42 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2026
Strategic report
Governance
Financials
Other information
Empowering People continued
Safety, Health & Wellbeing Strategy Nothing is more important to us than the Safety, Health, and Wellbeing (‘SHW’) of our customers, communities, employees, and partners. We have a simple global commitment: no one gets hurt. If an incident does occur, we take steps aimed to prevent reoccurrence. Our Group Chief Executive Officer has captured this in a Global Commitment Statement which is supported by a personal video message. Our SHW Policy and Standards provide a consistent approach to leadership, planning, performance monitoring, governance, and assurance. Leadership engagement – Our Group Executive Committee (‘ExCo’) and operating company ExCo’s provide visible and clear leadership in SHW. Our senior leaders are actively engaged and carry out regular face-to-face safety tours throughout the year. Our leaders recognise the importance of connecting with teams and frontline workers as they continue to maintain our networks and work in our retail stores and on customer sites. We encourage our people to raise any concerns or ideas for improvements in SHW and ensure the support of our leaders when they do so. Our Governance is defined in our global framework to manage SHW. This includes the monitoring and assessing of risks, setting targets, reviewing progress, and reporting performance. Our framework is based on the international standard ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety and always meets or exceeds local requirements. Six markets have independent external certification to ISO 45001 – Albania, Egypt, Greece, Ireland, Romania and the UK. In addition, six VOIS locations (Albania, Egypt, Hungary, India, Romania and Spain), Vodafone Automotive Italy and Vodafone Business Technology Solutions also have independent external certification to ISO 45001.
Safety indicators
Wellbeing We work hard to create and maintain a culture of care and support. 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 mental health, physical health, and financial management. Our operations also advanced Digital Wellbeing and preventive health themes through initiatives such as sleep and nutrition guidance (VOIS Spain), eye care awareness (Mozambique), ergonomic support (VOIS Egypt), and stretching and fitness activities (Greece and VOIS India). 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. This year We continued to focus on our key risks which are occupational road risk, falls from height, working with electricity, and civil works. These account for the majority of reported incidents and remain in our top priorities. In recognition of our key risks, we continue to use the ‘Vodafone Absolute Rules’. These rules focus on risks that present the greatest potential for harm for anyone working for or on behalf of Vodafone. The Absolute Rules apply everywhere we work and provide clear expectations for safe behaviour for everyone to follow. The Absolute Rules must be followed by all employees and contractors, as well as our suppliers’ employees and contractors. Where this requirement is not met, we take appropriate management action. In the February 2026 Spirit Beat survey, 90% of employees agreed that the Absolute Rules are taken seriously.
2026
2025
Work-related accidents (including fatalities) Employees and contractors Suppliers’ employees and contractors Lost-time incidents (‘LTI’) Number of lost-time incidents – employees and contractors Lost-time incident rate per 1,000 employees and contractors Total recordable fatalities Employees and contractors Suppliers’ employees and contractors Community (Members of the public)
Our global commitment to safety, health and wellbeing: Workplace safety is a core value. We are committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for our employees, contractors, and partners by embedding strong safety practices, risk management, and a culture of accountability. We strive to prevent incidents and promote a safety-first mindset in everything we do, supported with continuous training, clear policies, and proactive monitoring. Our objective is to ensure no one gets hurt.
44 69
36 47
33
23
0.35 0.25
0 1 1
2 1
0 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 SHW. Each incident is investigated to determine the facts and any actions required to prevent recurrence. The investigation’s findings are formally reviewed by the Chief Human Resources Officer at a formal review meeting to consider the thoroughness of the investigation, the suitability of corrective and preventive actions, and to determine whether the fatal accident was work-related and therefore ‘recordable’ and publicly reported. Our target is to ensure no one gets hurt. Any loss of life related to our operations is unacceptable.
6 markets with independent external certification to ISO 45001 0.35 lost time incident rate per 1,000 employees and contractors
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