Work management

COMPOSITION OF THE TEAM

The Viscofan Group's leadership is underpinned by the differential value of know-how and commitment of all employees. An average workforce of 4,641 people formed by a multicultural, competitive, qualified team in constant training, which grows and shares solid values and common ethical principles, despite having different cultures.

International staff in a Global Group

Viscofan consist of a large group of people who are spread across different areas where the company has a strategic presence: Spain, Germany, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Russia, Serbia, Thailand, Uruguay, Belgium, France, Australia and New Zealand. 18 countries where the company is present, and which reflect its international character.

A rich and complex multicultural environment, which is both a challenge and an opportunity for the international development of all the employees. In fact, there are numerous projects to transfer knowledge between the different production plants, and to develop specific global training seminars for Group workers.

As such, the breakdown of the average workforce by country in 2018 is as follows:

At Management Committee level (see details in the section on Corporate Governance), it should be noticed that 83% of the members were hired from the local community, that is, they were born in the country where they hold office.

Average workforce by country

Age

The workforce has become younger in recent years, with the average age being 41 in 2018. Of the total of the average workforce, 34% are people under 35 years old, 40% are between 35 and 50 years old, and 26% are over 50 years old. In line with the principle of contributing to avoid child labour, at Viscofan there are no employees under the age of 17.

Average workforce by age

Average workforce by category

Categories

The industrial nature of Viscofan needs to combine a great number of skilled labourers with specialised staff. This is an increasingly demanding and global industry in terms of requirements, which implies greater knowledge and expertise of the workforce. To take on this challenge, the Group constantly invests in staff’s know-how, added to the continuous training effort carried out in the organisation.

In this sense, Viscofan has 957 employees with university degrees, of which 37 hold a doctorate. This aspect clearly distinguishes the nature of the group of people that comprises the organisation, this being an essential element to achieve excellent levels in production as well as maintaining the level of innovation that is fundamental in our activity.

Categories. Management

Below is a breakdown of the directors by gender and age:

Categories. Type of contract

The learning requirements, the complexity of the production process and the long-term growth vision are reflected in the composition of the workforce.

In 2018, 98.1% of the workforce (4,555 employees) were hired on a full-time basis. Of these workers, 91.9% had a permanent contract and 8.1% a temporary contract.

GROWING GROUP

In 2018 Viscofan’s average workforce increased once again due to the hiring of additional staff to improve the level of service and increase its global leading position. This year, the net change in average workforce was 88 people, giving rise to an average workforce of 4,641 people. An increase of 1.9% on 2017 and which is mainly due to the increase in the workforce in Spain due to the start-up of a factory with new production technology in Caseda for cellulose and fibrous casings, as well as to the incorporation of the staff from the new Supralon (November 2017), and TransformPack (February 2018) acquisitions. Staff from Globus joined this team in November 2018.

The net variation in employment by category, gender and age in 2018 compared to 2017 is broken down as follows:

Average workforce net change. 2018 vs. 2017

The need for training in the production process, the strategies for creating long-term value, and the high level of commitment of the people who make up our team are reflected in the voluntary turnover rate of the average workforce for 2018, which stands at 4.2%.

The breakdown of dismissals by category, age and gender based on the business activity of the Viscofan Group, as a result of the needs of the market and the different locations, the lack of competitiveness and efficiency, is as follows:

EFFICIENT AND COMPETITIVE TEAM

Employees are a fundamental part of the MORE TO BE Strategic Plan. Thus, their commitment, constantly evolving work and improvement are a clear competitive advantage for the Group.

The average revenue per employee in the Viscofan Group is above the average of other companies in the sector. This ratio decreased in 2018 with respect to 2017 as a consequence of the erosion in revenues due to the variation in exchange rates.

The importance of these stakeholders - the employees - can be seen in the generated and distributed resources table. Viscofan Group employees have received €161 million of distributed costs.

Competitive remuneration

The activity and the development of the company are largely determined by the know-how of the employees.

In this regard, Viscofan’s contracting policy is based on objectivity, equal opportunities and training, and one of its aims is to favour gender diversity, among other aspects.

This implies a competitive remuneration, adapted to the capacities and competences of the different profiles required according to the industrial or commercial process, and also according to the realities of the multitude of countries in which Viscofan is present.

Revenue per employee

Average compensation

Within the area of remuneration, about 62% of the company's employees are covered by general collective bargaining agreements, therefore improving the minimum conditions set by different labour legislations. Collective Bargaining Agreements regulate the remuneration received by the workers who sign them, and in particular establish an equity criterion between similar jobs, thus avoiding gender discrimination and the salary gap between equivalent jobs. However, the mathematical calculation of the remuneration gap, understood as the difference between the average hourly remuneration for men and women and the average hourly remuneration for men stands at 26.5%, with the average remuneration for the Group being €28,106: €30,404 for men and €22,487 for women. This difference relates to multiple factors, from the gender composition of the Group to its geographical presence, the occupation, the different specialisation requirements of the jobs, the night shifts needed for a continuous production process of 24 hours, bonuses awarded for dangerous work, seniority, etc. which are in line with the industrial context, the composition of the workforce and the historical trajectory of the Viscofan Group.

The individual remuneration of all the members of the Board of Directors is detailed in note 24 of the company's annual accounts in accordance with the remuneration policy of the Board as shown in the Remuneration Report available on the company's website, www.viscofan.com.

The Group makes contributions to various different defined benefit plans. The relevant information is in note 17 of the consolidated annual accounts.

Promotion and career development

Within a group that is ever growing a growing team, the policy on staff selection and recruitment is key to ensure continuity in leadership. In this sense, development and recognition of merits of Viscofan group's staff is being promoted stepped up by listing the company's job vacancies in internal information channels and the intranet. In 2018, the talent-attraction strategy was consolidated through international management tools for selection, hiring, internal mobility and expatriation processes.

Viscofan also aspires to be a company where the talent of its employees can develop and reach its highest level. In this sense, several of its corporate directors have been recognised with awards for the best professional career, as is the case of the Group's Financial Director and R&D Director.

EQUALITY AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE POLICIES

We are committed to creating a working environment for our employees that allows them to develop and give the best of themselves. A place where they feel integrated and provides them with the opportunity to take part in the future of the company, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion or nationality, among others.

Within this subject, the 2016-2019 II Equality Plan is being executed in Viscofan S.A. The objective, as with the preceding plan, is to propose improvements and establish equality and work-life balance objectives within the company. Through the GEW (Gender Equality in the Workplace) process, the plan has focused on four main areas: Leadership; Policy and strategy; People; and Process management and relationship with the environment; so that a specific action plan is in place for each through to 2019.

The Viscofan Group has created a Corporate Equality committee, reporting to the Appointments and Remuneration Committee, which analyses opportunities and monitoring initiatives to facilitate a balance between the professional activity and the family. This Committee met twice in 2018. By way of example, in 2018, thanks to the proposal of this Committee, a license was established for the birth of children and death of spouses and children, a universal measure for all the Group companies located in countries whose legislation does not include it.

To Increase women's employability within an industrial sector which has traditionally employed manpower is one of Viscofan's equality objectives. In 2018, the average workforce of women increased by 35 people to 1,348, which represents 29% of the total workforce.

Likewise, in the opinion survey carried out in 2018, all the Group employees were specifically asked about issues of gender and work-life balance so as to consider the application of specific measures. As such, the Group is analysing the possibility of incorporating flexible organisation systems in the future that are not included in legal regulations.

In this regard, it should be noticed that Naturin Viscofan GmbH, the German subsidiary of the Viscofan Group, has been certified by the "Berufundfamilie", which recognises the best work-family reconciliation policies of companies in that country.

In addition, in order to promote and improve the management of this matter, the Viscofan Group participates as a Collaborating entity and member of the Management Committee of the Observatory of conciliation and joint responsibility of the Pontifical University of Comillas.

DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION OF TALENT. COMMITTED TEAM

The Viscofan Group, via the Human Resources departments of its various subsidiaries, promotes personal development through initiatives that enhance knowledge management and enable employees' skills to be harnessed with a view to achieving the Group's objectives. Training is a primordial goal within the Group for its personnel. Training is continuous, thereby boosting personal and professional development. With this aim, the Human Resources team managed more than 115,00 training hours in 2018, an average of 24.8 hours per employee.

For this commitment to human capital training, the group has invested about €2.2 million, of which €0.7 million correspond to training and explicit awareness in health and safety (more information in the workplace safety section).

Within the training plan, subjects related to aspects of Human Rights have been addressed, such as the use of non-sexist language, corporate social responsibility, gender equality and sexual harassment, for a total of 2,247 hours.

Viscofan S.A. has invested the following in each category:

Likewise, looking towards the promotion of employment, the Group also fosters participation in the main universities of the countries where it develops its activity. With the purpose of attracting and developing talent, and average of 55 internships took place in 2018.

In line with the results obtained from the Work Environment surveys, the purpose of the Viscofan Group is to forward enhace the development of a high-performance culture for individuals and evaluate the establishment of objectives by means of an assessment process. In particular, performance assessment consists of a process of planning, monitoring and evaluation of those objectives defined by the leaders of a group for the members in their teams. This methodology improves the professional capacity of each person and aligns individual’s expectations with the strategy and objectives as a company.

In 2018, 31% of the Group's staff was subject to a performance assessment process, compared to 27% the previous year. The breakdown by gender and professional category is as follows:

There is also an assessment on a bilateral basis that the Group promotes through global opinion surveys (Viscofan Opinion Survey). In 2018, the third opinion poll of the Viscofan Group was held, with 70% of employees from around the world taking part, to learn more about our strengths and our areas of improvement.

As strong points, workers pointed out quality and customer service and sustainable commitment. Certain aspects in need of improvement were also detected, such as remuneration, internal communication and the development of careers and training, on which the Group is developing initiatives as mentioned above.

WORKPLACE AND SAFETY

Corporate workplace safety policies are the responsibility of the Environment Health and Safety (EHS) department, working in close partnership with the corporate and local Human Resource departments. In this regard, measures and investments continue to be implemented to improve working conditions. In addition, the Viscofan Group works to obtain reliable and consistent indicators to measure and compare performance in the various countries in which the Group operates, in this way extending best health and safety practices to its production centres.

Viscofan considers that accidents may be prevented, and that is why not only does the Group work to have safer facilities but to make all staff aware of the importance of attitude in relation to safety. For Viscofan, the material aspects that affect safety are essentially based on the characteristics of the position and the activities that are required, and it is not relevant to disaggregate the management of safety in our systems due to gender.

Viscofan still makes huge efforts to standardize its procedures while also communicating its policies throughout the companies using specific courses and informational materials, available to employees at their areas of work.

In order to carry out these initiatives, the Group has an EHS policy, approved by the Board of Directors, pointing out the following relevant guidelines with regard to workplace safety:

• Provide employees with a safe and healthy workplace.
• Identify and comply with applicable legislation and regulation in terms of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) in each of the locations where the group does business, and any other voluntarily-acquired commitments of Viscofan to improve these areas.
• Ensure that management, employees and all staff working for the organisation (or on its behalf) are aware of this policy and are trained, according to their responsibilities, to comply with it.
• Set indicators to assess the evolution of our performance in these areas.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement in EHS, defining objectives and implementing corporate standards.
• Develop a cooperation relationship with stakeholders, so as to enable open and objective dialogue and help ease joint responsibility on these issues.

Alongside this, certain specifications are determined within the Collective Bargaining Agreements of the different locations in which the Viscofan Group is present in matters related to health and safety.

Ensuring the health and safety of workers is a priority for Viscofan. The figure regarding loss of work hours due to accident or illness incidents have been re-assessed in relation with the variable remuneration of the management staff. The performance of this indicator is as follows:

Occupational safety and health

There were no fatal accidents in 2018.

The performance of the health and safety indicators of the Viscofan Group is as follows:

Providing safety training to prevent and mitigate accidents, as well as to prompt importance on safe behaviour patterns, is the basis to the wellbeing of our employees. In 2018 we accumulated more than 28,000 hours of training in safety and prevention, an average of six hours per employee. This training includes basic prevention measures that have to be adopted in the workplace, or the relevance of daily healthy-habits the notable role of mid-level management staff and the improvement of their leadership with regard to security.

The importance that the Viscofan Group concedes to occupational health and safety can be seen in the investments made to improve the machines in Montgomery (USA), fire-fighting facilities in Weinheim (Germany), Zacapu and San Luis Potosi (Mexico), and ergonomic adaptations in the new plant 4 in Caseda (Spain).

At the same time, it is also reflected in the inclusion of the OHSAS 18.001 certification in all the production plants as it is regarded in the objectives to be achieved throughout the MORE TO BE 2016-2020 period. This is an internationally recognised standard that indicates the requirements for the establishment, implementation and operation of an effective Occupational Health and Safety Management System.

In 2018, the plant in the Czech Republic certified its health and safety management system according to the OHSAS 18,001 standard and the Belgium plant under the ISO 45001 standard (2018) which replaces the OHSAS 18001. The details of the Group's plants with this certificate is as follows:

The global nature of our company means the volume and the frequency of occasional trips is significantly high, and consequently one of the objectives of Viscofan is to promote a greater level of safety in such displacements. In order to achieve this, there are “Risk-Assessment Reports” in those countries where the group is present, either way at a productive or subsidiary commercial stage, and which include recommendations, emergency telephones, a directory of medical facilities, etc.