Social dialogue and co-determination

Co-determination

50Hertz is committed to freedom of association, collective bargaining and the protection of employee representatives. Particular emphasis is placed on trust and constant cooperation with all trade unions. The Supervisory Board of 50Hertz Transmission GmbH is composed of six members and is contractually required to comprise equal numbers of employee and employer representatives (this goes beyond legal requirements). In total, four Supervisory Board meetings were held in 2021; throughout these, the Management Board informed and advised the Supervisory Board about the current course of business, the organisation’s economic situation and the status and development of risks by means of written reports and oral statements. A committee of spokespersons with information and consultation rights represents the interests of senior executives. The Works Council is responsible for representing employees at 50Hertz who are covered by collective agreements and those who are not. Additionally, a cross-company discussion takes place on an annual basis in Elia Group’s European Works Council with representatives from Elia and 50Hertz.

50Hertz is committed to addressing employee concerns through joint events such as those organised by the Electricity Industry Group Committee and the Netzer Working Group. In addition, the company regularly sends guest speakers and lecturers to IG BCE educational events. In order to promote employee involvement in trade union affairs, taster courses on co-determination are offered to staff. A youth and trainee representative committee (JAV) promotes the interests of young people at the company. The JAV works closely with co-determination bodies.

Employees are able to share their views about the organisation on a regular basis (see section on stakeholder participation) through different means, including the “Say it!” employee survey. Employee surveys are conducted every two years. 91% of employees took part in the survey in 2021 (2017: 91%) and 50Hertz was once again able to achieve an above-average employee commitment index of 71 (2017 survey: 68). The results were explored as part of company-wide discussions; as part of a follow-up process that was launched in the first quarter of 2021, company-wide fields of action and measures for individual teams were then decided upon. In 2020, the survey was sent to all employees across the Group for the first time, with the same questions and during the same period. This included questions related to the topic of diversity in the section on corporate culture for the first time.