Occupational safety & health management

Workplace safety for our employees is number-one priority at DHL Group. We place great importance on complying with the Group's existing occupational health and safety policies, legal regulations and industry standards, and we have embedded these in our Code of Conduct.

All our occupational safety measures are aimed at establishing a "Safety First" culture at DHL Group.

Each Group division has its own organizational and management structure dedicated to occupational safety. Cross-functional topics are discussed by the Operations Board, a committee made up of division executives under the leadership of the CEO. The Operations Board is also responsible for managing and developing occupational safety KPIs.

The Group-wide accident rate (LTIFR, number of accidents per 200,000 working hours) is the KPI on which we measure the success of our occupational health and safety measures. The Group-wide Occupational Health & Safety Committee facilitates dialogue and collaboration between occupational safety experts in the different divisions. It defines cross-divisional regulations and standards, identifies accident black spots, develops appropriate prevention measures, and lays the groundwork for decisions made by the Operations Board.

As a logistics company, we also specialize in the safe and proper transport and warehousing of dangerous goods and substances in compliance with our general terms and conditions. Ensuring the safety of our employees and minimizing risk remain top priorities at DHL Group.

Only specially trained employees are permitted to handle dangerous goods. In all divisions, Dangerous Goods Safety Advisors ensure compliance with prevailing regulations. Dangerous goods guidelines are made available in the languages of the countries concerned.

At DHL Group, we provide healthy work environments, moreover, we encourage and help our employees and their families to pursue healthy lifestyles, avoid risk factors and make use, for example, of preventative screening and condition management initiatives. In doing so, we align our own holistic approach with that of the World Health Organization (WHO) Healthy Workplace Model.

While Group divisions are responsible for the local implementation of health management within their organizations, cross-divisional issues are discussed and agreed centrally by the Board of Management. In partnership with Human Resources, Insurance & Risk Management is responsible for driving Health and Well-being initiatives. Such initiatives and campaigns are tailored to address local requirements on the basis of a systematic international evaluation of risk indicators.

In both Germany and the Post & Parcel Germany division, health management is the responsibility of the Chief Medical Officer. Not only does the CMO advise the Board of Management, he is also responsible for the Central Health Working Group for our business units based in Germany. In addition, the CMO is head of the Group’s ISO 9001-certified occupational health services in Germany, which includes a staff of some 90 occupational health physicians nationwide. 

Approximately 300,000 of our employees – more than half of our workforce – live and work outside of Germany, many of them in countries that do not offer adequate social health coverage. Thanks to our Group-wide Employee Benefits Program, employees and their dependents in over 100 countries can receive primary or supplementary healthcare at costs well below local market alternatives. Our ability to maximize and control funding efficiencies around the provisions of our insurance program allows us to invest in health promotion measures to benefit our employees and their families.