Health and wellbeing

Sampo Group wants to promote the health and wellbeing of its employees. Placing emphasis on employee health and wellbeing can improve general employee engagement and motivation, result in fewer absences due to illness, and eventually contribute to the bottom line.

Governance

The group level guidance document on health and wellbeing is the Sampo Group Code of Conduct. In addition, each Group company has adopted supplementary policies and guidelines for their own purposes. The Sampo Group companies have work environment committees (or similar) set up according to local legislation. These committees have responsibilities, which include monitoring the work environment, developing health and safety procedures, and ensuring a high quality of physical and psychosocial wellbeing. The duties of the work environment committees, the election rules, the number of national participants, the mandate, and the decision-making procedures are regulated by national work environment law, country-specific co-determination agreements or local practice. Depending on local legislation, the representatives are either appointed by the labour union or elected by the employees. At If, for example, the national committees meet on average four times a year and the local committees meet more frequently. The mission and mandate of local work environment committees differ from those of the national committee, and the tasks are of a more practical nature, such as regular safety inspections. If provides the committees with a standardised checklist for the safety inspections. If any immediate danger is detected, the safety representative has the authority to suspend work until the employer has resolved the situation.

Wellbeing programme

At Sampo Group, the mental and physical wellbeing of employees is managed, for example, by implementing preventive measures (e.g., stress counselling, preventive occupational healthcare, good design of offices, and wellbeing-related webinars), focusing on work–life balance (e.g., workplace flexibility, working time reduction, dependent care, and special leave), offering employees meaningful work assignments, education, and organising team activities and sports programmes (e.g., yoga and sports clubs). In addition, focus is placed on employment security and responsible workforce restructuring according to local legal and factual standards.

Sampo Group offers employees comprehensive health care, which covers both illness and accidents. In addition, employees have the possibility to contact the occupational healthcare provider or other vendors and suppliers for work-related medical, psychological, and ergonomic advice. Sampo Group also offers support to employees suffering from mental health issues. The service offering varies depending on local practice and legislation. Information about health-related benefits and services as well as other health-related material (e.g. webinars, workshops, talks) is shared on the Group companies’ intranets and other internal channels. In addition, Hastings has WellBeing Champions and Mental Health First Aiders who act as the first point of contact for employees who may have questions or concerns around health and wellbeing. These employees act as intermediaries whilst promoting preventive healthcare via the tools and resources available within the wellbeing programme.

Sampo Group supports work-life flexibility e.g. by offering flexible working hours, part-time arrangements for employees with young children, employees close to pension age, or based on individual social or health reasons. Employees are also entitled to take leave to care for sick children; the required circumstances and the number of days offered vary from country to country. In certain countries and based on market practice, Sampo Group offers financial support beyond legal requirements for parental leave. Moreover, employees can request short-term or long-term leave for studies, and some countries offer leave for elderly care. Shorter periods of leave are granted for moving, getting married, or family reasons, depending on local practice in each country.

Workplace health and safety

Sampo Group investigates health and wellbeing risks regularly and takes preventive action to mitigate potential risks. Risk assessments are performed by all Sampo Group companies, and any incidents and risks detected are handled accordingly and reported in the relevant incident reporting tool. The safety representatives cooperate with the employer and are also involved in risk assessment processes and other matters related to the work environment, such as workplace orientation and emergency procedures. Along with employee surveys, the risk assessments and incident reports provide valuable indications to further develop the business processes and work environment. Sampo Group provides necessary training regarding health and safety policies and procedures, such as fire drills, first aid courses, and crisis training.

Sampo Group recognises the role that leaders play in creating a safe space for employees to be open about their wellbeing. By providing leaders with training and tools, Sampo Group wants to establish an engaged and supportive leadership team that can help employees with managing their wellbeing.

Sampo Group measures health and wellbeing by absence due to illness. Sampo Group follows up on absence due to illness closely in all business areas and operating countries. For example, If’s goal is that absence due to illness should not exceed 3 per cent. Trends and possible actions are regularly discussed by management teams, leaders, unions, and work environment committees/steering groups, where applicable. The goal is to maintain a proactive approach to reduce absence due to illness. As part of the process, people analytics are continuously being improved for more detailed monitoring and analysis of illness statistics. Based on the information, Sampo Group can take relevant measures in support of a healthy workplace by monitoring certain areas more closely, such as meaningful work, role ambiguity, work autonomy, social support, and work–life balance.

Sampo Group continuously evaluates the many initiatives and their contribution to employee health and wellbeing. The Group companies also measure employee engagement using company-specific indicators.