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2016 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT (CSR)
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HUMAN RESOURCES INFORMATION: HR DEVELOPMENT AS A DRIVER OF PERFORMANCE
The Group’s overall health and safety policy covers three areas:
●
preventing and reducing risks to guarantee safe working conditions;
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ensuring that line managers and supervisors are warned of the risks
associated with certain jobs;
●
improving employees’ awareness and training about safety issues.
The aim is to deploy health and safety management systems aligned with
international standards such as OHSAS, starting at the sites the most
exposed to risks. Sites in France, the United Kingdom and the United
Arab Emirates representing around 20% of total Group employees have
obtained OHSAS certification and the aim is to raise the proportion to
35% of employees by 2018.
In France, risk prevention, communication and awareness-raising
initiatives were stepped up during 2016, leading notably to a
significant reduction in the frequency and severity of accidents at Athos
Aéronautique.
A safety handbook for new employees in France was published
and distributed by the Global Product Solutions division in 2015.
The handbook describes the main risks associated with the division’s
activities and the related preventive measures. It also includes a
compulsory whistle-blowing procedure and underscores employees’
right to stop work in the case of a serious and imminent danger to life
or health and/or upon discovering defective protection systems. The
Energy & Infrastructure division deployed its own safety handbook in
2016, which is a near carbon copy of the Global Product Solutions
handbook but also includes a Section on nuclear risks.
To date, no collective workplace health and safety agreement has been
signed in France.
In the United Kingdom, OHSAS 18001-certification has been obtained
covering all employees and in 2016, a Health and Safety General
Policy Statement was deployed. The Policy Statement covers detailed risk
assessments, workplace security progress indicators, working conditions
audits, and health and safety communication and training plans.
In application of the Policy, a risk assessment is performed for each
employee and specific methods are defined for manual tasks performed
on project sites and at client facilities. All subcontractors responsible
for maintaining Assystem facilities in the United Kingdom are required
to provide details of their methods, risk assessments and certificates
of competence. All employees in the United Kingdom receive safety
training.
In Germany too a formal health and safety policy has been in place
for many years.
In Romania, the collective labour contract and the internal rules drawn
up in compliance with local regulations include specific workplace
health and safety requirements. These include the creation of a Health
& Safety Committee which meets at quarterly intervals and comprises
representatives of management and employees, health and safety
managers and the occupational health physician.
In the Middle East, a health and safety officer was appointed in 2015 to
manage the important health, safety and environmental issues associated
with Energy & Infrastructure projects. This was an effective move, as no
accidents have been reported since his appointment. In accordance
with his roadmap, the health and safety officer has set up a health and
safety management system and in 2017, dedicated training will be
organised to raise employees’ awareness of these issues.
4.3.4.1.1 PRESERVING AND PROTECTING EMPLOYEES’ HEALTH
Preserving and protecting employees’ health means managing the risks
associated with their working environment, especially the psycho-social
risks linked to stress, isolation and the rapid succession of engagements
performed in Assystem’s offices and at client sites.
In France, the Group has a long record of pro-actively focusing on
preventing psycho-social risks. Because it is impossible to eliminate all
possible risks, managers at all levels in the organisation receive regular
training in how to prevent these risks and adapt their management
practices to each different situation. Since 2011, some 500 managers
have received this training.
Management is particularly aware of situations that could make
employees feel vulnerable or experience a loss of confidence, such as:
●
exceptionally complex projects with very short deadlines, where the
support and encouragement of all the teams involved is important;
●
the transition between major contracts that are a feature of Assystem’s
business model, representing a period of professional and geographic
mobility for the consultants concerned who receive effective support
from the Group;
●
individual situations (such as long periods of ill health or the loss of a
loved one) and group situations (such as a terrorist attack or a state
of emergency) that temporarily affect the life of employees.
A monitoring network has been established to detect any employees
in difficulty. Monitoring at-risk employees requires an unremitting team
effort involving occupational health physicians, managers and human
resources professionals.
Anticipating potential problems and listening to employees in these
situations helps to ensure that a personalised response can be developed
in each case, to the extent of the Group’s operating capabilities and
without interfering in the employee’s private life.
Employees can also turn to an external counselling and psychological
support unit following a tragic event such as the terrorist attacks in
France in 2015 and 2016.
A joint Committee of Company and employee representatives meets
twice a year to review a series of regularly tracked indicators and
discuss monitoring and support initiatives.
No cases of occupational illness were identified in France in 2016. No
information on this subject is available for subsidiaries outside France.
ASSYSTEM
REGISTRATION DOCUMENT
2016
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