe in the importance of prevention and we also believe that every incident should be treated as an opportunity for learning and improvement. SHW is a global policy and is included within our global risk and compliance governance programme. This year we continued in-country audits and remote validation continued as a complementary process. Our eight audits focused on the control of contractors and lifting operations across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Six additional visits were made to our Europe and Africa markets to focus on engagement and communication. They included a combination of team meetings, site visits with contractors and suppliers and, where applicable, verification checks following any serious incidents. Training We continue to include a health and safety module as part of our mandatory ‘Doing What’s Right’ training. Every employee must complete the training within six weeks of joining and then follow our learning intervention cycle. During FY24, 96% of assigned Vodafone employees completed the health and safety module. Each local market is also responsible for delivering training that supports the development of appropriate leadership skills, behaviours, and identification of risks. Additional training is specific to an individual’s role and aligned to each market’s local legislation. Key performance indicators We have a global set of key performance indicators which are reported monthly to the Group ExCo and bi-annually to the Board: – Number of fatalities; – Number of employee lost-time incidents (‘LTIs’); and – Near misses. All fatalities that may be connected with our activities in any way, including those affecting employees, suppliers and members of the public, are formally reported to the Group’s ExCo and to the Board by the Head of Safety, Health and Wellbeing. Each incident is investigated to determine the facts and any actions required to prevent recurrence. The investigation’s findings are reviewed by the Chief Human Resources Officer at a formal review meeting to ensure the thoroughness of the investigation, the suitability of corrective and preventive actions, and to determine whether the fatal accident was within Vodafone’s control or not. All fatalities determined to be within Vodafone’s control are considered ‘recordable’ and are publicly reported. Fatal accidents from FY20 onwards which had not reached determination of recordability, due to ongoing legal processes, were reviewed during FY24. Of these events three were determined to be within Vodafone control and therefore recordable. The incidents were a road traffic accident in Turkey in FY21, a fall from height in Italy in FY22, and a gas explosion in Germany in FY23. There are no fatal accidents awaiting determination from prior years. Our aim is to ensure no one gets hurt. Any loss of life related to our operations is unacceptable. It is therefore with great regret that we record two fatal accidents this year. The first recordable fatality occurred in South Africa when a supplier’s vehicle struck a child that ran into the path of the vehicle. The injured child was taken to hospital but sadly died. Support for the child’s family has been provided in line with cultural and contractual requirements via our supplier. The investigation identified that our suppliers control of its fleet and driver operations required improvement. Our supplier control and monitoring process had not identified those weaknesses in these supplier’s controls prior to the incident. Additional audits of field operations vehicle maintenance and driver monitoring programmes are being undertaken as is consequence management of the supplier company.
The second recordable fatality occurred in Mozambique when a supplier technician fell from height. The technician was working at the top of a tower when a bee swarm began to sting him. As he descended he detached himself from his fall protection harness, went into shock at around seven metres and then fell to ground level. The review identified that the controls for managing natural hazards such as bees could be improved. A safety directive to prohibit work in the presence of bees has since been mandated across all Vodacom markets. An industry leading innovative rescue from height practice has been created by Vodafone and is being implemented across all markets to allow safe descent even when incapacitated. Specialist contractors are being used to remove bee swarms and only such specialist contractors are permitted to work in the presence of bees. Lost-time incident (‘LTI’) is the term we use when an employee or contractor is injured while carrying out a work-related task and is consequently unable to perform their regular duties for a complete shift or period of time after the incident. During the year, 18 employee and contractors LTIs were reported. In total these incidents account for 164 lost workdays. Key performance indicators 2024 2023 Work-related injuries or ill health (excluding fatalities) Employees and contractors 18 13 Suppliers’ employees and contractors 8 14 Lost-time incidents (‘LTI’) Number of lost-time employee and contractor incidents 1 18 13 Lost-time incident rate per 1,000 employees and contractors 0.19 0.14
Total recordable fatalities Employees and contractors Suppliers’ employees and contractors Members of the public
0 1 1
0 0
1 2
Notes: 1. Lost-time incident means the loss of one or more workdays as a result of injury. 2. During FY24, an internal investigation into an incident during the year ending 31 March 2023 concluded and an additional fatality is reported. This has been reflected in the reported figure for FY23. Wellbeing We remain focused on mental health and wellbeing. Training and services are available in each market, including the provision of employee assistance and psychological support services. Our global wellbeing framework includes pillars for mental health, physical health, and financial management. The framework is a guide to help our people achieve optimal wellbeing and to ensure we all have access to the best possible wellbeing resources across Vodafone. Globally we delivered two online sessions on mental health to the Vodafone Global Youth Connect Community (over 500 attendees). Youth Connect is a network of over 20,000 under-30’s from across Vodafone’s markets. In the UK, we continued the professional development of our Mental Health First Aider Network, providing bi-monthly support and education to over 300 trained volunteers. We delivered wellbeing education to over 1,200 employees through online training and face-to-face courses on anxiety, mindfulness and financial planning. In Albania, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of the Congo we organised sessions on financial balance. In South Africa, we launched a campaign during Mental Health Week, consisting of personal mental health journeys together with our wellbeing ambassadors. We placed primary healthcare nurses in our four smaller regional clinics. We also launched mental health people leader training. We hosted sessions throughout the year on a range of topics including living a purposeful life, financial wellbeing, mental health, mental illness, healthy boundaries, and suicide awareness. Click to read more about mental health and wellbeing: vodafone.com/wellbeing
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