Health and safety is material to Reed Elsevier because we can only perform well if our workplaces and employees are healthy and safe.

The essence of Valuing our People means going beyond legal obligations to ensure staff well-being.

Objectives

We aim to meet our commitment to health and safety, embodied in the RE Code of Ethics and global Health and Safety Policy. These documents commit us to providing a healthy and safe workplace for all employees, as well as safe products and services for clients. The CEO is responsible for health and safety on behalf of the Board. Good practice is reinforced through a network of Health and Safety Champions, reporting to business unit CEOs. They receive support from the global RE Health and Safety Manager, and other colleagues in the business, which includes bimonthly calls and an annual Health and Safety Champions meeting.

Results

Health and safety data, assured by Ernst & Young LLP, covers 97% of our workforce. As the majority of our business is US-based, we report against US Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines for work-related incidents and illnesses that result in greater than one day of lost time from work (we use an average of 220, eight hour work days per year to calculate total hours worked). We are predominantly an office-based company and in 2009 had no work-related fatalities. Although we saw an increase in the number of reportable cases (61 in 2009 vs. 55 in 2008) there was a 5% reduction in the severity rate – number of lost days compared to hours worked. We are thus half way to achieving our objective of a 10% reduction in the severity rate by 2010.

Slips, trips, and falls were responsible for the highest number (30%) of reported cases and 31% of lost days. Stress, responsible for 42% of lost days in 2008, was reduced by half in 2009. Yet it is still a significant issue resulting in time away from work and we will therefore continue to focus on wellness, stress reduction, and reducing absenteeism. There is an inherent limitation in reporting on occupational health given the difficulty in isolating work-related illnesses from those resulting from or in combination with other factors; we continue to work with relevant colleagues on improving health and safety data collection through online personalised training.

Training

Online health and safety training and risk assessments are available to all staff. We also provide tailored health and safety training to employees at a higher risk of injury in the workplace including warehouse, facilities, and sales staff who regularly carry products.

In 2009, we launched an updated programme for UK line managers who may need to manage health and safety incidents or illnesses. During the year, LexisNexis ran a course on managing health and safety risks for directors and senior managers. We work with real estate and human resources colleagues responsible for reporting cases, encouraging them to ensure staff who have experienced an injury receive necessary treatment, training, and support to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence.

Wellness in the workplace

We believe communication on health and safety issues is essential. In 2009, we launched RE: Fit2Win, a global competition which encouraged employees to walk, run, and cycle. Employees from locations that travelled the greatest distances received $1,000 for the charity of their choice. Over 117 locations participated, logging 878,890 miles/1.4 million kilometres, more than 35 times around the equator. RE: Fit2Win is now a regular event in the annual health and safety calendar.

To help with stress reduction, we focused on wellness in the workplace during our 2009 annual Health and Safety Month, with activities ranging from stress awareness training and flu vaccinations to fitness classes and biometric screening. Nearly 1,500 US employees took advantage of the chance to have blood tests and other check-ups, and were encouraged to share the results with their physician and to develop action plans where necessary.

2010 Objectives

• 10% reduction in severity rate by 2010 (from 2008 baseline)
• Advance collection of absenteeism data