Remuneration and Flexible Working Models
GRI
2-19
Performance-Based and Value-Based Remuneration
Appropriate remuneration that matches performance is an important sign of appreciation toward employees and trainees for Vonovia as an employer and a training company. As we are currently seeing sharp rises in the prices for gas, electricity and in the general cost of living, Vonovia has decided to pay out a premium to cover inflation over the period of the next 24 months totaling up to € 3,000 and an income-based pay rise. By this means, we firstly want to show our appreciation for employees’ good performances and secondly, prove our competitiveness as an employer. The benefits apply to a majority of the Vonovia employees in Germany and Deutsche Wohnen employees and focus on income groups that are particularly hard-hit by rising prices. Our employees in these income groups can therefore rely on a marked increase in salaries in the 2023 calendar year in order to cushion their personal additional costs.
Good and very good performances during training are rewarded by Vonovia with additional benefits. As part of the applicable works agreement, we have expanded our premium model for trainees from the technical service to the residential environment organization and the commercial area in the reporting year. In addition to closely supporting our young talent, we also want to motivate them and position ourselves as an attractive employer. For the same levels of performance in interim and final examinations, premiums were paid to a total of 85 trainees.
We want to give our young employees and trainees the best possible start to their careers with a range of trainee benefits. These include a company iPad or laptop, high-quality work wear, subsidized text books and intensive exam preparation courses. We are planning to introduce a performance-dependent subsidy of a maximum of € 2,500 for driving licenses in 2023 for commercial trainees. We want to ensure the mobility of our future employees in the Value-add segment following completion of their training.
Flexible Working and Digitalization
The hybrid working models established in 2021 and continually updated since, and our transformation to flexible and digitalized work processes have proven successful once more in the reporting period. Accordingly, the works agreement on mobile working that had already been negotiated between senior management and the works council in 2019 and corresponding agreements for our Austrian colleagues at BUWOG remain in place. In addition to the flexible option of working from home, our employees in the holding company are also largely free to work the hours that suit them – within the daily framework of 6.30 a.m. to 10 p.m. – and enjoy a high degree of personal responsibility. Personal working time accounts can range between minus 80 hours and plus 150 hours – but they do have to be balanced out within a certain timeframe.
Vonovia has also continued working on making HR processes more flexible, aimed at making our employees’ everyday work easier, particularly through the gradual development of further digital offers. These offers include the option of calling in sick via an app or digitally clocking in and out. A relaunch of the company’s intranet is also planned for 2023, which is aimed at making access to company-relevant information, services and benefits easier as part of a new design.
Social Benefits
When it comes to social benefits, we strive to achieve equity when considering our employees. For example, our employee share program is also in place in Austria, along with a works agreement on mobile working. The standardized company pension scheme introduced in 2021 is available to all Vonovia employees in Germany (including Deutsche Wohnen, excluding SYNVIA and the Care segment) and is subsidized by Vonovia. With this scheme, Vonovia is going well beyond the requirements of the Company Pension Scheme Contributions Act (Betriebsrentenstärkungsgesetz), and making a special effort to fulfill its social responsibilities toward its employees.
BUWOG’s HR department prepares a mandatory biennial salary report for the works council in accordance with Austrian law and also submits monthly salary lists to the works council. The aim is to ensure gender equality in terms of salaries and enable rapid responses to any indications of inequality.
Current figures show that there is a salary difference of 4.8% at Vonovia in favor of female employees (see Employee Key Figures). This is due to the higher proportion of men in the technical occupations and a more balanced gender ratio in the on-average better paying commercial roles.