To ESG Investors and Experts
Labor Standards
Policies
Non-Discrimination Policy
Policy on Ensuring Appropriate Working Hours
In addition to complying with laws and regulations related to working hours and occupational health and safety, we strive to create working environments in which each employee can work enthusiastically and without health or safety concerns. Furthermore, all departments hold meetings to improve their respective workplace environments, which has led to prevention of mental health issues among workers. Measures here include improving the physical layout of the workplace and managing work hours, work methods, organization, and communications.
Policy on Minimum Wage and Living Wage
We comply with the labor laws and regulations of each country. We comply with the minimum wage regulations of each country.
Policy in support of community initiatives
Measures for responding to and preventing labor problems
Labor problem risk assessment
The Risk Management Committee conducts regular risk surveys to manage and monitor risks related to employee labor. The committee is chaired by the director assigned responsibility, who supervises proceedings. The most important risks are referred to the board of directors for discussion.
AEON MALL has identified employee overwork as one of the most serious labor-related risks. To eliminate overwork, we take measures to ensure strict compliance with the 36 Agreement (Article 36 of the Labor Standards Act).
We perform appropriate due diligence when acquiring new stock.
Minimum period of notice concerning business-related changes relevant to labor-management relations
We comply with the minimum period of notice as agreed by labor and management.
Response to Harassment
AEON MALL emphasizes compliance and respect for the AEON Code of Conduct, fostering improving relations with local communities and meeting our social responsibilities. We have established a Compliance Committee, which is chaired by the HQ general manager of administration. The role of this committee is to ensure group compliance with laws, regulations, our corporate charter, and internal rules. The committee is also responsible for identifying problems and advancing discussions to resolve said problems. Committee proceedings are reported to the Management Council, and matters of note are elevated to the board of directors. Additionally, we have set up the Helpline AEON MALL Hotline as an internal reporting contact point to protect whistleblowers. Our subsidiaries have helplines that mirror the AEON MALL system. When a helpline receives a report, the department in charge investigates, and if unacceptable behavior is proven, we take disciplinary action according to internal rules. We (or the department in question) also draft measures to prevent recurrence, which are then shared for company-wide implementation. The Compliance Committee also receives a report of the measures. The internal audit division determines whether the company and subsidiaries are managed appropriately. The division conducts audits based on Internal Audit Rules, presenting the results to the CEO and full-time members of the Audit and Supervisory Board according to the Internal Audit Rules.
In the case of harassment or other unfair treatment, tenants and external vendors may use our system to report incidents to the compliance division directly via email or phone. We check the facts behind any report carefully, exercising caution to handle confidential information appropriately, and then taking corrective measures.
We protect the confidentiality of whistleblowers under this system, which ensures employees can use the system with confidence.
Corporate initiatives on labor problems
We have put systems in place to allow only registered employees access to our buildings (or to the premises in the case of buildings under construction). We prevent workers from entering if there appears to be a potential violation of the law, such as child labor or forced labor.
Ongoing review of compliance system
The Compliance Committee, as a subordinate body of the Management Council, stays abreast of how compliance is instilled in the organization, ex-changes information, and continuously reviews the compliance system (im-proves the PDCA cycle).
FY2020 compliance initiatives report
The Compliance Committee focuses on human ethics and aims to establish standards and systems to prevent violations of laws, ordinances, and internal rules. The committee also strives to foster a corporate culture in which all employees understand the corporate philosophy at a higher level and act accordingly.
Establish the committee as an organization under the Management Council. Representatives of different departments come together for discussions that help us monitor the status of awareness related to compliance. We have also established a training program, exchange information, and improve our management system on a continual basis (improvement by PDCA cycle). We also use the PDCA cycle to manage risks listed in our Risk Management Rules related specifically to compliance. Supervisory departments use risk management sheets for this task.
(1) Key FY2020 initiatives
We shared reports on violations of and basic knowledge about human rights and the AEON Code of Conduct. In addition, we have been working to manage the committee with a particular focus on discussions to prevent recurrence. In order to more concretely examine measures to prevent recurrence, the following three incidents and their response status were shared, and we discussed the context of each violation and future preventive measures.
- 1. Confirmation of compliance status (AEON Code of Conduct 110 and disciplinary cases in Japan and overseas)
- 2. Progress management of compliance risks (prevention of harassment and unclear working hours)
- 3. Education and awareness raising activities from the perspectives of human rights, prevention of harassment, and legal compliance
(2) Findings and problems
In order to eradicate harassment, we carry out training and awareness-raising programs founded in the continued penetration and establishment of corporate ethics in accordance with the AEON Code of Conduct. However, according to the results of our morale survey in fiscal 2020, 27% of respondents answered that they had either witnessed or heard about power harassment in the past year, exceeding the previous year's level of 26%. This shows that we must ascertain and implement more concrete measures against harassment. Furthermore, in light of the above, we will establish KPIs in fiscal 2021 for verifying effectiveness and thereby improving the granularity of the PDCA cycle so that it can lead to behavioral changes, linking this to actionable discussions.
Workers Performing Tasks with High Incidence Illness or Risk
We provide additional medical exams and healthcare for employees who are required to work after 10 p.m., managing the health of employees required to work late-night hours.
Awareness of corporate policy on labor standards
In keeping with the AEON Code of Conduct, we conduct continued and repeated training and awareness campaigns related to attendance management, human rights, harassment prevention, and compliance with laws and ordinances. Our FY2019 training focused on abuse of power and unpaid overtime as key themes. We discussed relevant cases that had occurred within the AEON MALL organization. We also implemented initiatives that emphasized prevention of recurrence and worked to promote an understanding of our help desk.
The AEON Code of Conduct, which includes respect for international labor standards, has been trans-lated into various languages, and we provide train-ing in the code of conduct for all employees.
Diversity and Equal Opportunity
Actions to increase labor force diversity and equal opportunity and reduce discrimination
The AEON Store Association, consisting of tenant stores in the AEON Group’s commercial facilities, established a Diversity Promotion Group in June 2016. The purpose of the subcommittee is to make AEON Group commercial facilities a comfortable place for association member store staff to work and continue working through different life stages. Ten persons are selected to serve on the subcommittee, with roughly half appointed by specialty store tenants and half by related apartments within AEON MALL. Currently, seven of the members are women, including two directors from specialty store tenants and one outside director from AEON MALL. The subcommittee coordinates with the AEON MALL diversity promotion group to put various ideas into practice.
In the interest of achieving diversity, we define diversity of employees and work styles as materialities. We set a KGI to help create societies in which all people are given equal opportunities regardless of race, nationality, age, gender, or location.
- All employees attend annual human rights training. We also provide all employees with a handbook that lists both internal and external help desks.
- We distribute a guidebook to raise awareness of human rights to all employees.
AEON MALL action plan
AEON MALL has established the following action plan designed to realize a workplace environment where all employees with their unique backgrounds can continue playing a lively working role, regardless of gender or nationality.
1. Period covered by plan
Two years, from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022
2. Previous AEON MALL initiatives
AEON MALL started promoting diversity as long ago as FY2005. As such, we have been designing programs to help employees balance their jobs with child-rearing and nursing care. We are also working to set up onsite childcare centers, known as AEON Yume-Mirai Nursery Schools, at all shopping malls in Japan as another way to allow balance. Among other initiatives, since FY2019 we have adopted the Ikuboss Financial Assistance Program to encourage male employees to take childcare leave. We work constantly to implement programs such as these to provide work-life balance and comfortable working environments that benefit employees and their families.
3. Targets, initiative details
Target 1: Increase employee paid leave usage rate by 13% over FY2018. (Usage rate in FY2018: 45.3% for employees with unlimited-term contracts and 57.9% for those with limited-term contracts)
Initiatives
- We encourage employees to take paid leave (for example, our Kirakira Vacation System) for more personal time to refresh. Paid leave helps raise productivity and protect employee mental health.
- We are working to increase the percentage of male employees taking childcare leave.
Target 2: Raise the number of women in management positions to at least 180. (Target for end of FY2021 under Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children: 173)
Initiatives
- We establish and operate nursery facilities within AEON MALL facilities to provide on-site childcare. We also facilitate return to work after maternity/childcare leave, helping employees balance work and child-rearing duties.
- We are increasing the number of women candidates for management positions and provide motivation and support to these women.
- We strive to raise the number of persons taking and passing the Ikuboss exam. we also strive to transform the awareness of employees in management positions. In this way and others, we are establishing an environment that encourages young employees to aim for management positions.
Target 3: Decrease total actual working hours for employees (Ranks A and D) (2,043 hours as of the end of FY2018)
Initiatives
- We will improve and systematize operations to shorten working hours and raise productivity.
- Employees use work check lists to measure their own proficiency and strive to improve individual capabilities under appropriate instruction to raise work efficiency.
- We provide opportunities to discuss work-style reform during committee meetings and workplace environment improvement meetings.
- We strive to shorten travel times and diversify work styles through telecommuting and teleconferencing systems.
Response to Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace
AEON MALL discloses relevant information to the MHLW website in keeping with the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace. We have also received the following certifications in recognition of our initiatives.
- Kurumin award mark as a business supporting childrearing (Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children)
- Eruboshi (L-Star) certification based on the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace
- Nadeshiko Brand 2021 (Fifth Consecutive Year)
Governance institutions and employee diversity
We recruit highly specialized human resources, including personnel from overseas.
Prevention principles or approach to prevention
We train all employees in the AEON Code of Conduct and human rights.
In addition, we implement the following initiatives in China.
We provide compliance training for approximately 800 AEON MALL employees working in China and the ASEAN region. We conduct both management trainings and general employee trainings, which are conducted at one mall or business unit at a time once every year. We share basic knowledge and case studies of actual cases of fraud based on laws, regulations, and internal rules.
We provide thorough employee training for new hires in the earliest stages of their employment to instill compliance awareness.