Investing in our people

Who we are
Our purpose is to make a difference by developing natural resources, improving people's lives now and for generations to come. We are trusted by our owners and partners to realise the potential of their resources.
Our business
- Australia
- Southern Africa
- South America
  - Brazil Alumina
  - Cerro Matoso
- Exploration & projects
- Marketing
- Our commodities
South32 is a globally diversified mining and metals company producing bauxite, alumina, aluminium, energy and metallurgical coal, manganese, nickel, silver, lead and zinc in Australia, Southern Africa and South America.
Community & society
We’re a business with a purpose and believe trust and transparency are essential to the way we operate. That means being in touch with the broader community – considering different perspectives and working together to create shared value.
Environment
We work hard to be responsible stewards of the environment and treat natural resources with care so that they are available for future generations. Successful environmental management is essential to our business.
People & careers
Our people are the foundation of our success and the key to our sustainability and productivity. Together, we create an inclusive workplace where we hold ourselves and each other to account to demonstrate our values.
Investors & media
- Investor centre
- Media centre
Keep up to date with our latest news and announcements.

We know that work is a big part of our people's lives and there are a lot of ways we can recognise, encourage and reward excellence and team work.

We support wellbeing through flexible work arrangements and an inclusive work environment. This is more than a policy that sits on a shelf – it's embedded into the way work and is key to our diverse global workplace. We also offer market-leading parental leave policies, which are well above government requirements in the jurisdictions we operate in.

Our people and their families have access to an Employee Assistance Programme, which provides confidential counselling and support. We also encourage involvement with our employee volunteer programme, providing the opportunity to engage in community programs for one paid day per year.

Employee engagement

We use regular surveys to understand what our employees think is working well or not working well in our workplaces. We feed back the results to our teams, outlining how we'll respond to continuous improvement opportunities. It's our job to deliver on these commitments and to listen to the views and ideas of our people.

Employee ownership

We all share in the growth and success of our company through our employee share plans. Our employee ownership programme allows our people to become part owners, with rights to receive South32 Limited Shares. We offer this annually at no cost to eligible employees.

Performance and reward

Our benefits are designed to encourage productivity, performance and teamwork. These include:

Competitive salaries which reflect the skills and experience required for each role
Short-term incentive bonuses for eligible participants, paid in addition to base salary, reflecting our company's performance and each employee's contribution
Flexible work arrangements
Market-leading parental leave
Competitive benefits

Our reward framework sets out how we apply remuneration and benefits across the business, ensuring consistency, transparency, and alignment to our values.

Flexible working makes good business sense

We offer flexible working arrangements to our people to enable work-life balance.

Using a mock mine for safety

We built a mock underground mine at Khutala, South Africa, to mirror conditions of real coal mines.

Building an inclusive workplace

Nigel Barley regularly shares his powerful message about safety in the workplace