SUSTAINABILITY TOPIC: Talent attraction and retention

The number of employees for the disclosures on page 51-54 refers the actual number of employees on December 31 for the years 2019-2021 (head count). Other disclosures in the Sustainability Index and Annual and Sustainability report are calculated and reported as Full Time Employees (FTEs). There are no significant variations in the numbers reported due to seasonal variations in production in Boliden’s operations. The data has been generated through the local HR IT systems at the company’s operations.

The data has been quality assured by the Business Area ­management teams each month, and annually by Group HR.

Boliden aims to have a diverse workforce in all its operations. Boliden has instituted a policy aimed at facilitating its goal of female employees constituting at least 21% of the total workforce by 2023. In 2021, 27% of all new permanent employee hires were women.

Boliden offers a comprehensive and competitive package of market­-rate salaries, benefits, and bonuses. Boliden’s remuneration to senior executives, General Managers (GMs), directors and other managers consists of fixed salary, variable remuneration, pension benefits and other benefits. The variable remuneration in 2021 was based on the Group’s return on equity, accident trend within the Group and on the personal spheres of responsibility, which could be strategical topics such as climate.

Profit-sharing program

The profit-sharing program for all employees: a profit share is payable when the return on capital employed reaches 8%. The maximum profit share of SEK 30,000/full-time employee is payable when the return on capital employed reaches 18%.

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. Examples of these differences include parental leave, parental pay, and opportunities for working shorter shifts for employees with young children. 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 Boliden’s employees by significant locations of operations, defined as the countries where its production facilities are located.

Finland

Boliden’s employees in Finland have valid contracts of employment that regulate 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. These benefits are healthcare, employers liability insurance (statutory), travel insurance (only for business trips), leisure time accident insurance, sports insurance (in special ­cases), insurance against treatment injury (statutory), life assurance (statutory), employment pension insurance (statutory), employee compensation insurance, and 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 and 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 (subsidized 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 that 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 business trips), health insurance (fully paid), disability coverage, defined contribution of 5% or 8% from base salary, and a defined benefit of 70% (including 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 the company), annual leave and public holidays, and the 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 (such as summer students) are only entitled to life assurance, travel insurance (official company journeys), and disability coverage.

Sweden

Boliden’s employees in Sweden have 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 stipulated in national legislation.

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

During 2021, Boliden experienced no strikes or lockouts. Boliden enjoys good relations with the different unions and there is, from Boliden’s perspective, 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, the Group has had an agreement with trade union organizations 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 Workers’ 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, 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 to promote a two-way dialogue on strategic matters.

The total number of employees at Boliden covered by collective bargaining agreements on December 31, 2021 was 6,419 (6,228) representing 97% (97%) of the total workforce.

Boliden’s approach is to facilitate skill development during regular working hours. The responsibility for the organizing and following up of on-the-job training resides with the line management. Boliden has not set a target for the average number of training hours for different job categories – individual needs determine the methods and extent of training activities.

Average hours of training per employee by gender and by employer category

In addition to several types of health and safety training programs, Boliden employees are offered a variety of skill upgrading opportunities. Development programs are run annually on local sites or coordinated by Business Area HR for both Mines and Smelters. A number of corporate training programs for participants from all Business Units and competencies are also coordinated annually by Boliden Group HR.

Transition assistance programs can in some cases be provided locally. There is no coordination on Group level regarding these programs.

Examples of training provided by Boliden Group HR:

• Young Professionals Program: Onboarding and personal development program for all young academics in Boliden. The program that began in 2020 but was postponed due to ­Covid-19 was carried out in 2021 in digital form with 23 participants. In addition, a new program started in 2021 with 16 new participants. In total, 417  participants have now completed the program since it began in 2005.

• High Potentials Program: Assessment program for future top leaders in Boliden. One new Program with 17 participants started in 2021. In total, 102 employees have participated since the start in 2008.

• Senior Middle Management Program: Improve leadership skills among Boliden’s senior middle management leaders. One program was carried out in 2021 with 16 participants. In total, 128 participants have completed the program since it began in 2016.

• Women at Work: Development program for all female employees in Boliden to improve their career opportunities. Due to the Covid-19 situation, the program planned for 2021 was postponed, but will commence in 2022. In total, the program has had 222 participants since it began in 2010.

Boliden’s target is for 100% of its employees to receive an annual performance appraisal and career-development review.

During 2021, Boliden started to implement a new competence and personnel-planning system in order to develop and integrate new personnel, and to develop and retain existing employees. The tool was used across the Group in 2021 to improve the development of performance management, competence planning, and succession planning. One of the purposes of the new system is to improve the quality of follow-up work on performance reviews and to expand the potential for such work. It does this by enabling managers and employees to document development reviews and to follow up on goals and development plans. It also highlights their competence and expresses their desire to advance.

Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews by gender and employee category

New HR master data system implementation

At the end of 2019, a decision was taken by the Boliden Board of Directors to invest in a new common HR master data system for the entire Boliden Group. The purpose was to enable the secure, shared and efficient management of data regarding organization, HR related processes, employees and their competence development. The system enables higher quality measuring, follow-up and analysis as well as increased predictability and strategic planning in compliance with GDPR. It is also a part of Boliden’s general digitalization process.

In February 2020, phase one of the implementation of the system began, with three focus areas: Data and Integration, Standardization of Processes, and Change Management. In the beginning of 2021, the work within phase one was launched and a governance organization was installed to support the local Business Units in the new way of working. Phase two of the implementation began later in 2021 with the focus areas Recruitment, Training and Job architecture. The new functionalities and processes connected to Recruitment and Training were launched in the new system for all Business Units in November 2021.

Diversity contributes to sustainability, dynamics, creativity and better results. Boliden strives to attract employees with different backgrounds, age and experience. One challenge is to attract female employees into a traditionally male-dominated industry. Boliden’s goal is for at least 21% of all employees to be women by the end of 2023, calculated as FTE. In 2021, the portion of female employees was 20.7% (19.8). The proportion of women at management level, among Boliden’s so-called top-100, was 28% (26) and 3 (3) of Boliden’s 10 mines and smelters were led by women at the end of 2021. Boliden does have employees from minority groups. However, this is not recorded out of concern for individual privacy.