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Workplace Safety, Health and Well-being

Workplace Safety, Health and Well-being

We are committed to building a workplace environment that ensures our people’s safety, health and well-being.

We have in place various workplace safety and well-being policies and operational manuals that cater to the varying needs of our diverse workforce. Group Human Resources is responsible for implementing UOB’s people philosophy of Care, Growth and Trust, and Group Corporate Real Estate Services is responsible for the physical safety and security of our premises.

Relevant policies include:
UOB Code of Conduct

  • Includes specific provisions on anti-discrimination and zero tolerance to any kind of discrimination, bullying or harassment.
  • Requires all employees to comply with all relevant health and safety laws and guidelines, and promptly report any condition at the workplace that may pose a health, safety or environmental hazard.

Human Resources Policy

  • Demonstrates our commitment to providing our employees with inclusive and flexible work arrangements so that they can better manage their work-life needs.

Group Physical Security Policy and Group Facilities Management and WSH Policy

  • Mandate the measures and actions necessary to continually enhance our WSH management system, thereby ensuring a safe and secure environment. These include:
    • anticipating, recognising, evaluating, mitigating and controlling risks at the workplace that could impair the safety, health and well-being of our employees, customers and visitors;
    • conducting health and safety risk assessments for workplaces to prevent incidents;
    • managing our facilities for preventive, reactive and planned repairs and maintenance; and
    • managing pandemic and infectious diseases.

Group Operational Risk Management Policy

  • Requires business and support units to report and investigate root causes of WSH incidents in their respective markets, with corrective action plans developed to prevent recurrences.
  • Requires business and support units that identify WSH as a key operational risk to assess the effectiveness of controls to mitigate risks during the annual Key Risk and Control Self-Assessment (KRCSA) exercise.
  • Facilitates the prompt identification and rectification of ineffective WSH controls through the combination of incident reporting and KRCSA.

Building conducive and high-performance workplaces

 

We take practicable measures to reduce risks and to ensure the safety and health of our colleagues, customers, as well as contractors and all who work within UOB-owned and managed buildings. These measures include:

  • communicating all relevant health and safety procedures, guidelines and best practices that we have in place via emails and webinars;
  • reviewing our buildings’ emergency response plans which stipulate the relevant actions to be taken to protect and evacuate building occupants under different emergency scenarios;
  • conducting and reviewing appropriate contractors’ risk assessments to identify and minimise any sources of risk;
  • setting out WSH requirements for all vendors, suppliers and contractors working at our premises and construction sites. They must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, conduct appropriate risk assessments and complete all required training for their employees as required by local legislation;
  • conducting studies to understand user patterns and utilisation rates, and in turn framing our approach to creating optimal and agile working environments; and
  • appointing first aiders and WSH champions in UOB offices and branches:
    • Appointed first aiders receive training and certification in skills such as basic first aid, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of automated external defibrillators (AED).
    • First aiders also serve as their respective workplaces’ WSH Champions, and are responsible for ensuring the safety of their work environments, checking for potential hazards using our WSH Risk Assessment checklist and reporting any faulty equipment or hazards.

We are also implementing the following workplace design principles progressively across our owned buildings, offices and branches:

  • flexible designs to improve space efficiency, to support diversified needs and to create resilient workplaces that meet different working requirements; and
  • ergonomic furniture to enhance employees’ physical comfort at work.

Caring for the well-being of our people

 

We approach employee well-being holistically through programmes and services that address physical, mental, financial and social wellness. We extend selected wellness initiatives to employees’ dependants, recognising that employee well-being is closely linked to family health.

Physical wellness
We support our colleagues to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows them to get the most out of your daily activites.

Mental wellness
We enable our colleagues to cope with stresses of life and manage emotions.

Financial wellness
We equip our colleagues with education and tools to make money choice that provide greater security and freedom of choice.

Social wellness
We provide colleagues with avenues to cultivate a healthy network of relationships; to explore and harness their passions for deeper fulfilment and to make a difference to others.

To create an engaged and balanced workforce, the types of leave and benefits we offer to employees include (may differ in certain markets based on local requirements):

  • sabbatical leave on unpaid basis for up to 90 days, with access to medical and insurance benefits;
  • shared parental leave of up to 10 weeks on paid basis;
  • health screening leave, for which employees can utilise one day of medical leave benefit;
  • healthcare coverage:
    • core medical coverage, covering annual health screening including complimentary vaccination, outpatient (including general practitioner) and inpatient treatments; and
    • HEAL$ (Healthy Employee, Active Lifestyles) for various healthcare- and wellness-related expenses, and Dependants’ Hospitalisation Insurance Subsidy (DHIS).
  • flexible work arrangements:
    • staggered work hours;
    • weekly two-day remote work;
    • Flexi2 where employees can take two hours off every month for their own needs; and
    • shortened working hours on Fridays for employees to start their weekends earlier.

Related

Talent development and inclusion

Talent development and inclusion

We are dedicated to empowering our colleagues by building an inclusive organisation and providing them with professional development opportunities.

UOB Code of Conduct

UOB Code of Conduct

Our UOB Code of Conduct lays down the principles of personal and professional behaviour, including respect of human rights, expected of all UOB.

Direct environmental impact

Direct environmental impact

We are committed to maintaining carbon neutrality for our operations and conserving resources for the well-being of future generations.

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