Workplace relations

More than 90 per cent of the Group’s workforce is covered by collective agreements. Agreements typically provide for consultation arrangements relating to significant operational changes. We recognise the right of our team members to negotiate collectively with or without the involvement of third parties. We also believe in parties entering good faith collective bargaining to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome.

Information on the workplace relations activity some of our divisions have undertaken in the 2023 financial year is provided below.

Kmart Group

Kmart and Target are committed to maintaining mutually beneficial workplace relations, which reflects the loyalty and contributions of more than 49,894 team members across Australia and New Zealand. Both businesses continue to support team members, including during natural disaster events and by providing competitive wage outcomes.

Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers

WesCEF is committed to being an employer of choice and ensuring its team members are working in a positive and inclusive work environment that is reflective of the diverse communities in which WesCEF operates.

More than 1,500 team members are invited to participate in an annual team member engagement survey to inform WesCEF what is working well for them and where the business needs to take action to continue to offer an engaging work environment. The feedback from the annual survey is invaluable in guiding efforts to enhance WesCEF’s workplace by prioritising what truly matters to its team members. 

WesCEF enhanced its team member recognition program, “Thanks”, through streamlining the nomination process by which team members can ‘thank’ their colleagues for their valuable behaviour or actions with a 28 per cent increase from last financial year in received nominations across the division. Across WesCEF businesses, 470 nominations were received with 53 individuals/teams receiving awards at a celebratory award event in December 2022. 

WesCEF continually monitors the external landscape to ensure it is implementing changes instigated by industrial workplace reforms that are designed to protect team members. Throughout the 2023 financial year, WesCEF continued to focus on greater transparency and governance of its employment practices and held its inaugural industrial relations reform information session for senior leaders to create awareness of the dynamic industrial environment in which businesses like WesCEF operate.

Health

Wesfarmers Health has been actively reviewing all aspects of its operations through the 2023 financial year. 

Wesfarmers Health has sought to understand the experiences of its team members through undertaking surveys. In October 2022, The Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) Mental Health Survey was conducted across its businesses. In March 2023, the new Thrive engagement survey was conducted across Wesfarmers Health.

Existing policies have been updated and new policies introduced, including:

• A new Parental Leave Policy provides additional flexibility and entitlements for employees with young families, with 12 weeks of paid parental leave for primary carers, as well as superannuation contributions for 52 weeks. Secondary carers will receive two weeks of paid parental leave, including superannuation.
• A new Family and Domestic Violence Policy aims to provide the right support to team members experiencing domestic violence, including access to paid leave and professional services to help them navigate their ongoing employment.
• A new approach to flexible working has been introduced for support office teams and is anchored in Wesfarmers Health’s new framework called Moments that Matter. This approach is intended to drive meaningful people experiences and interactions which suit individual teams.

 Wesfarmers Health has:

• introduced team member discounts across its brands
• invited team members to participate in the Wesfarmers Employee Share Acquisition Plan through salary sacrifice.

 Wesfarmers Health has seven enterprise agreements. At the end of the 2023 financial year, new enterprise agreements were made in three of Wesfarmers Health’s distribution centres, providing increases in rates of pay and changes to terms and conditions of employment.  

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