Occupational health and safety

The bank has a General Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy. It sets out the guidelines and standards to be adhered to in order to protect health and life and to ensure the highest level of safety and wellbeing of employees. It also promotes a healthy lifestyle and the creation of long-term value for employees and local communities.

Each Group company provides a safe workplace. There are Social Labour Inspectors and a Health and Safety Committee within our structures. The working environment is monitored by the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Office, which conducts regular audits and risk assessment reviews of individual workstations. Among other things, factors affecting physical safety and ergonomics at work are taken into account, as well as psycho-social risks and hazards associated with, for example, remote working. When updating the risk assessment, the experts consider information on previous accidents as well as current legislation. We consult with employees and professional organisations. In special situations, we set up a crisis management team.

The process of assessing occupational risks for individual job roles in the Group consists of five elements:

1. Gathering information
2. Identification of hazards at workplaces
3. Defining the likelihood of the hazard occurrence and its consequences
4. Determination of risk acceptability according to the PN-N-18002-2011 standard
5. Monitoring and possible remedial actions

The performance of the Group’s OHS management system is regularly reviewed and improved. The knowledge of specialists from the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Office is updated and upgraded during training courses, conferences and industry meetings.

All employees of the bank undergo training in occupational health and safety. Its scope and frequency is determined by legal requirements, changing external circumstances and needs reported by employees. Information on risky situations is reported to the manager and employees of the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Office directly, by email, an online form or by telephone. The effectiveness of our health and safety training is regularly verified through health and safety audits, interviews with employees, analyses of accident incidents and post-training surveys. In addition, Group companies organise additional training where possible, e.g. TFI conducted a first aid training course in 2023.

In 2023, we recorded no serious or fatal accidents at Santander Bank Polska Group. The main types of injuries that were reported included sprains, strains and fractures of the lower and upper limbs. Work-related hazards that could create a risk of serious consequences include bank robbery, traffic accident, fire, terrorist attack and electrocution. In 2023, none of such hazards resulted in serious injuries to our employees. We do not collect information on accidents or injuries to persons performing work who are not our employees.