Contracts, Remuneration and Additional Benefits

Collective Labour Agreements

Collective labour agreements govern pay and working conditions for approximately 88 % of employees in Germany (previous year: approximately 89 %).

In April 2015, the parties to the labour agreement – the Association of German Seaport Operators (Zentralverband der deutschen Seehafenbetriebe e.V. or ZDS) and the trade union ver.di – agreed wage table increases of 3.0 % from 1 June 2015 with a twelve-month term for port workers at companies which operate at German seaports. Similar deals have been reached for further wage agreements of the HHLA Group.

Appraisal and Remuneration Systems

The appraisal systems at the German companies contain both bottom-up and top-down components. Some of them are laid out in collective labour agreements, comprise variable remuneration components and are linked with training requirements for the company and staff.

ROCE – the return on capital employed – is also a significant parameter for determining variable remuneration components for executives and employees not covered by collective labour agreements. Performance-related remuneration components at executive level are calculated over a period of several years. This further enhances the focus on sustainable, long-term targets.

Flexible Working Models

Developments in HHLA’s Part-time Employees

in Germany as of 31.12. / part-time share in %

A growing number of people across all employee groups and hierarchy levels in Germany are taking up the option of working part-time to tailor their working hours to different life stages. Offering part-time work is therefore an important way of retaining staff at the company. Allowing staff to adapt their working hours helps them to reconcile their professional and family commitments, look after close relatives or do charity work. In 2015, 150 employees were in part-time employment positions (previous year: 141). 26 % of part-time positions are held by men. At the end of 2015, the ratio of part-time workers at HHLA in Germany increased to 4.1 % (previous year: 3.9 %). At the holding company, where most roles are clerical, the ratio of part-time workers was approximately 14 % (excluding apprentices), as in the previous year.

Working Lifetime Accounts

As well as various company pension schemes, HHLA offers its employees working lifetime accounts. A pensions portal was also set up in 2014. This is an online-based portal containing information about the company pension schemes available at HHLA and a simulation calculator for the working lifetime account that can be accessed by almost all employees. This gives them details of their current pension status. At the end of the period under review, 1,121 employees had a working lifetime account (previous year: 1,037). This represents participation of 31 % (previous year: 30 %) in Germany.