Only healthy and satisfied staff can be successful with their work for a company. Energie AG works to ensure awareness and personal responsibility around quality and occupational safety among its employees. Preventive action and information are used to prevent work-related adverse health conditions and staff are directed to be more conscious in their approach to health through the “energy@work” project. If an individual has already fallen ill, the Company takes steps to promote their recovery. Energie AG’s company health management policy was awarded the “Betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung” (Workplace Health Promotion) seal of approval (except for the Czech Republic and Waste Management Segments), which is valid in its current form until 2022.
Topical issues are discussed and solutions are developed in regular health meetings, including employee representatives, occupational health professionals and safety management specialists. Weekly exercise programmes at a number of work sites also promote health awareness. The range of occupational healthcare services includes extensive contact during consultation hours and vaccination campaigns. A “Mental Health at Work Service Line” is also available to all employees in Austria in order to provide support in the event of personal problems or conflicts. An employee survey aimed at ascertaining the satisfaction among the workforce is once again planned to take place in the year 2021.
Energie AG ensures that the specifications of the Employee Protection Act and the associated regulations are consistently observed throughout the Group, and that appropriate preventative measures are implemented. In the 2019/2020 fiscal year, the Group (excl. Waste Management Segment and Czech Republic Segment) saw around 52 announced and unannounced workplace and construction site inspections carried out by safety experts and occupational health professionals together with those responsible on site and/or Energie AG Group management as part of due diligence measures (previous year: 85) 1)Value in the previous fiscal year 2018/2019 excl. the Waste Management Segment and the Czech Republic Segment. In addition to that, 52 construction sites were inspected with the aim of informing the employees about the Group's measures in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and offering support to them. Office workplaces were reviewed to assure ergonomic design and, if necessary, adjusted to keep the number of musculoskeletal conditions among employees as low as possible.
A total of 80 reportable work incidents were registered (previous year: 101), which corresponds to an accident rate of 16.20 accidents per 1,000 employees (previous year: 20.63 per 1,000 employees) 2)Up to cut-off date of 30 September, including partially consolidated companies.. The accident severity amounted to an average of 32.40 days of sick leave per work accident (previous year: 24.37). Converted to an international indicator value, this corresponds to an LTIF (Lost Time Injury Frequency) of 9.35 per 1,000,000 working hours (previous year: 11.85). The Waste Management Segment had one fatal work accident in Hörsching (previous year: 0).
A closer look at the work accidents reveals a picture that varies in national characteristics and, in particular, the different areas of activity within the Energie AG Group. The Waste Management Segment has a much higher accident rate than any other segment. The severity of accidents increased across all segments of the Group.
The legally required inductions with respect to hazards, health, safety and risk prevention steps are regularly held throughout the Energie AG Group. The short briefings were extended to include several new topics and are available for employees to access online.
In addition to the briefings, a large number of subject-specific training courses were conducted during the reporting period as part of due diligence measures. Employees of third-party contractors in the technical and electrical engineering sectors are also allowed to attend if they require additional training. In addition to training courses on working with live electrical equipment, meter changes and operational use authorisation, training modules on low and high voltage electrical system operation and management authorisation were also offered, along with other safety-related topics such as construction work coordination.
Naturally, the safety experts' target is to bring both the accident rate and severity down to zero. Approaching this number requires employees to receive the best possible training and support in the induction of colleagues. Workplaces and activities must also be subjected to a continuous evaluation and the necessary measures must be adjusted as required.