| EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING |
Employee Assistance Programmes at the majority of our
properties provide employees with emotional as well as
practical support on a variety of personal issues. These include
health care, such as living with HIV/Aids or TB, dealing
with trauma, substance abuse, managing stress and family
planning. At some units, wellness committees, comprising volunteer employees, help educate staff on nutrition and the
prevention of various illnesses. They also help promote the
importance of a healthy lifestyle and positive mindset.
We believe that the well-being of our employees is vital
if we are to retain a motivated and productive workforce
that delivers world-class service to our customers.
Experience of our HIV/AIDS programme has borne out the
need to approach such programmes from an overall wellness
angle to ensure all employees are conscious of the benefit
of taking care of their health. Investigations are ongoing to
ascertain how this can best be implemented to ensure a
more holistic strategy is put into place for the group. |
| |
| HIV/AIDS |
During the year, our HIV/Aids programme that benefits all
employees who are not members of a medical aid has
been accessed by a number of eligible employees.
The programme is managed by an external organisation –
Aid For Aids – on behalf of Sun International to ensure
confidentiality and a holistic approach to the pandemic.
The programme includes: |
| |
| • |
Access to free consultations with a network doctor; |
| • |
The supply of anti-retroviral therapy, where appropriate; |
| • |
Access to prophylaxis for the prevention of mother to
child transmission; |
| • |
Access to prophylaxis against opportunistic infections,
relevant/appropriate vaccinations and multi-vitamin
supplements; |
| • |
Access to the monitoring tests; |
| • |
Additional education programmes; |
| • |
A nurse line for telephonic advice and patient support; |
| • |
Confidential case management; |
| • |
General call centre; |
| • |
Formulation and maintenance of clinical guidelines;
and |
| • |
Quality assurance procedures. |
|
| |
| Communication on the programme's benefits continues in
all units and there is a constant review of the programme
to ensure it is relevant and addresses the needs
of employees. |
| |
| The group's AIDS and disease management policy is
further guided by the following: |
| |
| • |
A commitment to non-discrimination; |
| • |
Prohibition of pre-employment testing for HIV; |
| • |
Compliance with relevant labour legislation and policies
regarding HIV infected employees in the workplace; |
| • |
Provision for members of the Quantum Medical Aid
Society, and their dependents, to have access to antiretroviral
medication as well as counselling and disease
management programmes; |
| • |
Encouraging employees to be tested for HIV and to
know their status; |
| • |
Provision of facilities for staff to be tested free of
charge for HIV and to be provided with pre- and posttest
counselling – either in-house or through an external
referral; |
| • |
Provision of AIDS education to employees on the link
between TB and HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and
other opportunistic infections; |
| • |
Provision of access to free condoms and the advantage
of their use in the prevention of the contraction of AIDS; |
| • |
The encouragement of employees to practice safe sex; |
| • |
The establishment of AIDS awareness committees in
all business units within the group; |
| • |
Ensuring that all new employees are inducted on the
group's AIDS policy and given AIDS awareness training;
and |
| • |
Placing posters, pamphlets; stickers, and booklets on
AIDS on notice boards as part of overall awareness. |
|
| |
| COMMUNICATING WITH OUR STAFF |
We have a range of established communication channels
through which we communicate with our employees.
Our staff newsletter, Winners, has been published bimonthly
for the past 14 years. It is produced in-house,
distributed via our intranet site as well as in printed form,
and reaches all staff in southern Africa as well as our
offshore offices. The newsletter comprises contributions
from employee correspondents at each of our properties,
as well as corporate articles
and news.
Our intranet site, which is accessible to staff across southern
Africa as well as our offshore offices, provides useful
information about different departments, labour legislation,
job profiles, and organisation structures and staff news -
letters. The site also acts as an interactive medium where
employees can, for example, complete documentation
online. In addition it acts as a repository for group
documentation and procedures.
Our Induction Programmes aim to equip all new employees
with appropriate knowledge to help them integrate into the
group and settle into their new jobs. Training managers or human resources managers provide information about the
group's values, mission statement, property specific as well
as group wide policies and procedures, AIDS awareness
training, sexual harassment awareness, as well as an
overview of the group's structure.
Team and departmental meetings, e-mailing of staff notices
across the group, management roadshows, notice board
communication, various addresses as well as annual
strategic report back sessions to group executives by the
chief executive and executive directors, keep staff
informed of major developments within the company.
Open lines of communication with the trade union
SACCAWU contributes to a productive consultative
relationship.
We also acknowledge the need for feedback from our staff
and regular employee opinion surveys are conducted. The
results thereof are communicated to management and staff
and provide management with an insight into areas
requiring improvement and development. |
| |
| HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
(HCMS) |
The group has commenced the upgrade to a Windows
based payroll system and the system will be implemented
at all business units by the end of the next financial year.
Upon completion of the payroll system upgrade, we will
commence with the planning phase of the upgrade to our
HCMS and until then, we will use the current functionality
and reporting tools to their full capacity. |
| |
| OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
(OH&S) |
| Policy and objective |
| The group strives to provide and maintain a working
environment that is safe and without risk to the health of
its employees. From a group perspective, properties are
expected to be compliant with OH&S related legislation
applicable in their respective countries of operation.
During the past year, sixteen of our properties maintained
OH&S systems compliant with principles of either
Occupational Health Safety Assessment series 18001 or
National Occupational Safety Association. |
| |
| Operational framework |
All our properties have suitably qualified personnel
responsible for OH&S management who report to the unit
general manager. At larger properties, this role is assigned to a dedicated OH&S manager and at smaller properties
this role is a shared responsibility. The group has a
designated Group Occupational Health, Safety and
Environmental Officer.
OH&S Committees are in place at all the properties who
meet frequently reporting all significant OH&S issues.
Our goals for the current year are to establish OH&S key
performance areas for properties as a group standard and
measure management performance against
these criteria.
Each of our properties is responsible for taking steps
considered to be practicable to eliminate or mitigate any
potential hazards to the safety or health of employees
before resorting to personal protective equipment. All
properties have identified OH&S hazards and established
precautionary and protective measures. |
| |
| Compliance |
| The Board is responsible for group compliance with the
Occupational Health and Safety Act (No 85 of 1993) and
its regulations. The monitoring of this compliance is
conducted by the internal audit department with a group
standardised approach ensuring legal compliance
assessments were undertaken at all our properties. |
| |
| Procedures and training |
Our properties must have procedures in place to control the
hazards and risks that have been identified and to ensure
legal compliance. These range from work instructions and
standard operating practices to planned job observations.
It is the responsibility of the properties to provide
information, instructions, training and supervision, as far
as is reasonably practicable, to ensure the safety and
occupational health of their employees. |
| |
| Incidents |
| Properties are held responsible for compliance regarding
accidents, incidents and occupational health of their
employees. All our units have, via an external consultancy,
a reporting system in place whereby incidents and injuries
are reported. Incident statistics include those relating to
external contractors, concessionaires as well as guests. |
| |
|
