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Basic Policy on Human Rights

The freee Group is committed to its mission, “Empower Small Businesses to Take Center Stage,” and aims to create an environment where everyone can manage their business freely and easily. As a company contributing to society, the freee Group, under its Basic Policy on Human Rights, works to deepen understanding of human rights of all stakeholders related to its corporate activities and strives to achieve a society where human rights are respected by building on the worldview that the Group pursues and the experiences that it offers.

DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion)

Promoting Diversity

In 2018, we established the Diversity Promotion Office, and in October 2022, we appointed a Chief Culture Officer (CCO). By January 2024, we launched the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Team as a dedicated unit under the CCO, focusing on fostering a work environment where diverse individuals can thrive and perform at their best.

From a multicultural inclusivity perspective, we created the Globalization Success Department to design and promote inclusive communication across languages and nationalities, starting with the Product Developer Organization.

To address gender disparities, we formed the Gender Gap Elimination Committee, a project team led by the CCO and including the CHRO and HR executives from both business and engineering. This initiative aligns with the enforcement of the Revised Law for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities on April 1, 2024.

Additionally, we established the Reasonable Accommodation Committee, comprising product managers and recruitment personnel, to address accessibility concerns. This committee operates a dedicated contact point to receive and address consultations from persons with disabilities regarding the Group's products and services. Through these initiatives, we aim to resolve systemic challenges and advance DEI across all aspects of our operations.

Supporting Diverse Employees

Since 2018, we have consistently provided diversity-related training, including Unconscious Bias and accessibility training, as part of onboarding and for employees promoted to management positions. These initiatives aim to create a sustainable environment where a diverse workforce can thrive while fostering company-wide awareness of diversity and inclusion.

To support LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and other sexual minorities) employees, we have implemented company-wide training, established a dedicated consultation service, and created systems that recognize same-sex partners. Starting in May 2024, we enabled employees to register their self-identified gender in addition to their family registry gender through the freee HR product. This initiative ensures that transgender employees feel comfortable at work, whether or not they are undergoing transition.

These efforts have earned us widespread recognition. We have received the “Gold” award in the PRIDE Index sponsored by work with Pride, as well as the “BEST WORKPLACE” (the highest award) and “Top Inclusive Company” honors at the D&I Award, demonstrating our steadfast commitment to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace.

Goals for Closing Gender Gap

freee is committed to closing the gender gap. We believe that achieving gender balance is crucial for improving the diversity of employees involved in decision-making within the company. By the fiscal year ending June 30, 2030, we aim to achieve a minimum of 45% female representation across both employees and managers. The remaining 10% will include cases where gender cannot be classified as either male or female.

Before setting this goal, our representative director made a company-wide declaration to "create an environment in which people can easily play an active role regardless of gender." We are dedicated to improving the workplace environment through daily communication and consistent efforts.

Building Visibility for Diverse Careers and Work Styles

At freee, we offer a "Career Consultation Service" to support minorities who may face challenges in finding role models within the company by connecting them with mentors from other departments. In the engineering organization, we foster individual goal-setting and growth by clearly defining roles and specifying skill requirements for each career step. This approach optimizes assignments and encourages career diversification. Additionally, our active community, the "Tsubameko Club," provides a space where members involved in childcare, regardless of gender, can exchange information and interact with one another.

Supportive Work Environment for People with Disabilities

The freee Group has established the concept of "universal employment," a unique term within the company, and is committed to creating diverse work environments that are accessible and comfortable for people with disabilities.

We have been raising awareness within the company through various initiatives to make it easier for employees with disabilities to thrive. These activities include adjusting seating arrangements, adding Braille to office spaces and products, providing captions for images in internal and external documents, and using descriptive language to complement charts and graphs. We also make color choices that are considerate of colorblind individuals.

Our in-house services are designed with accessibility in mind, and we actively promote the creation of an environment in which all employees, including those with disabilities, can work comfortably.

Reasonable Accommodation Policies

freee has always sought solutions and made necessary accommodations through constructive dialogue with customers, employees, and other stakeholders when they have consulted with us about challenges related to their disabilities.

To facilitate a more systematic coordination, we have implemented the following improvements:

• Established an internal committee to align perceptions among departments.
• Ongoing internal training to ensure understanding of reasonable accommodation.
• Created an inquiry desk and internal escalation channels.
• Compiled examples of actions taken and disseminated these examples internally.
• Implemented proactive improvement measures to enhance the work environment.

Workplace Safety and Mental Wellness Policies

Workplace Safety

freee Group recognizes that it is essential to create an environment where all members are safeguarded in terms of safety and health, while also working in an exciting, healthy, and productive manner that allows them to experience growth and the happiness of work. Under legal compliance, we have established a Health and Safety Committee, which takes foundational measures to prevent dangers and health issues among our members, striving for continuous improvement. Additionally, our occupational physician and health managers conduct workplace inspections to identify safety and health issues at an early stage and work on their resolution.

Mental Wellness

As a company, we conduct a brief survey every two weeks to monitor the well-being of our employees and provide early support to those facing challenges. To ensure a comfortable and supportive work environment, we offer a dedicated consultation service with our occupational physician, focusing on both mental and physical health. Additionally, we provide access to a psychological counselor, creating a safe space for employees to discuss personal or career-related concerns.

Work-life Balance Efforts

Balancing Work and Family

freee offers a range of systems designed to ensure that every employee can work in a healthy and productive environment, regardless of their life stage, while fostering growth and happiness in their work. We have cultivated a culture that values flexible work arrangements tailored to individual circumstances, and we are dedicated to supporting diverse work styles and promoting work-life balance.

＜Return-to-Work Assistance After Maternity Leave＞

Subsidy for Unlicensed Childcare
• Household Assistance Subsidy
• Babysitter Subsidy
• Pre-Return Work Discussion and 1on1 with Manager

＜Lifestyle Change Assistance＞

• freee Working Style (flexible working hours arrangement)
• Retirement System (flexible retirement options based on employee preferences)

Flexible Working Style

In terms of work styles, in addition to our flextime system and discretionary labor system, we offer the "freee Working Style" scheme. This allows employees to choose shorter working hours, not only for housework, childcare, or nursing care, but also to support diverse work styles and work-life balance. We also have a remote work policy and permit employees to take on side jobs, as long as they do not interfere with their primary responsibilities.

Tracking and Maintaining Appropriate Working Hours

If overtime hours exceed 45 hours per month, an alert email is sent to both managers and employees from our "freee HR" system.

Employee Engagement Initiatives

We are a “movement-driven team”（*） and believe it is essential for each employee to take autonomous action in alignment with the company’s mission and vision. This individual initiative, when shared, helps spread enthusiasm throughout the company, leading to greater employee engagement and fostering an environment where enthusiasm thrives.

*Movement-driven Team
One of our core values, defined as: "Collaborate with colleagues committed to the mission and take independent action. As a team, we amplify our impact by sharing enthusiasm and driving collective energy."

Information Sharing

To ensure that all employees move forward autonomously and in alignment with the organization’s goals, we have created opportunities for information sharing between management and front-line employees. There are two key platforms for sharing information from management to front-line employees: the "freeers' general meeting," where management directly communicates with all employees, and departmental meetings, where information is conveyed through department and section managers.

Encouraging Office Attendance Through Thoughtful Office Design

We prioritize in-office attendance to significantly boost meeting productivity and accelerate business progress. While we encourage daily office attendance, we also offer flexibility by allowing remote work for employees dealing with childcare, caregiving, or other unforeseen circumstances, ensuring a balance with their comfort and needs. Moreover, under the theme of “an office that makes you want to come to work,” we gathered input from employees on their ideal office features and implemented their suggestions. This creates spaces that foster community across departments and encourage voluntary in-office attendance. Through these initiatives, we achieve high-quality, fast-paced business operations that go beyond what remote work alone can deliver.

Employee Connection Building

As part of our efforts to increase employee engagement and create an environment that facilitates the propagation of enthusiasm, we encourage employees to connect with each other outside of work through activities such as our “Offkatsu” program for hobbies and “Shall We Lunch?” which supports lunch expenses for employees across departments. These initiatives are grounded in the idea of encouraging employees to come to work and interact face-to-face. They are designed to align with our office policy and create a synergistic effect that enhances employees' desire to be in the office and engage with one another.

Employee Growth

We know that freee's long-term growth depends on the growth and development of our employees. That's why we are committed to providing every employee with more opportunities to take on challenging new roles and continue learning. Our focus is on the following initiatives:

freee style HR System

The freee-style HR system is at the heart of our growth support. It serves as the foundation for our success. Our human resource policy is designed to accelerate growth and deliver exceptional value. Each employee is assigned challenging tasks and set ambitious goals on a quarterly basis.

Additionally, we foster effective growth by engaging in multifaceted discussions with managers at all levels across departments, focusing on achievements, growth, and incorporating feedback to guide future development.

We also encourage every employee, both within and outside the freee Group, to define their own career vision to support autonomous growth. This vision is key in assigning work and setting goals that foster both personal fulfillment and the realization of our mission.

Manager Growth and Support

At freee, we call our managers 'Ja-mane' (JM). We see their role as pivotal in maximizing team performance and growth while fostering the development of our most valuable resource—our team members.

As the organization continues to grow, it’s clear that the role of managers is becoming increasingly crucial. In response, we have redefined the expectations for managers and are placing more focus than ever on supporting their activities and growth.

To build a strong and capable team, we are actively recruiting, developing, and training both current and future managers. Our comprehensive support infrastructure includes an onboarding program for new managers and a structured training plan. We also conduct regular surveys and provide feedback to ensure our managers and future managers remain engaged and satisfied.

We are committed to retaining our managers, and we are confident that we will succeed in building a top-performing team.

Supporting Early Impact and Continuous Learning

As we continue to expand, we are putting significant effort into onboarding to ensure new members can make an early impact. We provide comprehensive new hire training, along with personalized follow-up support to help build internal networks and acquire the essential knowledge needed for their roles.

Additionally, to help employees continue to thrive and grow beyond the onboarding phase, we have established learning support systems such as "Book Expenses freee," which allows employees to purchase up to three books related to their work each month, and "Jibun Growth Hacker," which subsidizes expenses for work-related learning opportunities. These initiatives support the ongoing development and continuous learning of each employee.

Career Path Diversification for Product Developers

In our engineering organization, with the aim of enhancing organizational strength and supporting individual growth, we have clearly defined the roles and skill requirements for each stage of a career.

We transitioned from a single "Engineer" role to a more diversified structure, redefining roles within freee’s engineering team into four categories: PdL (Product Lead), EM (Engineering Manager), TL (Technical Lead), and IC (Individual Contributor). By clearly outlining career progression for each role, we enable employees to set specific, personalized goals that align with their career aspirations, while also optimizing internal assignments. This approach fosters both individual and organizational growth.