Employee Engagement Policy

Our employees working around the world are the engine driving Fast Retailing's growth. We strive to offer a healthy and safe work environment for all employees. At the same time, we promote diversity and encourage the building of skills and career development for every employee.

Our people are the central players. The Fast Retailing Way (Group Corporate Philosophy) states that "...respecting and supporting individuals to foster both corporate and personal growth..." is an important value we share with our employees. As our company grows, each individual builds on their own talents and skills as a professional through their work. We designed our Employee Engagement Policy to support these goals.

[The Three Pillars of Employee Engagement]

・Equal opportunity and diversity
・Education and development
・Healthy, secure, and safe workplaces

Equal Opportunity and Diversity

As a global business, diversity is an extremely important issue and one of our most important cultural values. We do not tolerate discrimination in any form, including discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, social standing, sexual orientation, or age. We strive to be fair in hiring and performance evaluations, offering a system of evaluation and compensation based on unified, global standards.

Employee Education and Development

We believe sustainable growth depends on employee development and skills improvement. At Fast Retailing, we offer a variety of training programs to our employees to develop future global leaders. For example, we practice the idea of zen-in keiei (management by all employees), inviting employees from around the world to participate in our Fast Retailing Convention, held twice annually. This is an important part of how we share the Fast Retailing Group vision throughout our organization. The Fast Retailing Management and Innovation Center serves as our corporate training facility. The center provides a means for us to develop future generations of managers over the long term.

Healthy, Secure, and Safe Workplaces

We have created healthy, secure, and safe workplaces for all employees. For example, the Fast Retailing Wellness Center provides information on health and a variety of programs to promote employee well-being. Our Human Resources Division develops programs to prevent overtime and promote better productivity. The Fast Retailing Employee Hotline improves working conditions, serving as a conduit to quickly identify and resolve power harassment and other issues in the workplace.

Fast Retailing Code of Conduct

The Fast Retailing Code of Conduct defines our corporate philosophy and basic principles of respect which all employees must observe. We provide regular training through video content, e-learning courses, and other channels to encourage a better understanding and acceptance of this Code of Conduct. Our employees personally sign their commitment to uphold this code when they join the company and also annually sign the renewed commitment.

Respect for Human Rights

In June 2018, Fast Retailing published its human rights policy and established a Human Rights Committee. Our new policy is based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Employee Hotline

We have established a hotline for employees to freely report violations of our Code of Conduct or call regarding workplace complaints. Contact information is posted in staff lounges and offices and is also located on the company intranet site. Employees are able to contact the hotline anonymously via phone, email, mail or fax in languages of the country or region where they are located.

Staff in charge of compliance interview complainants and investigate circumstances behind calls received via the hotline. We escalate any suspected violations of employees' human rights or our Code of Conduct to the Code of Conduct Committee in which the head of the Legal and Compliance Department and an external lawyer seat as members. When a case is determined to violate employment regulations or our Code of Conduct, the matter is also referred to the Disciplinary Committee.

We protect the privacy of individuals involved, prohibit retaliation, and do not allow discriminatory treatment in any form. All concerns and complaints raised by employees are stored in a database, accessible only by staff in charge of compliance. Any employee who engages in retaliation or an act of prying may be subject to disciplinary action, which may include actions up to and including dismissal. Employees affected by any retaliation are encouraged to report it through the hotline.

We review a number of questions and concerns that we receive via the hotline annually in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the hotline operation. When we notice a trend of a particular type of issue raised in cases, we urge stores and related departments to prevent the issue or resolve the circumstances causing it. The Code of Conduct Committee also provides suggestions on the hotline process and the method of investigating issues, and we improve the procedures accordingly.

In fiscal 2022, 1,180 issues were reported worldwide through the employee hotline.

Breakdown of issues reported via Hotline (FY2022)

* Fast Retailing defines reports relating to human rights risks as those such as allegations on harassment and labor-related issues.

Preventive Measures

Preventive measures include case studies shared during position-specific and department training. We also work with management-level personnel to address issues. To encourage a deeper understanding of the Fast Retaining Group Code of Conduct, we have implemented an e-learning program for all employees. This e-learning program is updated with new content annually to reflect any changes in the code. The Fast Retailing Group in Japan also offers training for managers on the topic of harassment, in both global and domestic contexts; what constitutes harassment, how to prevent harassment occurring; and how to deal with reports or instances of bullying or harassment as a manager e.g. privacy protection.

Employee Engagement Survey

We ask all Fast Retailing Group regular employees to take part in employee engagement surveys to help foster an environment that motivates all staff in their work and inspires long-term growth. The FY2022 survey targeted 18,278 employees* and received responses from 14,582 employees (response rate: 80%). Based on the survey results, we decided to initially pursue measures to improve working environments in each business segment. We intend to conduct an annual employee survey from FY2023 onwards.

Main items covered in the FY2022 Employee Engagement Survey

Engagement with the company
Level of business satisfaction
Empathy towards Fast Retailing values
Trust in senior management and senior staff
Autonomy and productivity of business environment
Customer-oriented organization
Teamwork
Career and personal development
Work-life balance enhancement
Attentive pursuit of diversity
Evaluation systems and remuneration levels
Utilization and deployment of human resources
Appropriate working environments, workplace safety and security

* In fiscal 2022, we could not conduct the survey in Russia because of the temporary closure of operations.

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Employee Engagement Policy