Following a living wage assessment of its employees’ pay, Beckers took steps to promote a decent standard of living for all its employees, ensuring everyone, everywhere will earn a living wage in the future.

According to the UN Global Compact, a living wage is the income required to provide a decent standard of living for workers and their families.

Measuring living wages at Beckers

With more than 1,700 employees across 26 locations in 18 countries, Beckers conducted a global assessment comparing employee wages with regional living wage levels using the WageIndicator database.

The analysis showed that 0.7% of the workforce – 14 employees in three countries – earned less than what is deemed a living wage in their region. While the overall result confirmed strong performance, it also highlighted the need for targeted action.

An organization on a living wage mission

“On one hand, it was reassuring that we already paid 99.3% of our employees higher than the living wage, but we needed to act to ensure everyone is above this level,” says Sam Withers, Manager HR Data at Beckers. “We helped our country-level management teams interpret the data and worked with the three affected countries to assist them to close the living wage gaps through the annual salary review process where possible.”

As of 2025, two of the three countries increased all employee wages above the living wage. In the remaining country, Beckers closed almost all gaps, resulting in 99.8% employees being paid a living wage by the end of 2025.

“Our ambition is for 100% of our employees to earn above the relevant regional living wage thresholds and we are continuously working to ensure this,” says Withers.

Ensuring living wages going forward

Ensuring that Beckers pays living wages is an ongoing process, particularly as the company’s annual salary review integrates up-to-date living wage data. This ensures increasing regional living costs are reflected in HR decision-making.

“Our work to achieve and then maintain living wages will continue, along with our work to eliminate gender pay gaps. We have the right tools and processes in place to minimize inequalities,” concludes Withers.

What is a living wage?

A living wage is not the same as a legal minimum wage. It is a voluntary benchmark that reflects the income required for a decent standard of living in a specific region, considering factors such as food, housing, healthcare and education. For companies like Beckers, committing to living wages means going beyond legal requirements to ensure fair and responsible pay worldwide.

In 2025, Beckers launched SPARK, a major global Health & Safety (H&S) culture program designed to strengthen safety performance at every touchpoint across the organization. The program was initiated following two serious fire incidents at Beckers sites in Goa (India) in 2023 and Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) in 2024. These events highlighted the need to better understand existing safety culture, openly address shortcomings and guide a long-term cultural transformation.

SPARK was launched to establish a clear baseline and identify opportunities for improvement. Beckers engaged ERM, a global specialist in health, safety and organizational transformation, to conduct an independent assessment. The three-phase program includes a system review, in-depth interviews and site visits, followed by reporting and action planning.

As part of the assessment, ERM reviewed Beckers’ business model, strategy, performance data, reporting and existing H&S programs. This was complemented by interviews and site visits at facilities in for example Binh Duong (Vietnam), Montbrison (France), Liverpool (UK), Shanghai (China) and Dormagen (Germany). In total, 32 interviews were conducted with leadership at global, regional and local levels, alongside discussions with managers, supervisors and operators on the shop floor.

The feedback highlighted a high degree of openness and engagement. Teams were forthcoming in sharing experiences, concerns and insights and many expressed appreciations for the opportunity to speak openly about safety. At the same time, the findings revealed several challenges, to address and translate into everyday practices.

The findings from SPARK are now being consolidated into a global report and action plan. As Beckers CEO, Christophe Sabas emphasized, honest feedback and transparency are essential foundations for progress and leadership will return with a clearer safety vision and concrete actions.

Alongside SPARK, Beckers continues to engage employees through its annual Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Month. In 2025, the EHS month combined hands-on activities with digital tools to make safety principles tangible and relevant to local conditions. Activities ranged from interactive games and quizzes to emergency drills and global webinars, closing with a session on Business Continuity Management.

Launched with a message from Susanne Goldammer, Beckers Chief Operations Officer, the program reinforced the importance of engagement, learning and empowerment. Together, SPARK and EHS Month reflect Beckers’ commitment to strengthening its Health & Safety culture through openness, participation and continuous improvement laying the foundation for safer workplaces and a stronger culture of care across the organization.

At Beckers, employee wellbeing is an integral part of a safe and sustainable workplace. Alongside physical safety, supporting mental health is a growing priority — recognizing that long-term performance depends on people feeling supported, resilient and able to seek help when needed.

In 2023, Beckers launched a Mental Health First Aiders pilot scheme to strengthen early support and awareness. The program, rolled out initially in the UK and Malaysia, trains managers to recognize symptoms of mental health challenges, engage with colleagues and guide them toward appropriate support. Since then, mental health and wellbeing initiatives have been increasingly integrated across Beckers sites worldwide.

A central element of this approach is the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which connects physical, mental, social and emotional wellbeing within a single global framework. Through the EAP, employees have access to a range of interventions, including health screening, counselling, workshops and digital resources via an on-demand Wellness Hub. While the framework is global, sites retain flexibility to implement initiatives that reflect local needs, cultures and available resources.

Since the EAP launch, management training and team-building initiatives have been implemented in several countries, including Poland, Sweden, the UK, Italy, Malaysia, the UAE and the USA. Wellness Hubs offering mental health support and counselling services, are now available at multiple sites, enabling employees to access support confidentially and without judgement.

Local adaptation plays a critical role in making wellbeing initiatives effective. During 2025, Beckers in Vietnam introduced a mental health workshop delivered by local specialists, creating space for open discussion in a cultural context where mental health can be a sensitive topic. Interactive activities, such as an “emotional candy box,” provided a practical and approachable entry point to conversations about wellbeing. In the United States, Mental Health Awareness Month was marked through simple, inclusive activities such as wellbeing bingo cards, peer appreciation boards and outdoor initiatives that encouraged reflection and participation.

In South Africa and Malaysia, dedicated training sessions and Wellness Days focused on building skills to recognize and respond to mental health challenges, supported by external experts and accredited programs. These initiatives emphasized empathy, openness and practical support, helping to normalize conversations around mental health at work.

Building mental wellbeing is recognized as a long-term commitment. As initiatives continue to expand, the focus remains on learning across sites, reducing stigma and embedding habits that support a culture of care. By combining global frameworks with locally relevant actions, Beckers aims to strengthen resilience, compassion and support across its workforce — contributing to healthier people and more sustainable workplaces.