People

LEGO critters in all shape and sizes celebrating, confetti flying around
We care deeply for our people who are part of making LEGO® play experiences possible for everyone. We have an ongoing focus on making our workplaces inclusive, safe and motivating for all our colleagues.

Celebrating diversity

It is our ambition to build a diverse and inclusive organization that helps us reach and inspire ALL children, regardless of who they are or where they come from. As we work to accelerate our diversity and inclusion, we partner with a select number of organisations that are leaders in their respective areas of D&I. The partners we choose will reflect our broad definition of diversity, encompassing gender, ethnicity, background, lifestyle and family, and help us shape both our workplace practices and creative output.

Evaluating progress

To evaluate our progress, we include specific questions, relating to diversity and inclusion in our employee engagement survey ‘the LEGO® Pulse’. We asked employees how they felt about belonging, feeling safe to share opinions and ability to bring their full self to work. In 2020, the Pulse inclusion score landed at 86 which is slightly above target and 3 above the 2019 results.

On representation, we measure the percentage of women who hold Director+ positions. In 2020 women held 38% of Director+ positions in the LEGO Group which represents a 2% increase from 2019.

  1. 2016

    34%

  2. 2017

    35%

  3. 2018

    36%

  4. 2019

    36%

  5. 2020

    38%
Parent and child LEGO critter singing

Extended parental leave

In 2020, we announced the introduction of extended parental leave globally. All employees, no matter their location, will receive a minimum of 26 weeks paid childcare leave for the primary caregiver and 8 weeks paid leave for the secondary caregiver, by the end of 2022. We also introduced four weeks of caregiver leave to make it easier for LEGO employees to take care of loved ones. Further to these initiatives we have implemented a global safety net to ensure financial security for colleagues and their families in case of death or permanent disability
a LEGO critter jumping on a trampolin

No compromise on safety

Employee safety and well-being is a top priority and we aim for zero accidents in our factories, stores and offices. Our Occupational Health and Safety Policy ensures all activities are carried out with health and safety in mind. We comply with national and international legislation as a minimum requirement. In 2020, the number of lost time injuries was 0.4 per million working hours.
A giraffe watering a plant

Helping our colleagues thrive

We strive to ensure that the LEGO Group is a motivating workplace and survey the motivation and satisfaction of all employees regularly. The resulting score is calculated from the answers to four questions in the annual employee engagement survey run by Ennova and called ‘the LEGO People Pulse’.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, colleagues’ motivation and satisfaction were extremely high – above 2019 levels and amongst the strongest of all companies tracked by external partner, Ennova. In 2020, we exceeded our target with a score of 82 points, 8 points above the external benchmark score of 74.

We will continue to take steps to ensure the health, safety and mental well-being of all colleagues working in our offices, factories and stores and to provide support services for anyone working from home for extended
periods.

LEGO critter factory cloud and a plant

A responsible supply chain

We collaborate closely with our suppliers to ensure they uphold our Responsible Business Principles. These 12 principles reinforce our ethical way of working and how we relate to children, our planet and our colleagues. Their primary purpose is to ensure all workers involved in making LEGO® products have fair and decent working conditions and that the environment is protected for future generations. If a supplier shows non-conformities with our Responsible Business Principles during a third-party audit, we work in partnership with our supplier to identify the root causes and ensure they are corrected. Our aim is to create long-term, sustainable solutions which benefit everyone.

We completed 85% of scheduled onsite audits against a target of 100%. Largely due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and its ongoing impact on travel, and factory access, audits have not been conducted or postponed due to health and safety concerns. An expanded ‘toolbox’ of monitoring methods has been developed and deployed to ensure we are able to monitor all necessary production facilities even if onsite audits haven’t been possible.

In 42% of audits undertaken, we identified higher-risk non-conformities against a target of maximum 30%. None of the higher- risk non-conformities identified any form of modern slavery or child labor. The most frequently identified risk was related to increased working hours often linked to production of goods associated with managing the spread of COVID-19. For example, some suppliers manufactured packaging materials for medical equipment and hand sanitizers for other customers. Some factories have reduced capacity to protect vulnerable workers while others have been affected by travel restrictions which have led to staff shortages in factories. Looking ahead, we do not expect to meet the current 30% target in the short- to medium term due to the extended impact of COVID-19 and anticipated additional complexity in our supply associated with portfolio innovation.

In 2020 the audit scope was expanded to include key sub-suppliers, therefore the figures below are not fully comparable

  1. 2017

    29%

  2. 2018

    33%

  3. 2019

    31%

  4. 2020*

    42%

We are currently working with some manufacturers to explore ways to meet compliance, despite ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. These include extending delivery deadlines and actively working with suppliers to return to reasonable working hours, despite the continuous implications of restricted movement and extra health and safety measures.

We currently provide online training in Responsible Business Principles with focus a on working hours and health and safety measures. We will increase focus on training efforts during the coming year given the challenging working environment. We will also establish a capability building programme with our suppliers. This is a training academy that strengthens their competences to reach a higher level of compliance and proactively resolve high-risk issues.

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