Fair & Responsible Employment
ICL is committed to providing equal opportunities to its employees. This commitment is embedded in its policies, procedures and practices, as well as in its prohibition of all forms of illegal discrimination. By treating employees fairly, and evaluating them solely on their merits, ICL can target the best candidates for career advancement. ICL strives to hire the best individuals by focusing on diversified candidates, and to promote and develop talent within the company. Employees, the company and communities all benefit from these fair labor practices. \
ICL Employees
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | 4,812 | 4,861 | 4,673 |
| China | 3,057 | 2,816 | 2,413 |
| Spain | 1,300 | 1,294 | 1,281 |
| Germany | 1,170 | 1,157 | 1,012 |
| UK | 1,162 | 827 | 836 |
| USA | 1,011 | 895 | 817 |
| Netherlands | 576 | 639 | 593 |
| Brazil | 249 | 264 | 280 |
| France | 120 | 127 | 125 |
| Other | 593 | 634 | 597 |
| Total employees | 14,050 | 13,514 | 12,627 |
As of December 31, 2017, the Company’s workforce was comprised of 12,627 employees compared to 13,514 employees as of December 31, 2016 – a decrease of 887 employees. The decrease in the number of employees stems mainly from fewer employees in China, at ICL’s YPH joint venture, in Israel, mainly at Bromine Compounds Ltd. and Rotem Amfert Negev Ltd., and in Germany, mainly in BKG.
We observe all applicable labor and employment laws wherever we operate, including laws that pertain to freedom of association, privacy, collective bargaining, employment discrimination, forced labor, compulsory labor and child labor. The Company’s employees are employed according to employment terms prevalent in the countries in which they are employed.
Success Factor
ICL has launched a global HR management system, Success Factors, which, as of May 2018, covers most of the organization. The Success Factor system enables us to create transparency with our employees and set out our expectations, goal settings, performance evaluation etc. map out career paths of every employee.
The system provides a holistic approach that includes ‘Employee Central’ (general information regarding each employee), a Learning Management System and goal setting & employee evaluation module that incorporates targets, goals and performance evaluations. The system serves as our company’s infrastructure for managing ourselves.
The data breakdown of employees used in this section was exported from June 2018 data contained in the ICL Success Factors system, with manual completion regarding sites still not included in this system. The percentage of employees represented in the tables below comprises 100% of ICL’s total workforce at that point in time.
Employment contract
| Male | Female | All | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent | 9,147 | 2,086 | 11,233 |
| Temporary | 183 | 46 | 229 |
| All Employment Types | 9,330 | 2,132 | 11,462 |
Employment contract by region
| Permanent | Temporary | All Employment Types | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | 4,491 | 186 | 4,677 |
| Americas | 1,092 | 7 | 1,099 |
| Europe | 3,666 | 18 | 3,684 |
| Asia Pacific | 1,984 | 18 | 2,002 |
Employment type
| Male | Female | All | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Employment Types | 9,330 | 2,132 | 11,462 |
| Full Time | 9,191 | 1,946 | 11,137 |
| Part Time | 139 | 186 | 325 |
Employer of Choice
As part of our organizational cultural values, ICL is determined to strengthen its position as an employer of choice. The company aims to be one of the most favorable places of work, in every region where we operate. Specifically, in Israel, ICL has started measuring progress towards this target through active participation in the BDI code "Best Companies to Work for" ranking. This survey-based ranking measures the views of Israeli employees and managers regarding their current and preferred places of work and also takes into account the companies investment in human capital. In 2018, ICL was ranked in number 84 among all Israeli ranked companies. We aim to continue participation and increase our ranking through all employment enhancement activities described in this report.
Approximately 75% of our employees are included in collective bargaining agreements.
There is no risk of forced labor. No operations and suppliers have been identified in which the right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining are violated. We do not employ workers who are under the age of 17, and no employees at production sites are under the age of 21.
A significant part of our employees, approximately 75%, are under collective labor agreements, mainly in Israel, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. There is very limited seasonal employment. Senior employees in special positions and members of management are employed under individual agreements. These agreements are for an indefinite period but can be terminated after giving the employee the requisite notice.
We are implementing our Labor Law Enforcement Plan in Israel. The objective of the plan is to ensure that all ICL operating activities are performed in compliance with labor laws. ICL will achieve this through employee training and refresher courses, audits by labor attorneys, and documentation of all labor practices. The first stages of the plan have concluded. All gaps between labor legislation in areas where ICL has a significant volume of activity and ICL’s operations on the ground have been mapped. No significant gaps were found, and a plan was designed to close the small gaps that were identified.
Careers at ICL
Fair Employment for Contract Employees in Israel
ICL has agreements with contractors in Israel for outsourcing services which are not within the Company’s core business and for areas of expertise such as security, packing, maintenance, catering and cleaning, etc. The Company attributes great importance to fair working conditions for all of its employees, including contractor employees That are employed on Company premises.
All sub-contract employees receive information about ICL’s Code of Ethics and are expected to respect it.
According to a resolution of ICL’s Board of Directors and its subsidiaries in Israel, from October 2004 forward, contractors with long-term agreements working in ICL Israel are required to pay their employees higher salaries than the minimum required by law. According to this resolution, the relevant contractors are required to pay 5% more than the minimum wage, as well as provide pension and severance fund contributions, convalescent pay, appropriate uniforms and holiday gifts.
All issues related to this policy and its implementation are managed by the ICL Global Purchasing Organization (GPO) in Israel. Uniform procedures have been developed to implement and enforce the policy, and are executed in a similar manner at all ICL sites, allowing the Company to achieve maximum, long-term enforcement when working with contractors.
In order to ascertain that contractors are in compliance with the labor laws of the State and the ICL requirements, the company implements internal and external audits. The process consists of examining contractors’ compliance with the threshold conditions laid out in our policy, which are also embedded in the contracts with these companies. The internal controls require the contractor’s auditor to check the employment conditions of a random sample of employees and submit a semi-annual report. In addition, ICL decided to have an external auditor take a random sample and conduct an independent audit of employment conditions. The audit is conducted in accordance with standard auditing procedures in order to achieve a reasonable degree of confidence that the data presented does not contain any substantive errors.
The Law of Enhanced Enforcement Labor Laws, which came into effect during 2013, added another layer for the fair contractor employment enforcement mechanisms used by ICL.
As part of the Company’s enforcement plan, ICL audits its contractors who are subject to the Enforcement Law, namely cleaning, catering and guarding contractors. The audit findings, including details about the nature of the deficiencies, the names of relevant employees, the scale of deficiencies found, and a request to correct the deficiencies – are all transferred to the contractor and the Company’s supervisor for implementing our procedures.
During 2014, two different Expansion Orders were signed by the Israeli Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance. The Expansion Orders add new employment benefits to employees of cleaning and security contractors. Some of these benefits had already been included in the contracts with relevant ICL contractor and are already part of the audits performed by the ICL Purchasing organization. Following these orders, ICL integrated the new benefits into the existing requirements for relevant contractors.
