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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 5 February 2018, the Management Board of KOGENERACJA S.A. and on 15 December 2017, the Management Board of EC Zielona Góra adopted the updated Quality, Environment, Health and Safety Policy. The changes introduced in the policy result mainly from ownership changes. 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.

Table. Total number of work-related accidents

KOGENERACJA S.A. EC ZIELONA GÓRA S.A.
For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017
Total number of employee accidents at work 1 2 1 1
fatal accidents 0 0 0 0
group accidents 0 0 0 0
accidents incidence rate* 1.8 3.5 4.5 4.6
absence rate** 0.9 0.4 0.3 0.2
Number of accidents involving subcontractors staff 1 0 0 1

* Accident incidence rate of employees = number of lost-time accidents * 1 000 000 hours / Number of working hours
** Absence rate = number of hours of absence from work / 1 000 hours worked

Safety assessment and monitoring

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 as a part of staff performance evaluation

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.

Site Visits of Management

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.

Zero Accidents Training Centre

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.

Methods of promoting Occupational Health & Safety

The Group implements the following staff development programs in the area of occupational health & safety: Health & Safety Champion, Use your Head at Work, Health & Safety Leader – SOWA, and competitions in knowledge about safety at work.

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), and
  • 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 labor agreement

KOGENERACJA S.A. EC ZIELONA GÓRA S.A.
For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017
Number of employees covered by the CLA 352 357 128 122
Percentage of employees covered by the CLA 99 98 96 95

Development and education

A wide range of training courses are available to all employees of the Group, including vocational, occupational health & safety, IT, language, managerial and soft skills training programs, as well as training in knowledge of management systems. The scope of the training program is determined during annual individual interviews. The Group offers partial or full refunds of tuition fees for university study programs or foreign language courses. Training and development activities are governed by the Regulations of Training and Development at PGE Group.

Table. Average number of training hours per year and training costs

KOGENERACJA S.A. EC ZIELONA GÓRA S.A.
For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017
Hours of training 11 966 10 185 3 324 3 859
Total cost of training (PLN thousand) 365 601 148 268
Cost of training per employee (PLN thousand) 1 026 1 707 1 098 2 145
Number of trained employees 369 342 140 118
Hours of training per employee 34 29 25 31

Table. Average number of training days by employment structure

KOGENERACJA S.A. EC ZIELONA GÓRA S.A.
For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017
Number of training days in the year per employee 4.2 3.6. 2.9 4.1
Senior management 4.3 5.4 3.6 4.7
Managerial posts 5.7 5.4 2.5 5.0
Experts, specialists 3.9 2.6 2.7 5.2
Administrative employees 0.8 2.8 2.4 1.3
Production employees 4.3 3.6 2.9 3.9

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.

Table. Percentage of regularly evaluated employees

KOGENERACJA S.A. EC ZIELONA GÓRA S.A.
For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2018 For a period from 1 January to 31 December, 2017
Number of employees subject to evaluation 335 322 121 127
Percentage of employees subject to evaluation 94 93 91 88

Employment

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.

Table. Number of employees by type of employment and employment contract broken down by gender (persons)

KOGENERACJA S.A. EC ZIELONA GÓRA S.A.
As at 31 December 2018 As at 31 December 2017 As at 31 December 2018 As at 31 December 2017
Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men
Employees:
full-time 52 303 53 303 29 91 31 98
part-time 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
indefinite period 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
definite period 0 0 0 0 1 11 0 4
mandate contract 0 0 0 0 3 2 3 2
contract for specific work 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Employees by gender 52 304 53 304 31 102 31 98
Total number of employees by FTEs 356 357 133 129
Contracts for management services – self-employment - 2 - - - 3 - -

Table. Number and percentage of employees newly hired and leaving the company

KOGENERACJA S.A. EC ZIELONA GÓRA S.A.
As at 31 December 2018 As at 31 December 2017 As at 31 December 2018 As at 31 December 2017
Number of newly hired employees 19 22 14 4
Women 2 3 3 0
Men 17 19 11 4
<<30 years 12 1 2 2
30-50 years 7 19 10 2
>50 years 0 2 2 0
Percentage of newly hired employees (%) 5 6 11 3
Women 1 1 1 0
Men 4 5 9 3
<30 years 3 0 2 2
30-50 years 2 5 8 2
>50 years 0 1 2 0
Number of employees leaving the company 17 16 10 1
Women 1 1 2 1
Men 16 15 8 18
<30 years 0 0 0 0
30-50 years 3 2 1 0
>50 years 14 14 9 19
Percentage of employees leaving the company (%) 5 4 8 15
Women 0 0 2 1
Men 5 4 6 14
<30 years 0 0 0 0
30-50 years 1 1 1 0
>50 years 4 3 7 15

Diversity management

Diversity is promoted by all forms of activities aimed at ensuring acceptance and effective utilization in the organization of such diversity aspects as gender, age, origin, abilities and appearance, religion and beliefs, sexual orientation, disability or work-life balance.

By promoting the idea of diversity, KOGENERACJA S.A. wishes to draw the attention of its employees to four issues in particular:

  1. equality between women and men
  2. age diversity at work
  3. work-life balance
  4. professional inclusion of the disabled.

The objective of diversity management is to create an attractive work environment supporting professional and personal development and to create an atmosphere of respect and tolerance for diversity. This helps to increase efficiency of the organization, develop the innovation potential and pursue the goal of corporate social responsibility.

The Company undertakes activities addressed to selected employee groups:

  • the Company has adopted the principle of diversity in the recruitment process;
  • the Ready for the Future project being a response to generational change in the Company;

The Company communicates its approach to diversity internally and externally:

  • KOGENERACJA S.A is a signatory of the Diversity Charter, an international initiative promoted by the European Commission, which requires organizations to pursue equal treatment and diversity management policies, provide equal access to promotions and training and actively combat discrimination and bullying in the workplace;
  • the Company has implemented monitoring and reporting with a break down by age, gender, employment terms, education and remuneration;
  • in 2018, the Company implemented the Procedure of preventing bullying and discrimination;
  • physical activity, work-life balance, stress prevention and healthy diet are promoted under the Healthy Spring and Health Week programs.

As a listed company, PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. declares that the process of appointing people to managerial positions takes into account such factors as suitable education, professional experience, qualifications and skills of the candidates and that no candidates will be disqualified for reasons of any diversity aspects set out in Rule I.Z.1.15 of the Best Practices for WSE Listed Companies. Within PGE Group, the abovementioned statement also applies to the Company.

Table. Composition of the Management Board and Supervisory Board of KOGENERACJA S.A. by gender and age (persons)

As at 31 December 2018 As at 31 December 2017
Women Men Women Men
<30 years 0 0 0 0
30-50 years 0 2 0 1
>50 years 0 0 0 0
Management Board 0 2 0 4
<30 years 0 0 0 0
30-50 years 0 6 0 6
>50 years 0 0 0 1
Supervisory Board 0 6 0 7

Table. Composition of the workforce by gender and age (persons)

Employees: KOGENERACJA S.A. EC ZIELONA GÓRA S.A.
As at 31 December 2018 As at 31 December 2017 As at 31 December 2018 As at 31 December 2017
Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men
<30 years 5 24 5 14 0 3 0 0
30-50 years 22 122 22 118 19 50 22 72
>50 years 25 158 26 171 12 49 9 26
Total number of employees 52 304 53 303 31 102 31 98
<30 years 1 7 1 4 0 2 0 0
30-50 years 6 34 6 33 14 38 17 56
>50 years 7 44 7 48 9 37 7 20
Percentage of employees (%) 15 85 15 85 23 77 24 76

Corruption prevention and human rights

The Group's business activities are based on ethical standards and transparency.

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 Company implemented the Anti-Corruption Policy of PGE Group which regulates the principles of counteracting corruption and avoiding conflicts of interest in PGE Group and the application of measures contributing to compliance with applicable laws and regulations in this area. In 2018, all employees of the Group underwent training in the Code of Ethics and the Anti-Corruption Policy.

The Anti-Corruption Policy has the following goals

  • to determine the key activities carried out at PGE Group in order to prevent corruption and avoid conflicts of interest
  • to define the principles, powers and responsibilities in the area of counteracting corruption and avoiding conflicts of interest
  • to define the rules of giving and receiving business gifts and other benefits, and
  • to ensure constant awareness-raising among employees and other people in the field of counteracting corruption and conflict of interests.

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.

Local communities and social engagement

The Group companies support sustainable development by maintaining partner relations with local communities. The main goal of such cooperation is to reduce low-stack emissions. To this end, in 2016, KOGENERACJA SA, Fortum and the Wrocław authorities signed a tripartite Agreement on Sustainable Development of Wrocław and actively worked together in line with the Partnership Agreement for Sustainable Development. The cooperation between the parties focused on four areas: energy security, energy efficiency, environmental protection (in particular, elimination of low-stack emissions) and social responsibility. As part of the energy security and energy efficiency activities and protection of the environment, efforts focused on projects which gave residents wider access to district heat. Wider access to district heat will help to improve air quality in the city, or more specifically, will counteract low-stack emissions.

As part of corporate social responsibility, activities aimed at supporting pro-ecological attitudes were undertaken. The company promotes educational activities. In 2017, the Company started the educational program for children “Wrocław – Connected by Heat” which focuses on measures to combat smog. The program is carried out in cooperation with the Open Mind Foundation KOGENERACJA S.A. organizes ecological workshops for high school students in cooperation with the Lower Silesian Ecological Club. Together with local non-profit organizations, the Company works for the benefit of the Nadodrze district of Wrocław which is being actively regenerated and which is the home of the Company’s headquarters. The use of network heat is promoted among the residents of historical houses during summer “backyard” events held under the slogan “Dbam to mam!” (“I care so I gain”). This is not only an opportunity to mobilize residents, but also to talk about the buildings’ insulation. The Group companies support socially vulnerable customers in the municipalities of Wrocław, Siechnice and Zielona Góra. Beneficiaries of the programs are non-governmental organizations, foundations and associations acting for the benefit of people in a difficult life situation or in financial distress.

The Józef Pupka Foundation commemorating the first CEO of KOGENERACJA S.A. which supports the foundation helps exceptionally talented high school and university students whose difficult financial situation is an obstacle to developing their skills and supports educational activities addressed to people who have difficult access to education.

The company promotes the education of disadvantaged talented youth by assuming Energy and Educational Patronage over the Social Therapy Centre for Youth in Wroclaw. In cooperation with the trade unions, the Company supports young people from the Centre through active employee volunteering activities, financial and in-kind donations and activities in the field of energy efficiency and environmental protection.

In 2018, the Group adopted the Rules for conducting sponsoring activities at PGE GK and PGE Group companies.