Contracts, Remuneration and Additional Benefits

Collective Labour Agreements

The pay and working conditions for approximately 89.3 % of HHLA employees in Germany are regulated by collective labour agreements (previous year: 89.5 %).

In May 2017, 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 to wage table increases of 2.7 % from 1 June 2017 with a twelve-month duration for port workers at companies that operate at German seaports. Furthermore, it was agreed that the employers’ pension contribution would increase by € 10 per month. 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 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

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 adjust their working hours helps them to reconcile their professional and family commitments, look after close relatives or do charity work. In 2017, a total of 179 employees were in part-time employment positions – nine more than in 2016 (previous year: 170). At the end of 2017, the proportion of part-time workers at HHLA in Germany increased to 5.1 % (31 December 2016: 4.7 %). The percentage of men in part-time employment rose to 29.6 % (previous year: 28.8 %). At the holding company, where most roles are clerical, the ratio of part-time workers (excluding apprentices) was approximately 16.2 % (previous year: 15.4 %).

Development of HHLA’s Part-time Employees

in Germany as of 31.12.

Part-time share in %

Company Pension Scheme

After already offering staff the possibility to actively shape their own working lifetimes by means of various pension schemes and working lifetime accounts in the past, the HHLA Group pension system is now being completely revamped. In late 2017, the parties to the labour agreement laid the foundation for a new, forward-looking system which is more closely aligned with rising employee needs, especially with regard to transparency and flexibility. The new system will be rolled out in 2018.

More detailed information about the workforce can be found in the “Employees” section of the Combined Management Report. see also Management Report/Employees