Working conditions
Article 964a ff. Code of Obligations
Concept and due diligence
It is our stated aim to permanently secure the attractiveness of our sites, further increase employee retention, and pool our many years of experience. At Arbonia, we provide our employees with modern facilities and offer them attractive, future-oriented jobs as well as a wide range of development and career opportunities. We place value on regular employment and consciously make sure to avoid non-regular employment contracts such as temporary or insecure jobs. We believe that integrating employees regardless of their sex, age, origin, religion, health impairments, or other individual characteristics is an integral part of a modern working culture. Our Code of Conduct provides orientation. Overarching Group-wide guidelines on equal opportunities and freedom from discrimination establish a framework in which diversity can be put into practice. Within the corporate group, the HR officers of the Group are responsible for further developing the Arbonia corporate culture within the workforce. They report to our CEO or the CFO of the Group. A regular exchange among the HR officers is to ensure that any insights or ideas are shared across all companies. Close cooperation with employee representatives in all countries is a crucial factor in our business success. Regular meetings take places throughout the Group between the management team and employee representatives.
Measures including evaluation of effectiveness
In order to be perceived as an attractive employer and increase our employee retention, we work on strengthening our employer branding and make sure that our recruitment processes are up to date. Our compensation system is structured in line with common market practices, and location-specific employee benefits also contribute to our attractiveness as an employer. We offer workplaces that are as flexible as possible, with options for mobile work as well as various models for flexible working hours and part-time work, among other things.
Material risks and how they are handled (own scope of business and, where applicable, business relationships)
Staff absences and departures (retirement, turnover, illness, overwork, etc.), hiring mistakes for key positions, labour shortages on the European work markets, and inflation can result in staff bottlenecks, a lack of managers, loss of know-how, and higher personnel costs. These factors can jeopardise Arbonia’s financial targets. The recruitment market remains tight, while this bottleneck is already reflected in longer recruitment processes. The shortage of skilled workers is one of the greatest challenges at the moment and poses a potential risk for competitiveness.
Key performance indicators
The key performance indicators are the turnover rate, period of employment, and gender distribution in management.
Corporate culture
A dynamic and open corporate culture is essential for Arbonia. We aim to create a pleasant, appreciative, and supportive work environment and fulfil our corporate responsibility at all times.
In line with active diversity, we promote an inclusive culture in which all employees are treated equally regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, social origin, age, sexual orientation, health, political orientation, religious conviction, or other characteristics. Values such as equal opportunities, non-discrimination, and equal treatment are extremely important to us. Although the labour market is regulated differently in each country, the overarching guidelines of the Group apply at all Arbonia locations.
We observe three central leadership principles were: Firstly, colleagues maintain direct, personal working relationships with each other and are open to ideas as well as other points of view. Secondly, day-to-day business is characterised by pragmatism and realism; decisions are based on facts. Thirdly, managers are to take time for their employees and not regard them only as workers but also as people. These principles also apply to employee development in addition to day-to-day work. Wages, social benefits, employment levels, contract set-ups, and compensation are to follow the principles of a responsible group. Not the least, the companies of Arbonia make a contribution as regional employers by creating and securing jobs, generating income, and paying public contributions in the form of taxes.
All of our companies maintain continuous relationships with their stakeholders in order to communicate innovative strength, social commitment, and a positive aura externally for the purposes of employee recruitment. Investments in the infrastructure as well as the progressing digitisation create further synergy effects within the Group and thereby provide high efficiency gains. The growing automation of routine activities increases the quality of jobs further.
In order to live up to Arbonia’s reputation as a fair employer in line with the market or to make changes, we regularly compare ourselves with other internationally active companies of a similar size.
Composition of the workforce as of 31 December
¹ Such employees were mainly employed in logistics, assembly, and production in the reporting year. The number of interns cannot be determined due to the decentralized recording in different systems.
Employee retention
An attractive work environment is demonstrated by motivated and satisfied employees. This increases competitiveness and is reflected in a lower gross turnover rate (incl. retirements). While this amounted to 16% in the previous reporting year, it fell to 12.5% in 2024. The duration of employment relationships is also an indication of employee satisfaction. The average period of employment at Arbonia is 12.3 years. In addition to reducing the turnover rate, Arbonia also wants to continue to speed up the process of filling vacancies with qualified employees, for example, by using professional onboarding systems as well as by developing new key performance indicators in human resources. In general, Arbonia’s goal is to respond to changing conditions faster and more flexibly.
Measures for retaining employees include efforts in the area of HR development. By directly addressing the regional labour market and identifying potential employees early on – for example, within the context of internships – the quality and quantity of the workforce at the respective sites is to be strengthened further. These targets can be reviewed by looking at whether vacancies can be filled and, if so, how quickly.
A tailored integration management allows employees with health impairments to return to the workplace. While companies based in Germany are subject to a legal obligation, an individual regulation is discussed and implemented with affected employees in Switzerland. At other companies, commissions with employer and employee representatives are used to develop joint solutions for restoring the ability to work and securing jobs.
Our employees’ freedom of association and right to collective bargaining is respected. For example, works councils are present at the respective companies. Only at Joro and TPO are there currently no works councils, since these companies both have fewer than 30 employees. The interests of these employees are taken into account in a different way.
Balanced compensation structure
Arbonia’s compensation system is based on the conviction that the success of a company depends to a considerable extent on the quality of work and dedication of employees. We want to use our compensation system to attract and retain employees with the necessary skills and qualities and to motivate them to deliver a consistently high level of performance. The compensation system is designed to ensure that the interests of top managers are consistent with the interests of Arbonia and its shareholders.
In developing the compensation structure, we follow common market practices of similarly situated companies that operate on the capital market. A benchmark analysis commissioned in 2020 showed that the compensation of the members of Group Management is of a similar magnitude to that of the two comparison groups. In addition, Arbonia’s salaries are reviewed annually by an external service provider, and compensation levels are amended in the event of significant deviations.
On the occasion of each Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors proposes that the Compensation Report be approved by means of a non-binding consultative voting process. In the reporting year, the Compensation Report was confirmed with a qualified majority. The Compensation Report of Arbonia presents the compensation governance and the principles of the compensation system of the Board of Directors and Group Management and contains information on their compensation in the respective financial year. In addition, it provides information on the roles with economic purpose that the members of the Board of Directors and Group Management exercise at other companies, and on the shareholding rights held by the members of the Board of Directors and Group Management.
The Compensation Report has been compiled in accordance with the regulations on compensation at companies whose shares are listed at a stock exchange in the Swiss law that supplements the Swiss Civil Code (Part Five: Code of Obligations) in the fourth section on corporate law and the directive on information relating to corporate governance (RLCG) of 29 June 2022 of the SIX Exchange Regulation.
Since 2023, Arbonia has included a quantitative sustainability target in the variable compensation of Group Management in order to incentivise efforts for a more sustainable corporate governance.
Arbonia offers additional benefits to employees for the companies that are subject to collective labour agreements in order to ensure attractive compensation beyond the industry-standard pay. The variously designed benefits include, for example, a programme for obtaining e-bikes and discounted memberships for fitness studios and swimming pools. At companies that are not subject to collective labour agreements, the compensation for the core workforce is significantly above the legal minimum wage. We ensure that our compensation level is in line with the market by means of agreed principles and internal groupings, as well as regular analysis in collaboration with the employee representatives, taking into account the labour market and developments in the region.
Close social partnership
We work constructively with the trade unions in all countries in which we operate. In Switzerland, the collective labour agreement of the Swiss mechanical, electrical, and metalworking industries (Swissmem) is applied at all companies, unless other mandatory collective labour agreements are in effect. Contact with social partners in Switzerland therefore generally takes place through this association. Most of the German companies are also subject to collective labour agreements – either via an in-house wage agreement or the regional collective agreement of the trade unions.
Employees can see the conditions of the relevant wage agreements on information boards and screens at the production plants or via the Intranet at all times in addition to through communication by the social partners themselves. At the same time, there is no uniform procedure for the entire Group, since the requirements differ according to the company and local regulations. However, regular meetings take place between the management teams throughout the Group and employee representatives from the trade unions. When an employment relationship is terminated, all companies have a standardised process. The Arbonia Board of Directors approves all important internal frameworks and general agreements. These include the Code of Conduct of Conduct (see "Compliance and anti-corruption"), the salary system, leadership development, collective labour agreements and wage agreements, as well as the strategic guidelines for HR management over all levels down to the local sites. The companies receive support from the Group for succession planning and management development as well as for recording key performance indicators. In addition, personnel matters are also discussed and addressed depending on their relevancy.
