Material Topic: Employment

401–1  New employee hires and employee turnover

Boliden aims to have a diverse workforce in all of its operations. Boliden has instituted a policy, with the aim of reaching its goal of female employees constituting 20% of the total workforce by 2018, stating that at least one third of all new employees should be female.

Total number and rate of new permanent employee hires by age group, gender and region

Total number and rate of employee turnover by age group, gender and region

401–2  Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees

Boliden offers a comprehensive and competitive package of market­-rate salaries, benefits, and bonuses.

Profit-sharing programme

The profit-sharing programme for all employees, was introduced in 2007. Small changes in the programme were made in 2015, which means that, from now on, a profit share is payable when the return on capital employed reaches 8% (10). The maximum profit share of SEK 30,000/full-time employee (25,000) is payable when the return on capital employed reaches 18%(20). In 2017, the return on capital employed was 10% (15) and the amount the programme will receive for 2017 is yet to be decided.

Significant locations of operations

While the benefits offered by Boliden are similar at all Boliden operations, they are not identical due to legislative differences between the different countries. Some examples of these differences are parental leave, parental pay, and opportunities for working shorter hours during the early childhood years. In Sweden, Ireland, and Norway, for example, Boliden provides compensation for employees on parental leave as a complement to the compensation from the social security systems in these countries. In Finland, all compensation for employees on parental leave is paid exclusively by the social security system.

Below is a description of the benefits offered to our employees by significant locations of operations, defined as the countries where we have our production facilities.

Finland

Boliden’s employees in Finland have valid contracts of employ­ment regulating their salaries and other general working conditions. Furthermore, all employees, including temporary workers and those working part time, receive benefits in addition to those included in the collective agreements and individual employment contracts. The benefits are health care, employers’ liability insurance (statutory), travel insurance (only for working trips), leisure time accident insurance, sports insurance (in special cases), insurance against treatment injury (statutory), group life assurance (statutory), employment pension insurance (statutory), workmen’s compensation insurance, maternity/paternity leave. All employees benefit from the various leisure and healthcare activities provided by the company.

Ireland

Boliden’s employees in Ireland are paid salaries, allowances as well as shift premiums as outlined in collective agreements and/or individual employment contracts. Employees are, furthermore, entitled to the following benefits: life assurance, health insurance (subsidised or fully paid), access to company healthcare, disability coverage (white-collar employees only), pension, bonuses, retirement provision, maternity/paternity leave, annual leave and public holidays, and the reimbursement of travel and other work-related expenses.

These benefits are provided to all full-time and part-time employees (sometimes proportionately) as well as to employees who are on a fixed-term contract. Summer students and temporary employees on very short-term contracts, however, are not entitled to all of the above benefits.

Norway

Boliden’s employees in Norway have valid contracts of employment regulating their salaries and other general working conditions. Employees are, furthermore, entitled to the following benefits: life assurance, travel insurance (official company journeys), health insurance (fully paid), disability coverage, defined contribution of five or eight per cent from base salary, and a defined benefit of 70% (incl. state pension) of salary between 62 and 67 years of age, optional loans for consumer goods (max. NOK 30,000), maternity/paternity leave (10% paid by company), annual leave and public holidays, and reimbursement of travel and other related expenses.

The benefits do not differ between full-time and part-time employees. Temporary workers, however, are not entitled to consumer-goods loans or to company pensions. Temporary workers on short-term contracts (e.g. summer students) are only entitled to life assurance, travel insurance (official company journeys), and disability coverage.

Sweden

Boliden’s employees in Sweden have valid contracts of employment regulating their salaries and other general working conditions.

All employees, including temporary workers and part-time workers, also have benefits in addition to those included in the collective agreements and individual employment contracts. All permanent employees in Sweden (including part-time workers) are entitled to the following benefits: life assurance, health insurance and disability/invalidity coverage, healthcare fund, dental care, parental-leave agreements, retirement provision, company profit-sharing scheme, and company bonus schemes. All employees are, furthermore, included in the various leisure and healthcare activities arranged at the different units.

Temporary workers receive the following benefits: life insurance, health insurance, and disability/invalidity coverage. The level of all these benefits is higher than that stipulated in national legislation.

In addition, Boliden offers one free counselling session before retirement to all white-collar employees in Sweden.

MM4  Number of strikes and lockouts exceeding one week’s duration, by country

During 2017 Boliden did not experience any strikes or lockouts exceeding one week’s duration. Boliden enjoys good relations with the different unions and there is, from Boliden’s perspective, a mutual trust. Boliden supports active cooperation between employers and employees and their respective representatives in every area of shared interest. For a number of years now, the Group has had an agreement with trade union organisations with regard to union-related cooperation at all levels within the Group.

The employees have three representatives on Boliden’s Board of Directors. Boliden also has a Works Council comprising employee representatives from all of the countries in which Boliden operates. At a local level, employee representatives/union representatives sit on a number of different councils relating to employee management, production planning, and health and safety, etc.

The frequency of dialogue ensures a constant flow of relevant information, enabling the unions to understand how Boliden is performing and promoting a two-way dialogue on strategic matters.