Occupational Health & Safety
The Group’s organizational culture is based primarily on continuous improvement of work environment conditions by ensuring the safety of employees, subcontractors and guests staying on the Companies’ premises. Our goal is “zero accidents”, both for our own employees and for subcontractors’ staff.
On 3 April 2019 the Board of KOGENERACJA S.A. adopted the Declaration of Quality Policy, the Declaration of Environmental Policy and the Declaration of Health and Safety at Work Policy. The Integrated Management System policies in the safety area are fleshed out in the Health & Safety Policies of each company.
The Health & Safety Policy is based on the following assumptions:
- all accidents and major accidents can be prevented,
- no job is so Important and no service is so urgent that we cannot take time to perform our work safely,
- safe approach to work is an essential element of professionalism,
- high technology culture is necessary to ensure safe and reliable operation of installations and equipment,
- high level of security is an important condition for sustainable business success.
| KOGENERACJA S.A. | EC Zielona Góra S.A. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | |
| Total number of accidents at work | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Fatal accidents | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group accidents | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Accident frequency rate* | 0,0 | 1,8 | 0,0 | 4,5 |
| Absence rate** | 0,0 | 0,9 | 0,0 | 0,3 |
| Number of accidents of subcontractors | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
* Accident frequency rate of employees = number of accidents with loss of the day * 1 000 000 hours / number of working hours
** Absence rate = number of hours of absence / 1 000 hours worked
Safety assessment and monitoring KOGENERACJA Group aims to reduce occupational hazards by promoting the safety culture in many different ways, including:
- implementation of corrective and remedial measures based on multidimensional identification and assessment of risks,
- learning lessons from incidents,
- searching for best practices both within and outside the Group,
- observation of employee behaviors.
To be able to fully assess the progress in the development of the safety culture, in 2010 the Group implemented a system of safety culture audits. The audits cover 13 business areas, including safety management, effective communication, quality procedures and standards and management engagement. The safety culture is assessed on a five-point scale. As a result, the safety management systems are effectively used and continuously developed.
Safety-related conduct is among the most important factors in the assessment of employees’ performance. On the other hand, each year employees evaluate their workplace in terms of health & safety through a satisfaction survey, looking at whether safety issues are accorded sufficient priority and whether supervisors are directly involved in the prevention of occupational hazards.
The system of management field visits is designed to identify and eliminate inappropriate conditions or actions which might give rise to serious incidents. The findings of those visits (both positive and negative ones) are recorded in the dedicated IT system. By keeping a systematic record of observations, occupational hazards can be monitored and preventive actions can be adapted accordingly.
In 2017, in the locations of the Group's companies (Wrocław, Zielona Góra), a Zero Accidents Training Centre was established as part of the “Partnership for Security” program whose aim is to raise awareness of occupational health and safety, mainly among the employees of external companies.
The Group implements the following staff development programs in the area of occupational health & safety: Health & Safety Champion, Use your Head at Work and occupational safety knowledge contests and the Safety Culture Assessment Survey.
Employment policies and management
In 2018, the Group implemented a new HR policy entitled Human Capital Management Strategy in PGE Group. Conformance with the policy objectives is monitored. The terms of remuneration of the Group companies’ employees are governed by the following documents: the Collective Labor Agreement, the Regulations of the Company’s Social Fund, additional regulations and agreements with the trade unions and General Procedures, which expand on the Human Capital Management Strategy.
The Group companies carry out regular employee surveys to find out about their attitudes and degree of work satisfaction. Their results are analyzed and corrective actions are designed as necessary. Outcomes of the surveys are communicated to all employees and constitute one of the key elements of assessment of the Management Board Members of KOGENERACJA S.A. and EC Zielona Góra S.A.
The Group companies offer additional medical care for all employees. Other benefits include an Employee Pension Scheme and partial refunds of the costs of sports activities or cultural events.
Additionally, the Company adopted a structured approach to managing diversity, although no formal document has been adopted in this area. We undertake activities addressed to selected employee groups (e.g. Voluntary Terminations Program, Leave until Retirement). In 2017, KOGENERACJA S.A. introduced flexible working hours for single-shift job positions.
Relations with employee representatives
Social dialogue is a preferred method of consultations with the employees. KOGENERACJA S.A. and EC Zielona Góra S.A. pursue independent policies in this area.
At KOGENERACJA S.A., there are four trade union organizations:
- Intercompany Trade Union Organization for Continuous Operation and Maintenance Employees (Międzyzakładowa Organizacja Związkowa Związku Zawodowego Pracowników Ruchu Ciągłego)
- Inter-Company Solidarity Trade Union Organization (Międzyzakładowa Organizacja Związkowa NSZZ „Solidarność”)
- Inter-Company Trade Union Organization for Energy Sector Employees (Międzyzakładowa Organizacja Związkowa Związku Zawodowego Energetyków)
- Trade Union of HR Division Employees (Związek Zawodowy Pracowników Kadrowych)
At EC Zielona Góra S.A., employees are members of three trade union organizations:
- Inter-company Solidarity Trade Union Committee of EC Zielona Góra S.A. (Międzyzakładowa Komisja Związkowa NSZZ Solidarność Elektrociepłowni „Zielona Góra” S.A.)
- Trade Union of Maintenance Employees of EC Zielona Góra S.A. (Związek Zawodowy Pracowników Ruchu Ciągłego Elektrociepłowni „Zielona Góra” S.A.)
- Alternative Trade Union of EC Zielona Góra S.A. (Związek Zawodowy „Alternatywa” Elektrociepłowni „Zielona Góra” S.A.).
Table. Employees covered by the collective agreement
| KOGENERACJA S.A. | EC Zielona Góra S.A. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | |
| Number of employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement | 353 | 352 | 132 | 128 |
| Percentage of employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement | 99 | 99 | 95 | 96 |
Development and education
Training is available for all employees of the Group in a wide range of subjects: professional, occupational health and safety, soft skills development, IT, managerial and management systems. The scope of training is determined during annual individual interviews. The Group offers a partial or full refund of the costs of university education. The training rules are regulated by the procedure: Training and Development Principles in the PGE Capital Group.
| KOGENERACJA S.A. | EC Zielona Góra S.A. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | |
| Total number of training hour | 5 442 | 11 966 | 1 537 | 3 324 |
| Cost of training | 319 | 365 | 166 | 148 |
| Cost of training per employee (PLN) | 897 | 1 026 | 1 200 | 1 098 |
| Number of trained employees | 340 | 369 | 123 | 140 |
| Hours of training per employee | 15 | 34 | 11 | 25 |
| KOGENERACJA S.A. | EC Zielona Góra S.A. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | |
| Number of days of training in the reported period per employee | 1,9 | 4,2 | 1,4 | 2,9 |
| Higher managerial posts | 7,0 | 4,3 | 4,8 | 3,6 |
| Managerial posts | 2,1 | 5,7 | 2,2 | 2,5 |
| Experts, specialists | 1,9 | 3,9 | 1,0 | 2,7 |
| Administrative employees | 1,1 | 0,8 | - | 2,4 |
| Production employees | 1,8 | 4,3 | 1,0 | 2,9 |
Employees are subject to annual competency assessments. The process is regulated by the following procedures Assessment of competences at PGE Group and the Procedure for conducting and monitoring performance reviews. The results of performance reviews are the basis for determining training and development needs of employees.
| KOGENERACJA S.A. | EC Zielona Góra S.A. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | |
| Number of employees subject to assessment | 356 | 335 | 132 | 121 |
| Percentage of employees subject to assessment | 99 | 94 | 95 | 91 |
Employment level
The principles, responsibilities and steps of the recruitment process as well as the recruitment tools consistent with the law in force, the Code of Ethics and the rules of no discrimination in the workplace are set out in the general procedure Corporate employment rules at PGE Group.
The Rules of hiring employees and modifying terms of employment and the Staff recruitment instruction set out the procedure to be followed in the course of the employee hiring process, while the Corporate hiring rules at PGE Group set out the principles of onboarding new employees and employees who change their job roles.
| KOGENERACJA S.A. | EC Zielona Góra S.A. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 December 2019 | As at 31 December 2018 | As at 31 December 2019 | As at 31 December 2018 | |||||
| Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | |
| Employeed on: | ||||||||
| full-time contract | 53 | 305 | 52 | 303 | 31 | 107 | 29 | 91 |
| part-time contract | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| indefinite period | 50 | 292 | 52 | 304 | 27 | 96 | 28 | 80 |
| definite period | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Mandate contract | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Contract of specific work | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total number of employees by gender | 53 | 305 | 52 | 304 | 32 | 107 | 31 | 102 |
| Total number of employees (FTE) | 358 | 356 | 139 | 133 | ||||
| Contracts for the provision of management services | - | 2 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - |
| KOGENERACJA S.A. | EC Zielona Góra S.A. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | from 1 January to 31 December 2019 | from 1 January to 31 December 2018 | |
| Total number of new employee hires | 33 | 19 | 13 | 14 |
| Women | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Men | 29 | 17 | 8 | 11 |
| <30 years | 11 | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| 30-50 years | 21 | 7 | 13 | 10 |
| >50 years | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Percentage of new employee hires | 9 | 5 | 9 | 11 |
| Women | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Men | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| <30 years | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 30-50 years | 6 | 2 | 9 | 8 |
| >50 years | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total number of employees' leaves | 35 | 17 | 8 | 10 |
| Women | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| Men | 28 | 16 | 2 | 8 |
| <30 years | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30-50 years | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| >50 years | 24 | 14 | 4 | 9 |
| Percentage of employees' leaves | 10 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| Women | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Men | 8 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| <30 years | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 30-50 years | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| >50 years | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
Diversity management
Diversity action means any form of activity aimed at the acceptance and effective use of diversity in an organization, i.e. differences in aspects such as gender, age, origin, abilities and appearance, religion and opinion, sexual orientation, disability or work-life balance.
By promoting the idea of diversity, KOGENERACJA S.A. would like to draw the attention of its employees to four issues in particular:
- equality of position between men and women,
- age diversity at work,
- the balance between private and professional life,
- professional integration of people with disabilities.
The aim of diversity management is to create a working environment that is attractive for professional and personal development and to create an atmosphere of respect and tolerance for diversity, which contributes to the effectiveness of the organization and the development of the capacity for innovation, as well as to the implementation of corporate social responsibility.
The Company undertakes actions aimed at selected employee groups:
- the company has adopted the principle of diversity in the recruitment process,
- Energy Career project, which is a response to generational change in the Company.
The Company communicates internally and externally its approach to diversity:
- KOGENERACJA S.A. is a signatory to the Charter of Diversity, an international initiative promoted by the European Commission, which obliges organizations to pursue a policy of equal treatment and diversity management, to ensure equality of access to promotions and training, as well as to actively counteract discrimination and mobbing in the workplace,
- monitoring and reporting by age and gender, employment, education, wages were implemented,
- in 2018. A procedure to prevent bullying and discrimination was implemented,
- physical activity, work/life balance, anti-stress prevention, healthy eating is promoted.
PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A., as a listed company, declares that the process of selection of persons for managerial and management positions takes into account such elements as appropriate education, professional experience, qualifications and competences of the candidates and does not disqualify the candidates in any way due to the principle I.Z.1.15 of Code of Best Practice for WSE Listed Companies. Within the PGE Group, the above mentioned declaration is also applied to the Company.
| As at 31 December 2019 | As at 31 December 2018 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | Men | Women | Men | |
| <30 years | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30-50 years | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| >50 years | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Management Board | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| <30 years | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30-50 years | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| >50 years | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Supervisory Board | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| KOGENERACJA S.A. | EC Zielona Góra S.A. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 December 2019 | As at 31 December 2018 | As at 31 December 2019 | As at 31 December 2018 | |||||
| Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | |
| <30 years | 4 | 25 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 30-50 years | 23 | 112 | 22 | 122 | 21 | 53 | 19 | 50 |
| >50 years | 26 | 168 | 25 | 158 | 11 | 51 | 12 | 49 |
| Total number of employees | 53 | 305 | 52 | 304 | 32 | 107 | 31 | 102 |
| <30 years | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 30-50 years | 7 | 31 | 7 | 34 | 15 | 38 | 14 | 38 |
| >50 years | 7 | 47 | 7 | 44 | 8 | 37 | 9 | 37 |
| Share of employees (%) | 15 | 85 | 15 | 85 | 23 | 77 | 23 | 77 |
Anti-corruption and human rights
The business activities of the PGE Capital Group are conducted on the basis of the standards of ethics and transparency, which are included in the internal regulations implemented for this purpose, such as the Code of Ethics of the PGE Capital Group, the Code of Conduct for Business Partners of the PGE Capital Group Companies, the Anti-Corruption Policy of the PGE Capital Group.
On 31 December 2013, the Group joined the UN Global Compact, the world's largest initiative promoting corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. As a result, the Group made a commitment to pursue a development strategy while respecting the ten principles referring, inter alia, to human rights, labor rights, environmental protection and combating corruption.
At the beginning of 2018, the Anti-Corruption Policy of the PGE Capital Group was implemented, which regulates the principles of counteracting corruption and avoiding conflicts of interest in the PGE Capital Group and the application of measures contributing to ensuring compliance with the applicable regulations in this respect. In 2018, all employees in the Group were trained in the knowledge of the Code of Ethics and the Anti-Corruption Policy.
All employees of the Group underwent training in the Code of Ethics and the Anti-Corruption Policy.
The anti-corruption policy is aimed at:
- defining the key actions implemented in the PGE Capital Group to prevent corruption and avoid conflicts of interest,
- defining the principles, powers and responsibilities for preventing corruption and avoiding conflicts of interest,
- defining rules for giving and receiving business gifts and other benefits,
- continuous awareness-raising of employees and others on the prevention of corruption and conflict of interest.
The policy is a detailed description of the provisions of the Code of Ethics of the PGE Capital Group, in particular the principle We do not tolerate corruption or unfair behaviour. It also refers to the Code of Conduct for Business Partners PGE Capital Group companies.
The policy expands on the provisions of the Code of Ethics of PGE Group, in particular on the principle of no tolerance for corruption and misconduct. It also refers to the Code of Conduct for business partners.
The Code of Conduct for Business Partners is available on the corporate website. According to the Code, the information about procurement proceedings should be included in the Terms of Reference and in other related documents (e.g. contract templates). Business partners are required to read and understand the provisions of the Code and agree to comply with them already at the stage of the procurement process.
The Group companies adhere to the Code of Ethics of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA, which contains the declaration of Respect for human rights. Consequently, we respect such rights as the right to dignity, freedom of association, freedom of opinion, freedom of expression and the right to privacy. Additionally, the principles and methods of preventing bullying and discrimination in the Group are governed by the Procedure of preventing bullying and discrimination in the workplace adopted in 2018.
The Board of Ethics, composed of the Company employees, has been in place at KOGENERACJA S.A. since 2004. The role of the Board of Ethics is to promote ethical attitudes and behavior among employees. The rules of handling reports of actual or alleged instances of non-compliance are set out in the Group’s general procedure called Reporting and Handling Instances of Non-Compliance at PGE Group and Protection of Whistleblowers.
The Group conducts its business in a responsible manner, observes the laws and regulations in its operations, including in particular those relating to the prevention of corruption, the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, regulations relating to the observance of employee rights, health and safety at work, fire safety regulations, competition law, property protection regulations and environmental protection regulations, and takes due care to verify its employees, associates, contractors and subcontractors and expects the same from all its Business Partners.
Local communities and social engagement
KOGENERACJA S.A. is involved in activities for the benefit of local communities. In 2019, the total amount that the Company supported numerous institutions and events with, came out as nearly 500,000 PLN. Once again, support for the payment of bills for the collected heat was provided to socially sensitive customers from the Municipalities of Wrocław and Siechnice under the PGE Energia Ciepła programme "We share heat". Last year, the charges of the Wrocław Care and Rearing Centre and the families indicated by the municipal social welfare centre in Siechnice benefited from the help. The company also helped the homeless in cooperation with the Polish Knights of Malta Foundation and MiserArt, who come from the St. Brother Albert Aid Society.
In 2019, the support of KOGENERACJA S.A. was also used by the students of the Youth Sociotherapy Centre No. 2 in Wrocław, the charges of the Ostoja Association for People with Disabilities, the Foundation to Aid Addicted Persons KARAN and the School of Aid to Addicts KARAN and the Evangelical Centre for Diakonia and Education, for whom the Christmas action Give a smile to a child - Santa Clauses are everywhere was organized.
For 15 years, the Company has also been one of the donors of the PGE Foundation for the Development of Science named after Józef Pupka, which was established to honor the deceased former President of KOGENERACJA S.A. Thanks to the Foundation, in the past year, the next beneficiaries received support as part of the assistance offered to them - these were, in line with the Foundation's mission, particularly gifted students and students of higher education institutions whose financial situation makes it impossible to develop their own abilities.
As a part of employee volunteer work, there were donations obtained in 2019, which went to the home of a single mother, women undergoing oncological treatment under the care of the Association of Colourful, Lady and the Wrocław Ecopatrol, which takes care of injured and homeless animals. A festive auction of a limited series of mascots was also organized together with the Ecopatrol as part of the project Because every animal deserves love and care. The collected funds were used to help the harmed animals.
During the Open Day, the Wrocław Heat and Power Plant opens to the inhabitants of Wrocław and its surroundings. In 2019, the event was organized for the twenty-third time. The Open Day is a unique opportunity to take a look at the process of producing electricity and heat, and to learn what the plant is doing to improve energy and heat safety and air quality in the region.
For many years, KOGENERACJA S.A. has also supported retired employees of the Company. Last year, the company financed the socio-cultural activities of the Energy Senior Association and annual meetings for former employees of the company.