Talent attraction and retention

It is essential that we have employees with the right skills in the right place, at the right time. Strengthening Boliden's attractiveness is an important part of our strategy and requires a long-term approach. Marketing Boliden as a preferred employer includes both internal communications to increase and strengthen satisfaction with working at Boliden, as well as the work to strengthen our employer brand.

Employees are our best ambassadors when it comes to attracting new employees to join the company. Another prerequisite for successfully attracting and retaining good employees is that Boliden offers a work environment that provides a good work-life balance. Good employee health is not only positive for the individual but also for our success.

Our talent pool, and the skills and knowledge possessed by our employees, is vital if we are to achieve our strategic and operational objectives. By identifying important future competence challenges as new technologies and tools are implemented, employees and managers can develop skills in line with Boliden’s strategic goals.

Work with competence development and recruitment is also based on the Group’s strategic goals of contributing to diversity and increased equality. Challenges include operating in a male-dominated industry, in regions with a limited available workforce and tough competition for engineers with specialist training.

Keeping all employees updated about technological, functional and leadership skills is essential to our performance. Every employee should be able to influence their own development and Boliden should provide resources and opportunities to make sure that employees have the right skills to always perform their work safely and efficiently. We have several internal programs for career and skill development.

The employee data refers to the actual number of ­employees on December 31 for the years 2020-2022 (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 Boliden Group common HR IT system. The data is quality assured by the Business Area management teams each month, and annually by Group HR. No employees within Boliden are hired with a non-guaranteed working hours contract.

Total number of employees, by gender and region

Total number of permanent employees, by gender and region

Total number of temporary employees, by gender and region

Total number of permanent full-time employees, by gender and region

Total number of permanent part-time employees, by gender and region

We aim to have a diverse workforce in all our operations. Boliden has initiated a policy to facilitate its goal for female employees to make up at least 24% of its total workforce by 2025. In 2022, 28% of all our new permanent employee hires were women.

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

We offer a comprehensive and competitive package of market-rate salaries, benefits and bonuses. Boliden’s remuneration to senior executives, General Managers, directors, and other managers consists of fixed salary, variable remuneration, pension benefits and other benefits. The variable remuneration in 2022 was based on the Group’s return on equity, accident trend within the Group and on the personal spheres of responsibility, which could be strategic topics such as climate.

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 per full-time employee is payable when the return on capital employed reaches 18%.

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 employees by location where its production facilities are located.

Finland

Boliden’s employees in Finland have valid employment contracts 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 the above benefits.

Norway

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

All employees, including temporary workers and part-time workers, 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 also 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.

On August 15, 2022, The Norwegian Union Industri Energi, launched industrial actions at a national level, related to national collaborative agreement negotiations. These actions affected Boliden´s Zinc smelter in Odda, where a total of 255 employees were engaged in a strike that lasted for 10 days until the national negotiations were resolved.

We enjoy good relations with the different unions and, from our perspective, there is mutual trust. Boliden supports active cooperation between employers and employees and their respective representatives in every area of shared interest. For several years, we have had an agreement with trade union organizations about union-related cooperation at all levels within the Group.

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

All employees at all sites in Boliden are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Only the top management are excluded.

Our approach is to facilitate skill development during regular working hours. The responsibility for organizing and following up on-the-job training resides with the line management. We have 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 categories

In addition to several types of health and safety training programs, Boliden employees are offered a variety of skill development opportunities. Development programs are run annually on local sites or coordinated by the HR teams from both the Mines and Smelters Business Areas. Several 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 graduates at Boliden. The program was carried out in 2022 in with 23 participants. In total, 440 participants have now completed the program since it began in 2005.
• High Potential Development Program: development program for identified talents within Boliden. One new program with 19 participants started in 2022. In total, 121 employees have participated since it began in 2008.
• Middle Management Development Program: Develops leadership skills among Boliden’s middle management leaders. One program was carried out in 2022 with 12 participants. In total, 140 participants have completed the program since it began in 2016.
• Women at Work: Development program for all female employees at Boliden to improve their career opportunities. Due to the Covid-19 situation, the program that was planned for 2021 and 2022 was postponed, but it will restart in 2023. In total, the program has had 222 participants since it began in 2010.
• Boliden Trainee program: In 2022, a new international Trainee Program was launched. Eight participants were selected from external applicants and the first group of eight trainees started the program in September 2022. The program will last for 12 months and will combine practical and theoretical parts of Boliden's operations to learn about Boliden’s entire value chain. Once the trainees complete the program, they are offered permanent employment at Boliden.

Our target is for 100% of employees to receive an annual performance appraisal and career-development review.

During 2022, a new competence and personnel-planning system was implemented to develop and integrate new personnel, and to develop and retain existing employees. The tool was used for performance reviews for all white-collar employees across the Group in 2022 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 their desire to advance.

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

Boliden uses a common HR master data system for the entire Group to enable the sharing and efficient management of secure 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 our general digitalization process.

During 2022, we launched a common IT Job Architecture system to provide the underlying infrastructure or framework to describe generic job profiles for all positions at Boliden. The Job Architecture serves as a foundation for the common Group HR IT system and common people processes.

We believe that diversity leads to dynamism, creativity and ultimately greater profitability, and that it is a resource for achieving our company goals. Boliden’s commitment to diversity is clearly stated in its Code of Conduct and in its Diversity Policy, which have both been approved by the CEO.

A diverse workforce with employees with different backgrounds, age and experience is a key to overcoming the shortage of skilled labor in the industry. We want to take the lead as a role model in the industry for gender equality to help advance the position of women in the industry and provide better conditions for them to develop professionally.

Our goal is for at least 24% of all employees to be women by the end of 2025, calculated as FTE. In 2022, the proportion of female employees was 20.9% (20.7%). The proportion of women at management level, among Boliden’s so-called top 100, was 31% (28%) and three (three) of Boliden’s ten mines and smelters were led by women at the end of 2022. We have employees from minority groups although we do not record this information out of concern for individual privacy.

Boliden and its employees shall:

• Refrain from all forms of discrimination and harassment based on gender, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or any other factor.
• Always focus on the person’s competence, and ­disregard gender, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, sexual ­orientation, or other circumstances.
• Strive to ensure that Boliden is perceived as an equal opportunity employer in every respect described above.
• Support employees in their ambition to achieve a healthy work-life balance.
• Forcefully act against and counter any incidents of ­discrimination or harassment.

Percentage of individuals within the organization’s governance bodies in the diversity categories, gender, and age group

Percentage of total number of employees per employee
category and diversity categories, gender and age