Working and living with EVN

Work-family balance

EVN provides active support for its employees in their efforts to achieve the best possible work-family balance. This applies, for example, to employees who are considering taking advantage of legally entitled parental leave. Their return to work is facilitated by contacts with EVN throughout the leave period. Parents can also choose to work part-time as an alternative to full parental leave or during the subsequent re-entry period and adapt their working hours to meet their personal needs. These flexible arrangements create advantages for both sides: EVN is able to retain qualified staff and utilise its investments in training and professional development beyond the phase of intensive parental care. From the parents’ point of view, close ties and regular contacts with the company facilitate re-entry and keep their professional expertise up to date.

EVN offers opportunities for parental leave that extend beyond legal entitlements and allow for time-out until the child is 36 months of age. Men are also using the available models: in 2013/14, 13 men were on parental leave. As a result of these individual solutions, nearly all mothers and fathers at EVN AG, Netz Nieder österreich GmbH, EVN Wasser GmbH, EVN Geoinfo and EVN Business Service GmbH return to the company after this leave. Two employees left the company for family reasons during the reporting year (previous year: one resignation after parental leave). Another measure to facilitate re-entry after parental leave is the parent-and-child office that was installed in 2012. It allows employees to bring their children to work, especially in times of difficult childcare situations. A comfortable atmosphere allows for concentration on both work and children. The parent-and-child office is equipped with two fully functional workstations as well as special children’s furniture, toys and a bottle warmer – and provides parents as well as children with an attractive environment. For children from six to twelve years of age, the popular three-week vacation programme Holidays@EVN was repeated in summer 2014. This programme, which was started in 2011, took place at the EVN corporate headquarters and adjoining green areas and in the information centre of the Theiss power plant. It was organised together with the “Family Business” initiative. More than 60 children of EVN employees were able to enjoy a diverse programme of games and handicraft activities, excursions and art workshops.

• GRI indicator: Employees returning to work after parental leave (LA3)

EVN pension fund

EVN provides its workforce with a supplement to legal pension insurance (“ASVG” pension) through a company-operated pension fund. The fund gives employees the opportunity to accumulate additional retirement benefits in the form of a private pension with the support of the company. In this way, EVN participates in securing the retirement income of its workforce. The EVN pension fund is a defined contribution scheme, in which the amount of the future pension is derived from the employer and employee contributions up to the date of retirement. EVN’s responsibility as an employer is also illustrated by the pensions provided for its employees in Bulgaria, where voluntary pension insurance was introduced for all full and part-time employees.

• GRI indicator: Company defined benefit plan obli ga tions (EC3)

Supplementary health insurance

Another voluntary benefit provided by EVN for its employees is the opportunity to conclude supplementary health insurance at favourable conditions. A framework agreement with an Austrian insurance provider guarantees optimal medical care for all participating employees. Additional benefits like supplementary health insurance and the EVN pension fund are available to all employees of the contributing employers in the EVN Group – regardless of age, gender or the scope of employment.

EVN culture and sports club

The EVN culture and sports club is an employees’ initiative with a long-standing tradition. The offering ranges from soccer, yoga, mountain biking, jogging, sport shooting, curling, climbing, winter and water sports to scuba diving, sailing, surfing, fishing and tennis. Other popular activities include Pilates, chess, golf, bodywork, bodybuilding and cardio training, aviation, table tennis, hiking, photography and film or culture and tourism.

EVN supports these activities, above all, in accordance with its focus on health promotion. At the same time, participation in these shared activities improves communications and strengthens social ties within the company.

The EVN culture and sports club had more than 1,800 active members during the reporting year and includes 16 individual clubs that are located in Krems, Horn, Waidhofen an der Thaya, Deutsch- Wagram, Hollabrunn, Mistelbach, St. Pölten, Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Wiener Neustadt, Korneuburg, Theiss, Dürnrohr and Maria Enzersdorf. All of the clubs have strong ties to their respective regions and generally operate autonomously.

In 2013/14, a total of EUR 15.8m was spent on employee benefits (pension contributions, other employee benefits), which represents 5.1% of personnel expenses.

• GRI indicator: Benefits for full-time employees only (LA2)
• GRI indicator: Employee benefits (EC3)