Ethics and compliance

Labour audits

We mitigate the risk of non-compliance with labour rights through regular audits of human resources processes, covering aspects such as working hours, rest periods and holidays, medical examinations and working conditions. This continuous monitoring helps safeguard dignity at work and employee well-being. In 2025, approximately 433 audits were conducted at Pingo Doce, Recheio, Jerónimo Martins Agro-Alimentar, Jeronymo and Hussel, which support corrective actions to be implemented within timeframes according to the severity of the situations identified.

In the agrifood sector, where our workforce includes a greater diversity of nationalities than in other areas of the Group, a verification process is in place with temporary work partners to ensure compliance with human and labour rights protection criteria, including the review of contracts, insurance policies, Social Security notifications, and medical examinations.

Ara continues to use the Labour Criticality Map tool to identify high-risk areas and to prioritise strategic interventions. The teams monitor priority labour rights indicators such as working time, rest periods, labour costs, employee turnover, absenteeism, and disciplinary proceedings. The assessment of these indicators determines the level of criticality and informs the need for additional audits whenever necessary. In 2025, a total of 895 audits were carried out.

Forced and child labour eradication

As a member of The Consumer Goods Forum, we participate in the Human Rights Coalition, through which peer companies align efforts and promote collective action on human rights, particularly in advancing due diligence practices. In 2025, we contributed to the publication of the report Tackling Forced Labour Through Human Rights Due Diligence¹, which details how coalition members are implementing measures to prevent forced labour in their operations. Through the Human Rights Maturity Framework, a self-assessment tool based on two key international references for integrating human rights into business practices – the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct – members publicly acknowledge their responsibilities in the areas where investment is needed to reduce human rights risks.

The prevention and eradication child labour is ensured through recruitment and selection policies and continuous monitoring procedures that prohibit the employment of individuals below the legally permitted working age.

In 2025, and in recognition of the maturity of our initiatives, we achieved a score of 9.0 out of 10.0 points in the Global Child Forum assessment. This international organisation assesses the performance of companies across the areas of governance and collaboration, workplace, marketplace, community and environment, reflecting their commitment to children’s rights, working conditions, internal policies, business and marketing practices, and social and environmental impact.

Freedom of association and collective bargaining

Freedom of association and collective bargaining is a top concern in safeguarding our employees’ rights. Under the terms of applicable law, all employees are free to form and join organisations without the need for prior authorisation and may be represented by them when negotiating agreements with their employer. Collective bargaining, for now only applicable to Portugal, covers 98.1% of employees in the country where we have 13 active collective agreements. The Group has 91.7% of employees in Companies with employee representation in Portugal and 95.7% in Poland, ensuring the timely compliance, in accordance with the laws of each country, with all rules related to the right to information and/or consultation in force.

As part of our social dialogue practices, we engage in negotiation forums with employee representative bodies. In Portugal, we actively participate in sectoral organisations, such as APED (Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies), and those that cut across various industries, such as CIP (Confederation of Portuguese Business).

We are also actively involved in social dialogue forums, particularly at European level, through EuroCommerce.

Communication and training

We ensure that employees are aware of their rights and responsibilities in complying with our ethical standards through regular communication campaigns and training initiatives.

The Code of Conduct and the Anti-Corruption Policy are shared with all new employees, who are asked to formally acknowledge receipt and their understanding of the documents. In Colombia, employees receive training in the Anti-Corruption Policy during their first two months with the Company. Training in the Code of Conduct is mandatory for all employees.

We also provided in-person and e-learning sessions on labour legislation, attended by 11,454 employees in 2025.

Resolution mechanisms

We ensure that all employees have access to independent, accessible reporting channels that are known to all stakeholders. All reports received are duly investigated, with action plans drawn up and monitored, while ensuring the confidentiality and protection of whistleblowers.

The Employee Assistance Service is a dedicated channel for reporting, clarifying and resolving labour-related issues, ensuring confidentiality, independence, impartiality and protection against retaliation. BOP (Biuro Obsługi Pracownika) is the employee assistance service in Poland, created to ensure the availability of an independent, confidential and transparent channel that helps employees safeguard their labour and human rights. In 2025, new initiatives were developed to raise awareness of the BOP’s role and prevent situations of mobbing and discrimination.

The Ethics Committee and the Ethics Offices in Portugal, Poland and Slovakia ensure the receipt and handling of reports of irregularities, acting in accordance with the principles of independence, impartiality, integrity and confidentiality. Supported by a whistleblowing management platform, they have their own dedicated websites through which employees can confidentially report any breach or violation of the law, internal policies or principles, including situations related to assault, harassment, conflicts of interest, corruption, discrimination, fraud, improper business practices or the misuse of information. These channels are also available to any stakeholder with whom the Companies work or interact, including workers who are not employees.

In Poland, Biedronka has an Anti-Mobbing, Anti-Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Committee that is responsible for handling complaints involving such matters. In Colombia, the Committee for Labour Co-existence manages complaints relating to working conditions and other work-related problems.

All situations reported are analysed and investigated, and action plans are drawn up for the resolution thereof whenever necessary. In 2025, we received 4,250 labour-related complaints, all of which were investigated, of which 34.8% were closed and 47.8% required remedy actions.

Among the labour-related complaints received in 2025, 143 were related to discrimination, including harassment. No reports related to forced labour, human trafficking or child labour were recorded in the period under review.

More information about our communication channels for internal and external stakeholders can be found in “Stakeholder engagement and communication channels”.

¹ More detailed information is available here