Labour rights and social relations

We engage with our customers on a regular basis on labour rights and social relations. We do that in order to understand their challenges and opportunities so that we can make the appropriate credit considerations and to be a better business partner.

Promoting fair labour of portfolio companies

Within asset management, our funds invest in companies that respect international conventions and guidelines, such as the UN Global Compact and the eight ILO Core Conventions on Labour Standards.

All actively managed SEB funds follow our core sustainability criteria and thus do not invest in companies that verifiably breach international norms regarding labour rights, and are not willing to solve the situations that cause the breaches. We engage directly in dialogues, or through collaborations with other investors or partners, with companies’ management and boards of directors regarding how to make improvements in these issues. 

Our approach to child labour and forced labour

Striving to be a good corporate citizen, respect for labour standards and human rights is an integral part of our corporate culture and we are committed to the principles of protecting children and other vulnerable groups from any forms of exploitation such as child labour or forced labour.

We acknowledge our role as financial intermediary and our potential impact on child labour and forced labour issues. We strive to identify and mitigate the exposure to risks related to these areas and to influence our clients and portfolio companies to have appropriate labour policies and monitoring systems of sufficient quality. Read more in SEB’s Position statement on child labour and Modern Slavery act. 

Position Statement on Child Labour 

Modern Slavery Act

We are also a member of the Swedish Financial Coalition against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children which seeks to prevent and obstruct payments for child abuse through the Swedish financial system.

Labour rights for SEB’s employees

All of SEB’s employees (100 %) are covered by collective or local agreements. A continuous dialogue is carried on with employees, employee representatives and with trade unions. We have a European Works Council (EWC) since 2003. The representatives are elected in accordance with Swedish legislation and are in proportion to the number of employees employed in each EEA (European Economic Area) country where we are represented.

The EWC gives the employee representatives the opportunity to consult with each other and develop a common transnational mind-set and view. Employees are also represented on SEB’s Board of Directors through two directors and two deputy directors. All organisational changes in Sweden are negotiated with employee representatives.

Respecting our employees

As an employer, SEB has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are treated equally and with respect. Everyone should be given the same opportunities for professional and personal development. SEB rejects all forms of discrimination and harassment, whether this is based on an individual’s ethnic or national origin, gender, skin colour, faith, religion, citizenship, age, disability, civil status or sexual orientation.

Inclusion and diversity 

We have strong focus on inclusion and diversity in the organisation. SEB’s first Inclusion and Diversity Policy was adopted by the Board in 2018. A governance structure was established, which includes a steering group with members from the Group Executive Committee and divisional management, as well as an appointed Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer. Moreover, an Inclusion and Diversity Index was created and integrated into SEB’s employee survey.
Inclusion and Diversity Policy

Our suppliers

We are convinced that having suppliers with high performance as regards environmental, social and ethical aspects creates greater value for us as well as for our customers.

In our Supplier Code of Conduct we express the importance of having a sustainable supply chain and what we expect from our suppliers. We believe it is important to work with suppliers that act responsible to the environment and to the communities where they are present. In our risk assessment of suppliers, labour rights are among the evaluation criteria.

We expect our suppliers to operate in compliance with all applicable environmental, labour and anti-corruption laws and regulations of the countries in which they operate, manufacture or conduct business.

The Supplier Code of Conduct is based on SEB's group-wide Code of Business Conduct.
Supplier Code of Conduct

For description of how we work within SEB with social relations.
Our people

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