Employees

In accordance with its business strategy, PGE Group’s energy transition involves new investments, new technologies in electricity generation, but also a higher demand for new competences and professional qualifications of employees.

PGE Group’s commitment to the transition is not focused solely on the organisation itself. PGE Group takes a broader approach because the transition also concerns the inhabitants of the coal regions. PGE actively participates in the preparation and implementation of transition plans for these regions, in particular Bełchatów and Turoszów, the functioning of which is strongly dependent on the activity of PGE Group’s energy complexes located in these areas (more details in Chapter 3.1). Project teams appointed for this purpose are responsible for developing directions for the further development of these regions. A separate project team performs tasks related to the preparation of the spin-off of coal-fired generating assets to a new entity – the National Energy Safety Agency (NABE). One of the most important elements of each of these projects is the human capital management policy, based on the use of own human resources, which allows for the development of the potential of competences and knowledge of the specifics of our operations.

An important step in preparing employees associated with the Bełchatów complex for a just energy transition is the establishment of the Bełchatów Competence Development Centre. The centre was established as part of the „Transition Concept for the Bełchatów Region” and it operates in cooperation with the Marshal’s Office of the Łódź Voivodeship.

The Bełchatów Competence Development Centre began its training activities in September 2021. The following qualified vocational courses were offered to people who were interested: renewable energy equipment and systems technician, automation technician, IT technician, programming technician, welding technician. Almost 200 people have already taken advantage of the educational offering. New fields of study will be developed in accordance with the needs of the Bełchatów complex transition program and the inhabitants of the Łódź region.

The formation of the Circular Economy segment in PGE Group’s business model is also an important transition project. The Circular Economy Research and Development Centre in Bełchatów was established in November 2021 and will open in Q4 2022. The centre will develop and implement solutions to increase the use of post-industrial waste from the energy sector and the recovery of raw materials from decommissioned RES installations. The functioning of the centre is related to the need to provide appropriate employees and equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills.

Analysis carried out in 2021 identified the following key professional qualifications: laboratory technicians in the physical and mechanical laboratory, technology specialists, specialists in raw material recovery, recycling of materials from Circular Economy waste (PV installations, energy storage facilities, wind farms), designers of engineering solutions, REACH specialists, environmental specialists, specialists in economic use of other waste generated in connection with the operation of energy infrastructure, specialists in carrying out reclamation processes, liquidation of landfills and demolition of waste heaps. Depending on the situation on the labour market, decisions will be made to recruit employees from outside or to train employees already working in the Circular Economy segment and provide them with the necessary competences.

In view of PGE Group’s strategic turn towards renewable energy, activities aimed at securing staffing levels in this area are a priority. A number of recruitment processes were carried out at PGE Energia Odnawialna in 2021 with the aim of:

• ensuring staffing levels that guarantee the availability and continuity of electricity generation, 
• recruiting for positions related to building and developing competences in the Renewable Energy Investments Department, which is responsible for the development of new photovoltaic projects, and in the future, after the relaxation of the distance law, also wind projects,
• expanding the scope of in-house maintenance of wind turbines (electrical and mechanical services, including replacement of large components – generators and gearboxes) and developing a wind turbine propeller repair team. With the hiring of wind turbine blade repair specialists, the company will gradually become less dependent on services provided by external companies and will be able to react more flexibly in case of bad weather conditions by transferring employees to other farms, where weather conditions make it possible to repair blades. 

The company plans further recruitments in the coming years. These will strengthen the team responsible for implementing RES projects and ensure the effective operation of new generation capacities and fill vacancies left by retiring employees. 

The company is also active in the field of offshore wind energy education in Poland. An example of this is the cooperation with Polish universities on a new renewable energy major. In order for the company to influence the curriculum and its quality, it willingly shares its expertise and guidance with the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Gdynia Maritime University. 

The retail sales company, PGE Obrót, is also involved in the energy transition process. As part of its strategic initiatives, projects related to the sale of pro-ecological green energy offerings are being implemented. In 2021, the „Pro Eko” project was launched, establishing an organisational unit dealing with the sale of products related to photovoltaics. Activities related to the support of prosumers are being implemented. The company also runs a number of communication and product campaigns related to the development of green energy.

In 2021, work began on developing a plan for the implementation of the business strategy in the Human Capital Management area for 2022 – 2025, enabling the Group’s strategic goals and objectives to be met. Each company has identified the necessary directions of development in the HR area and has defined key initiatives. Joint activities have been identified within the entire PGE Group, which will be implemented by the Corporate Centre in cooperation with the companies.

The internal corporate policies that govern the key elements of the human capital management (HCM) strategy remain in force. These include corporate rules for: systemic key personnel management, job architecture, HR controlling, mobility, training and development, cooperation of the HCM area, recruitment and employment, and remuneration. The corporate rules in the HCM area are communicated to all employees in the manner adopted at PGE Group, which is aligned with internal regulations.
It should be emphasised that the detailed terms and conditions of employment and remuneration are determined in accordance with the regulations in force at the individual companies of PGE Group and the generally applicable labour law and legal system (including the freedom of choice and exercise of profession and place of work provided for in the Constitution or regulations on the employment of young people).

These rules refer to the highest standards of human capital management in the entire Group. They concern, inter alia, the issue of unification of remuneration principles in relation to the business needs of individual business segments and areas, as well as monitoring the competitiveness of total remuneration in relation to the external market and internal benchmarks, with concern for its link to individual, team and PGE Group performance. Remuneration tables are created assuming a reference value and a range of minimum and maximum salaries, with observance of the law, including in particular the minimum wage.

One of the objectives set out by PGE Group in its new strategy until 2030 with an outlook to 2050 is to increase the organisation’s effectiveness and efficiency. This is a task that cannot be achieved without the acceptance and involvement of employees. Internal communication at PGE Group is aimed at raising employees’ business awareness and building an understanding for activities related to the energy transition, of which PGE is the leader. These assumptions are realised via numerous publications in internal media featuring expert commentary from PGE Group employees.

In 2021, a total of 1 070 materials were published on PGE Group’s Intranet. 50 editions of the newsletter were delivered to employee inboxes. 10 online editions of the employee magazine „Pod Parasolem” were also published. Transparent and two-way communication is a vital element of the company’s organisational culture. Employees are encouraged to share their views through opinion surveys. They can also share ideas and exchange observations on internal blogs focused on ecology, green energy and conscious consumer choices. They also have dedicated email addresses at their disposal, to which they can send questions related to HR matters or the company’s strategy and on-going projects.

At PGE Group, dialogue with employees is an important element of building employee engagement. This is evidenced by the fact that solutions building the Company’s organisational culture and improving the well-being of employees are implemented on the basis of their opinions and diagnosed needs. The tools of such dialogue include the „Employee Opinion Survey” and the survey of leadership competences of managers: „Leader Profile.” Thanks to cyclical activities, PGE collects opinions from a large number of employees, which would not be possible using other tools.

The „Leader Profile” survey was conducted for the first time in 2021. Areas assessed by managers include: communication, building relationships, motivating and building engagement, developing employees and achieving results. The survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire with 23 closed questions and 2 open questions. The turnout in the first edition of the survey was 74%. The „Leader Index,” i.e. the average percentage of positive answers given to all 23 questions, was: 89%.  

The „Leader Profile” survey was conducted at PGE SA and PGE Systemy, which in 2021 completed the process of changing its organisational structure and optimising its personnel resources. The company faced a challenge of how to strengthen and retain its current employees and how to recruit new ones. In PGE Systemy’s case, the „Leader Profile” survey was extended to include an examination of the level of cooperation among senior managers („Cooperation Survey”). The information obtained was used to further develop team management skills among the company’s management staff. Managers received individual reports with feedback on their level of managerial competence. 

Another year of the pandemic confirmed that internal communication is essential in the process of providing employees with necessary information, also when it comes to safety. PGE Group employees were informed about the current epidemic situation, new guidelines and legal regulations and recommendations related to the sanitary regime via the intranet, newsletter or the company magazine „Pod Parasolem.” Regular announcements were sent out, at both the Group and company level, which kept employees up-to-date on particularly important issues related to safety during the pandemic. Encouraging employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 was also an important part of communication activities related to the pandemic. The most important information on the National Vaccination Program was presented in a special tab on the intranet. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, crisis teams have been operating in individual companies and monitoring the situation in workplaces on an on-going basis. At PGE SA, an interdisciplinary crisis team coordinates actions related to the pandemic in the entire PGE Group.

The actions undertaken are based on the following assumptions:

Pandemic-related restrictions are a difficult experience for many employees. PGE Group attaches great importance to developing initiatives related to improving the well-being and health of its employees. PGE Group employees are provided with private medical care, which also includes occupational medicine. Within the framework of agreements in place, they can undergo preliminary, check-ups and periodic examinations. PGE respects its employees’ right to privacy; therefore information on health conditions is not used when making HR and employment decisions. 

Many companies organise additional pro-health activities for their employees. PGE Baltica has a program in place: „Tool-Box – Occupational Health and Safety.” These are weekly meetings held in the form of short QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety, Environment) training sessions. Topics related to the current and future activities of the company as well as topics related to the personal safety of employees (hazardous incidents, corrective measures) are discussed at the meetings. 

Here was also a webinar promoting COVID-19 vaccinations, a series of webinars on COVID-19 challenges, stress reduction and relaxation techniques, as well as a week for fitness (two webinars on taking care of the spine while working remotely and pain complaints) and a week for better health (home office menus and immunity – how to strengthen it). In 2022, a free antibody test was carried out for those who were interested. As part of the Development Academy, employees were offered emotion management training by qualified trainers.

An educational campaign devoted to oncological prophylaxis was carried out at PGE GiEK. Employees were provided with access to non-standard medical services, including oncologists specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of skin, lymph node, breast or gastrointestinal cancers. In the case of a suspected oncological disease, doctors performed procedures and referred patients for further treatment in clinics. A „Health Town” was also organised to promote a healthy lifestyle and cancer prevention. Employees had the opportunity to participate in consultations with specialist doctors, meetings with a dietician, dermatoscopic examinations and examinations in a mammobus. There was also an educational campaign devoted to healthy lifestyles, oncology prevention and the „Prevention 40+” program.

An element of caring for employees is taking care of their psychological wellbeing and counteracting harassment and discrimination. At PGE Group, we continuously monitor the implementation and effectiveness of processes and procedures aimed at counteracting these issues, and we constantly raise awareness in this area among all employees, including managers. We sensitise them, including through training, to issues related to counteracting harassment and discrimination and responding appropriately in the event of suspicion of their occurrence. We also monitor psychosocial risks related to daily work, covering not only harassment but inappropriate behaviour more broadly.

The safety and health of people working for PGE Group are a priority for the entire organisation. In 2020, PGE SA’s Management Board adopted the Occupational Health and Safety Policy, which defines the organisation’s framework for action and goal-setting regarding occupational health and safety management and recognises this area as a key value for the organisation’s development. The Policy also defines long-term strategic undertakings concerning OHS and the basic principles of their implementation. The document was developed in cooperation with representatives of all business segments and consulted with the entire PGE Group. Notes and comments from representatives of individual subsidiaries and the social side positively influenced its final shape. The policy’s scope includes PGE Group companies. On this basis, the declarations of the management boards will be updated to take account of the specific nature of work in individual companies. PGE Group’s Occupational Health and Safety Policy reflects the requirements specified in the latest standard for Occupational Health and Safety management systems: ISO 45001 and the guidelines included in the Labour Code. Proactive and reactive OHS objectives have been implemented for the top management of PGE Group subsidiaries.

PGE Group intends to standardise the best solutions in the coming years. In order to ensure the exchange of experiences and mutual learning from incident analysis, an IT tool was implemented to collect information on health and safety incidents in the entire PGE Group, including accidents at work or near-miss incidents. The knowledge acquired in this way translates into additional actions in the area of occupational health and safety, which are taken throughout the Group by means of the Framework Plan for the Improvement of Occupational Health and Safety or in the form of alerts to organisations aimed at taking preventive measures in other locations.

In 2021, the companies’ Framework Plan for the Improvement of Occupational Health included tasks in the following areas:

• Improving occupational health and safety in handling operations,
• Improving occupational health and safety when working at heights,
• Supervising the use of personal protective equipment when carrying out live work,
• Reducing the risk of objects falling from a height

PGE Group companies comply with legal requirements. Compliance is verified by organisational units dealing with audits, OHS, Compliance, etc. A majority of PGE Group companies have a certified OHS management system based on the PN-ISO 45001 standard.

Prior to starting work, all employees receive initial health and safety training consisting of general and job-specific instruction. Where justified, an introductory OSH training for contractors is also carried out. Depending on their position, employees undergo periodic OSH training. The period ranges from 1 year for positions which are exposed to particular risks to 6 years for administrative and office positions. Detailed training programs are adapted to groups of positions. Employees performing work on power equipment undergo mandatory examinations which end in obtaining a certificate confirming their competence to perform specific work.

Operational work that creates the possibility of particular danger to human health or life is performed on the basis of a written order. The written order is also often used in situations where this formula is advisable for safety reasons, in particular when directing contractors’ employees to work.

The pandemic situation indicated the need to continue developing employees via hybrid solutions, as well as the need to develop competencies related to digital transformation – both specialised, concerning the operation of systems, and social and managerial competencies that enable effective relationship building and the achievement of business objectives. Employees also participated in open training in 2021, in line with business needs, and in training directly related to their areas of professional activity. Employees of the Human Resources Department, through workshops and training, prepared for the changes related to the introduction of the „Polish Deal,” changes in labour legislation and in the HR and payroll system.

Periodically, Lunch&Learn meetings were organised for employees of all companies. These were one-hour online sessions during which PGE Group employees, who were experts and enthusiasts in a given field, shared their knowledge in the areas of security, compliance, business psychology, communication and social research related to the energy transition program, and new technologies.

The „Academy of Efficiency” program was also launched to support the development of sales and service skills for employees who are in daily contact with customers. Approx. 35% of the company’s employees took part in it. Training to develop managerial skills was also introduced as part of a program for young managers.

The employees of PGE Baltica mainly developed soft and managerial competencies diagnosed in a training needs survey. The employees of PGE Ekoserwis took part in training organised by the Competence Development Centre in Bełchatów, including training for social labour inspectors.

In PGE Dystrybucja, employees mainly participated in mandatory training on the Anti-Corruption Policy, as well as in refresher training on Compliance and the Code of Ethics. 

PGE Systemy employees, who are implementing strategic projects related to energy transition based on modern technologies, improved key specialist competences in order to respond to the business needs of internal customers and increase efficiency as a shared IT services centre. The company’s employees participate in a dedicated program for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the IT area – Triebes.

PGE Synergy has focused mainly on the development of managerial competencies, therefore it has implemented the Leadership Academy, which aims to develop the competencies of managers and to build a management culture corresponding to the current and future challenges of the market. The following competences are developed at the Academy: building relations, motivating and building engagement, employee development and achieving results.

PGE GiEK employees mainly take advantage of various forms of educational co-financing. With this, they expand their specialist knowledge and already possessed skills during classes organised as part of higher education and post-graduate studies. Managers benefit from skills development as part of MBA studies.

At PGE Energia Odnawialna, wind farm employees participated in soft training aimed at improving cooperation and communication within the team. The company intends to continue this project in 2022. 

PGE Energia Ciepła also implemented projects in the field of managerial skills development. The most important development activities included: development of soft skills of mid-level supervisory staff with short seniority and managerial experience (conflict resolution, managing a diverse team, delegating and enforcing tasks). For newly appointed managers: effective team management, delegation of tasks, coaching sessions, conscious authority building and team building. And for all team leaders – managing a distributed team in the new reality of remote working and the resulting challenges.

Other training included:

• Facilitator Academy – providing training on how to increase team effectiveness and create a friendly environment for group collaboration,
• Developing critical thinking – training aimed at learning the methods and tools of critical thinking, rational discussion, practising the principles of logical reasoning and the art of argumentation,
• Managing generational differences – training on developing skills in managing younger generation employees.  

PGE Energia Ciepła organised training for managers on energy transition in the climate context and analysis of changes facing the energy sector. During training, the objectives and scale of transition processes in Europe and worldwide as well as the development of green CHPs in European countries were presented.

For its activities in 2021, PGE was honoured for the second time in a row with the Friendly Workplace 2022 Special Award from markapracodawcy.pl – the organiser of the Friendly Workplace competition and one of the leading services dedicated to human resources management in Poland. The organisers appreciated the company’s commitment to creating a pro-development and, at the same time, health-friendly work environment and the projects it has implemented, such as the Competence Development Centre or the „Leader Profile” survey. 

PGE also received the Reliable Employer 2022 Award, which is given to businesses that demonstrate care for safety and working conditions as well as employee development. The Reliable Employer of the Year is an award for employers who promote the most interesting HR solutions in their operations and are characterised by an exemplary personnel policy.

The innovations area plays an important role at PGE, especially when innovations are submitted by employees. At PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna, managing employee-submitted improvements has a long tradition. They report a number of solutions to improve daily work, which also makes it possible to increase work safety, optimise complex processes and, as a result, obtain tangible economic benefits.

Examples include a system implemented at the Turów mine that enables the automatic elimination of the source of a fire or its early detection on belt conveyors, or the use of a drone in the Bełchatów power plant to carry out inspections of energy boilers in which ground coal is burned. Proposals of solutions to improve the company’s day-to-day operations emerge every year in all branches of PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna. They are reviewed from a substantive point of view and then considered and evaluated on the basis of expert opinions, a research report and expected economic effects.

Innovations submitted in 2021 include a profitable optimisation of the boiler start-up process at the Dolna Odra plant, of importance to the operations area and for profitability, modernisation of the technical property protection alarm service station at the Alarm Monitoring Centre or visualisation of operating states in operator cabins used in the development of the SRs 2000 excavator control system.

As of December 31, 2021 there are altogether 127 different trade union organisations at PGE Group, including one trade union at PGE SA – Organizacja Międzyzakładowa nr 2987 NSZZ „Solidarność.” Since January 1, 2016, cooperation with trade unions has been regulated by the Corporate Rules of Social Relations at PGE Group. In accordance with the Trade Union Act, the basic level of cooperation between social partners is a branch or company. Another level of cooperation is the forum of individual PGE Group companies, where topics common to all employers in a given area are discussed. Social dialogue at this level takes place between management boards of companies and trade union platforms, which bring together trade unions operating in workplaces and having convergent sectoral interests. The rules of cooperation at the level of key companies are usually regulated in a dedicated agreement or memorandum, to which employers and companies are also parties.

In matters of strategic importance for the entire PGE Group, social dialogue is conducted at the level of the Corporate Centre between the Management Board of PGE SA and representatives of the social side at PGE Group. In relations with trade unions, the principle of company dialogue prevails and talks are transferred to a higher level in the event that talks at the level of the employer or companies do not yield results.

PGE SA and certain other employers from PGE Group are participants in sectoral social dialogue, which is conducted, inter alia, on the forum of tripartite teams (Tripartite Team for the Lignite Industry and Tripartite Team for the Energy Industry).

On December 29, 2021, an agreement was signed at the level of the Corporate Centre, ending collective disputes at PGE Group employers initiated at the turn of September and October 2020. The document was signed by representatives of the following companies and branches: PGE Dystrybucja, PGE Energia Ciepła, PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna and PGE Obrót, as well as representatives of the Protest and Strike Committee of PGE Group (which represented 64 trade unions), with the participation of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA as guarantor.

This guarantees, inter alia, the implementation of all the obligations arising from agreements signed to date and agreements ending collective disputes at the branch level, and expresses the will to continuously monitor, control and cooperate on the collective documents signed.

Moreover, in the agreements ending collective disputes that were executed at the company or branch level, the parties agreed on, among other things, issues relating to wage increases and full-time employment.

Sanitary restrictions related to the state of epidemic declared on the territory of Poland had a significant impact on the shape of relations of the social partners.

In 2021, PGE SA continued a series of meetings initiated in 2020 with the Trade Union Organisation and Workers’ Council on the epidemic and measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus at the company. More than 20 of these meetings were held. In the current dialogue, emphasis was placed on enabling remote participation in meetings, and during direct talks, adequate distance and necessary protective measures were provided (including publicly available disinfectant fluids and disposable masks).

At PGE Group employers, the counteracting of the pandemic has become a regular topic of discussion with the social side. Concerned for the safety of participants, the hybrid formula of meetings has become a regularly used option.

The organisation has a procedure concerning trade unions – Corporate Rules of Social Relations at PGE Group. This document defines the model and rules for social relations between the Corporate Centre, companies and employers. The main aim of the procedure is to support the implementation of PGE Group’s strategy, the achievement of which depends on employees’ involvement and acceptance of the social side, by conducting the process of social relations in PGE Group. The Corporate Centre, companies and employers are required not only to conduct social relations in accordance with the generally applicable legal regulations and the applicable acts of internal collective labour law but also with the procedure, which defines the tasks of organisational units for social dialogue at specific levels. In effect, PGE SA receives information on the number of trade unions, trade union costs as well as weekly reports on the activity of trade union organisations in PGE Group.

The policy is expected to be adopted in the first half of 2022. This is a document that will cover all PGE Group companies and will reflect the activities carried out in favour of diversity and respect for individual differences among employees as well as the fostering of a friendly working environment.