Human rights responsibilities

At Helios, we work continuously toward preserving life, promoting health and well-being, and improving the quality of life experienced by sick people. Ethical action therefore forms part of our corporate responsibility and this includes upholding human rights. We are guided by international standards and applicable legislation, e.g. the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (LkSG) which came into force in 2023.

In order to comply with the LkSG, the Fresenius Group approach to upholding human rights was implemented at Helios. The managements of Helios Health, Helios Germany, and the Management Board of Fresenius monitor the Group-wide human rights program. The program encompasses five areas of human rights due diligence that are continually being developed.

Human rights program

The Group Human Rights Office at Fresenius is responsible for the overarching management of the Group-wide program. It supports Helios in the implementation of measures and reviews our activities directed toward complying with our human rights obligations.

Our Human Rights Function is responsible for operational implementation of the Group-wide strategy, and is designated at the level of Helios Health. Risk managers are defined for relevant specialist areas. As experts, they are responsible for an appropriate risk management and for carrying out risk analyses for their area of responsibility. Central Services Human Resources and Central Services Procurement and Logistics are relevant contact partners at Helios. They make their expertise available for risk assessment and take appropriate measures for risk management within their individual area of responsibility.

Fresenius Group approach to respecting human rights

Risk analyses and reports in accordance with national legislation and international standards

Since 2021, Helios has carried out a risk analysis on the topic of human rights. This evaluated potential risks of human rights violations in the supply chain and in its own business operations, defined issue clusters, and mapped out a risk landscape. In 2022, the methodology for the human rights risk assessment was refined and adapted to regulatory requirements, e.g. the LkSG. We recorded the results of this risk analysis in full in 2023 and integrated them in our Human Rights Report for the first time in 2024. They will be regularly updated in future. We carry out a risk analysis for our own business activity and our supply chains at least once a year. This complies with the applicable international and national laws. As part of risk analysis, we identify topics and risks. We classify these as a priority owing to their potentially serious impacts and our ability to influence them. We identified health and safety in the workplace as prioritized human rights issues for Helios in our Human Rights Declaration and in the report on human rights and the environment submitted to the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA).

Helios is also committed to the Human Rights Declaration already referred to, applicable for all business units at Fresenius, which was first published in 2018. The statement is guided by the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. It also complies with the requirements of the LkSG. New findings from our annual risk analyses and those carried out on an ad-hoc basis with a focus on people and the environment are updated in this declaration during spring of each year. Representatives at Helios worked on the updated declaration in 2023 and Fresenius published the statement in March 2024.

You can read more on human rights at Helios here. (German language only)