Given the demanding nature of our Companies’ operations, we endeavour to develop and implement solutions that give employees greater flexibility and improve their work-life balance, in particular by ensuring stable and predictable working hours. Thus, all Group’s employees are entitled to family leave and to make use of it.
The Companies have invested in developing tools for efficient and equitable schedule planning and management, in line with employee preferences and business needs. Pingo Doce has an hours bank system in place, used by 22,433 employees in 2024, which allows them to take additional time off when it suits them best, in return for overtime worked. The Company has a scheduling solution that takes into account all legal rules, and also internal principles of fairness in shift assignment and stability in the lives of employees. This measure covered 26,887 employees in 2024, the year in which Pingo Doce tested a new solution that enables automated planning based on business data, such as sales and foot traffic in stores, improving the predictability of store needs at each moment. This pilot reached 542 employees of the stores being tested.
Biedronka implemented the Tikrow solution to address temporary labour needs in its stores. This platform allows candidates to view short-term positions available at Biedronka and to apply to work in one of its stores for a fixed period. Using this tool enabled the Company to meet 43,273 immediate needs in the year, minimising the negative impact of unforeseen absenteeism on store teams.
In Portugal, to facilitate the family management of employees in 2024, the three daycare centres1, located in the Recheio store in Braga and in the Azambuja and Alfena distribution centres, took care of 225 children of employees who work there and at nearby stores. A total of 1,877 paediatric, child nutrition and speech therapy appointments1 were also carried out at these daycare centres.
The Flexible Working Policy remains in force at our offices, and for all functions to which it applies, offering flexible working hours and the possibility of remote work, covering 6,617 employees across all the Companies.
Physical, mental and social wellbeing
Our commitment to employee wellbeing and work-life balance is reflected in various initiatives and programmes that promote their physical, mental and social wellbeing. In 2024, the Group invested over 7.8 million euros2 in these types of measures.
In Portugal, we provide office and distribution centre employees access to different health and wellbeing services. The Jerónimo Martins Clinic offers general medicine, sleep, smart-ageing, psychology, and nutrition appointments, as well as nursing services, alternative therapies and physiotherapy and also dermatology, cardiology and health consultancy appointments. A total of 1,477 employees used the Clinic in 2024. The Wellness Centre includes a gym and services such as dermoesthetics and was used by 1,569 employees in the year.
Logistics employees have access to the Prevention and Physical Rehabilitation Centres located at the Azambuja and Alfena distribution centres. The aim of these centres is to help prevent, assess and treat physical illnesses and musculoskeletal injuries through physical therapy, gym and nutrition services. They also offer general medical appointments, podiatry appointments (introduced in 2024), and nursing services. A total of 1,165 logistics employees used the two centres in the period under review.
All employees and their children have access to a free teleconsultation service1, available from 8am to midnight, seven days a week. The helpline is staffed by nursing professionals who, after screening, refer the patient to the most appropriate speciality. In the year, 1,264 employees used this service.
Employees also have the clinical nutrition programme1 at their disposal, created to promote healthy eating habits and ensure the nutritional monitoring of employees with health problems, including weight issues, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia (excessive lipid concentration in the blood). In 2024, a total of 2,331 appointments were carried out and 902 employees supported under this programme, which includes nutrition appointments, literacy actions and environmental modulation (introduction of healthy eating options in workspaces).
In Poland, the Razem zadbajmy o zdrowie (Let’s Take Care of Health Together) programme offers employees the chance to undergo a range of medical examinations with a market value 600 złoty (140 euros), including vitamin, diabetes, hormone and cancer screening tests (allowing for the testing of tumour markers), among other preventive analyses relevant to the prevention of our people’s health and specific to women and men. The programme also includes analysis of test results by a specialist and ultrasound scans for offices and distribution centres employees. In addition to increasing the type of analyses included, in 2024, it also provided access to discounts on complementary examination packages for family members. In 2024, 37,518 employees (15.1% more than in 2023) and 17,203 family members benefited from this programme, in an investment of over 1.3 million euros.
Biedronka and Hebe continued to invest in the physical wellbeing of their employees, encouraging physical exercise. The two Companies offer all their employees a sports card that gives them access to more than 5,000 facilities across the country. In 2024, a total of 13,066 employees made use of these measures, corresponding to an investment of 205,000 euros. Biedronka also finances the individual or group participation of employees who want to take part in organised sports, and offers running and cycling challenges where employees can take part individually or as a team to win prizes.
Protecting the mental health of our employees and their families is a priority for the Jerónimo Martins Group. To this end, we pay particular attention to prevention and health promotion initiatives, while offering psychological and psychiatric intervention in diagnosed cases.
In respect of prevention, we have focused on promoting literacy among our employees, raising awareness of the importance of mental health, helping to reduce the associated stigma, and sharing adaptive mechanisms for dealing with suffering associated with moments of greater fragility. Throughout 2024 we continued to support employees who, due to the nature of their jobs, have contact with a large number of other employees, preparing them to handle and support colleagues in difficult or sensitive situations. Support included the Cuidar do Cuidador (Caring for the Carer) programme, this year dedicated to Pingo Doce’s operational HR managers, with the “carers” participating in an integrated model of training, supervision and individual coaching.
As regards intervention, the Mental Health Programme3 in Portugal offers free psychology and psychiatry appointments for employees and their minor children, guaranteeing early access to care in order to minimise an aggravation of illness, especially where mental health support resources are scarce in the community. In 2024, this support, provided by a team of in-house psychologists and a network of external partners, reached 1,142 people requiring psychological and psychiatric intervention (767 employees and 375 children). A total of 209,000 euros was invested in the Mental Health Programme.
In Poland, the online platform Mindgram, initially launched by Hebe in 2023, was extended to Biedronka and both Companies registered 5,534 active users in the year under review. It is a free platform for all employees and extensive to family members, offering three types of support:
- educational support, through articles, webinars and podcasts on mental health, career development and personal finance;
- appointments with psychological support provided in unlimited online sessions;
- a chat room where employees and their families can exchange messages with and get help from professionals in psychology, law, finance, and other fields.
The Razem zadbajmy o zdrowie (Let’s Take Care of Health Together) programme also includes access to psychiatry appointments. The Spokojna Głowa (Calm your Mind) programme at Biedronka shares digital content focused on topics such as motivation, healthy lifestyle, meditation, stress management and more. Throughout the year, this contents, together with webinars on mental health available on Mindgram, gathered 4,711 views. Ara and Biedronka also provide mental health helplines.
We believe in the positive impact that initiatives that bring people together and foster team spirit can have on the work environment and on our employees. In this regard, the following initiatives were carried out in 2024:
- Four communities of interest in Portugal, that is, Crazy about Running (which also exists in Colombia), Crazy about Padel, Crazy about Creativity, and Crazy about Cooking, which counted for 5,261 participations.
- A new edition of Momentos em Cheio (Enriching Moments), a month dedicated to the wellbeing and a sense of belonging of Recheio employees, saw the participation of 1,148 employees.
- Trips on board the Santa Maria Manuela (owned by the Group), in which 163 Biedronka and Pingo Doce employees took part.
- Meetings and gatherings between Biedronka’s operations teams, financed by the Company and attended by 73,911 employees.
- Wellbeing Weeks, events held by Ara, Hebe, Meal Solutions and the logistics centres in Portugal, with around 7,000 employees taking part in various activities promoting physical and mental health.
1 In order to expand its reach and social impact, the program was transferred to the Jerónimo Martins Foundation in 2024.
2 In order to expand their reach and social impact, some of the wellbeing programmes were transferred to the Jerónimo Martins Foundation during the year. The figures reported refer only to the investment made by the Jerónimo Martins Group until the respective transition.
3 In order to expand its reach and social impact, the programme was transferred to the Jerónimo Martins Foundation throughout 2024.