Material ESG Topic / Society

Our people

  • 141,755
    man-hours of training, of which 85,375 man-hours of Health and Safety training for HELLENiQ ENERGY’s employees and associates

  • >€ 17 mil.
    for safety improvements in all Group facilities in Greece and abroad

  • 3,519
    direct jobs in the Group

  • 22%
    average percentage of women in management positions in the Group

Our people

HELLENiQ ENERGY provides a working environment that is first and foremost safe, motivates employees and provides them with equal opportunities to develop their skills and evolve, while advocating human rights and respecting diversity. Ensuring the Health & Safety of employees and associates is the highest priority and a core business value of HELLENiQ ENERGY that concerns all its activities.

Attracting, Developing and
Retaining Employees

Employability, retention and job creation are strategic priorities of HELLENiQ ENERGY that are inextricably linked to the development and improvement of its performance in all sectors. At the same time, it seeks to create a dynamic working environment characterised by meritocracy, excellence, integrity, stability, consistency, innovation, continuous learning and adaptability.

To this end, HELLENiQ ENERGY has cultivated an excellent working environment and implements an integrated human resources development and management system, offering opportunities for growth and development, competitive remuneration and benefits, performance appraisal, training and encouragement for employees to take on different roles.

HELLENiQ ENERGY is committed to:

  • applying merit-based systems for attracting and assessing employees,
  • providing equal opportunities for all to deepen their knowledge and develop new skills,
  • offering opportunities for career development, without discrimination (e.g. gender, age, origin, religion, nationality, etc.).

Employees at the Group:*

HELLENiQ ENERGY HOLDINGS S.A. 55
HELLENIC PETROLEUM R.S.S.O.P.P. S.A. 2,084
ΕΚΟ S.A. 467
ASPROFOS S.A. 146
DIAXON S.A. 114
ΟΚΤΑ AD SKOPJE 253
JUGOPETROL AD 92
EKO CYPRUS LTD** 86
EKO BULGARIA EAD 60
EKO SERBIA AD 53
HELLENiQ UPSTREAM S.A. 22
HELPE INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING S.A. 56
HELLENiQ RENEWABLES S.A. 7
ELPE FUTURE S.A. 2
HELLENiQ ENERGY DIGITAL S.A 14
KALYPSO KEA S.A. 4
VARDAX S.A. 1
HELPE RENEWABLES EVIA WIND PARKS S.A. 2
WIND PARK SAGIAS S.A. 1

* This is the total number of employees working under indefinite and fixed-term contracts. More human resources data in Appendix Ι (GRI 2-7 & GRI 405-1).
** Including the human power of BLUE CIRCLE ENGINEERING LTD (8 employees).

Breakdown of total Group employees by gender

Distribution of all Group employees by level of education

The Group has created an environment characterised by high employee engagement and loyalty. Below, we present the voluntary and involuntary turnover indicators resulting from the departure of employees (voluntary or termination of contract by the employer).

  • 3.6%

    voluntary turnover indicator of Group employees

  • 1.6%

    involuntary turnover indicator of Group employees

Evaluation

All employees participate in an annual performance evaluation to assess their performance, through which an individualised plan of development is designed.

It is worth noting that in 2022 all employees (Group’s average of 97.24%) were evaluated according to the common performance evaluation system and for the first time, through the new digital HRis Evaluation platform. The new HRis digital platform provided employees with the options of Self-Assessment, recording scores and comments, monitoring the progress of the targets set at the beginning of the year, as well as updating them mid-year. Detailed information per Group company is provided in Appendix I (GRI 404-3).

Remuneration and Benefits

HELLENiQ ENERGY’s leading market position is due to its ability to attract and retain the most competent employees in line with its principles and values.

In HELLENiQ ENERGY, the remuneration system is designed to acknowledge and reward employees for their achievements and performance, as well as for the value that they add.

The Group is committed to providing competitive remuneration designed to support the attraction and retention of employees who possess the skills required to achieve its business objectives.

HELLENiQ ENERGY has a defined Remuneration Policy for Executives, which for the parent company is approved by the Remuneration and Succession Planning Committee, while for its subsidiaries the Policy is approved by their Boards of Directors. The Policy provides, inter alia, for the definition of the framework of total annual gross remuneration and the way in which total remuneration is divided into fixed and variable remuneration. Variable remuneration is designed to link remuneration to individual performance and contribution to the achievement of the Group’s objectives and is determined on the basis of predetermined measurable quantitative and qualitative criteria, which have been established by HELLENiQ ENERGY’s Remuneration Policy for Executives. In formulating the Remuneration Policy for Executives, the best remuneration practices in the domestic labour market are taken into account. The salary policy for staff is determined by the Company’s Collective Labour Agreements, which are negotiated between the Company and the Unions.

At the same time, a benefits policy is in place that provides substantial support to employees and their families, offering assistance, security and stability. In 2022, total benefits exceeded 37.2 mil. euros Below are some indicative benefits:

  • Life and Health Insurance Plan for employees, which also covers their dependents.
  • Pension plan for employees.
  • Provision of meals for employees.
  • Transportation of employees to and from the facilities.
  • Easter and Christmas food vouchers.
  • Marriage and birth or death allowance for a relative of an employee.
  • Financial assistance for people with disabilities.
  • Financial assistance for serious health conditions.
  • University study allowance for employees.
  • Coverage of nursery costs for the children of employees.
  • Coverage of expenses for camps and summer camps for the children of employees.
  • School allowance for the children of employees.
  • Awards to excellent pupils and newly-admitted university students – children of employees.

Group employee benefits vary by company and country (detailed information is included in Appendix Ι, GRI 201-1).

 

  • 90.9%

    of employees are covered by supplementary Life and Health insurance schemes

  • 84.1%

    of employees are covered by pension schemes

Reconciliation of Family and Professional Life

For HELLENiQ ENERGY, professional success is the result of a balanced professional and personal life. To ensure this balance, the Group has developed corporate policies and programs such as:

  • Open door policy between management and employees.
  • Additional paid leave hours for personal reasons.
  • Intranet (internal digital communication network) and Employee Suggestion Box*, as it is very important to be regularly informed and to take into account the employees’ views.
  • Psychological Support Line, for employees and their families.
  • Offer of free participation in all major official SEGAS road events in Athens and Thessaloniki.
  • Offer of free tickets to cultural and sports events sponsored by the Group.
  • Participation in voluntary actions for themselves and their families.

*The Employee Suggestion Box is a useful internal communication tool as it offers the possibility to anonymously submit questions, make suggestions and, in general, promote dialogue among all levels of employees and the Group.

Education

Through continuous professional development, the aim is for each employee to develop knowledge and skills, either specialised in the area of his/ her responsibilities or broader in the areas of Administration, IT, etc., in order to broaden his/ her professional prospects and at the same time to understand the Group’s strategic objectives and his/ her role in them.

In 2022, as part of the Digital Transformation, the new digital platform HRis was launched, which supports the Group’s employee training and professional development program. Specifically, the platform offers employees additional features such as navigating a library of training material, viewing aggregated
learning history, integration of E-learning courses on the same platform with history and on-the-job training track record, electronic submission and management of training requests, and automatic approval and notification feeds for all learning types. During the same year, Group Academy Development Programs were held in the form of webinars, Leadership, Team Empowerment and Coaching Programs, Executive Management Skills Empowerment Programs that were extended to new Executives, as well as Digital Transformation courses for employees and Executives of the Group. In addition, the distance learning platform “HELPe-learning” was enriched with courses of general interest, as well as specialised technical courses on Refining and Marketing.

Health & Safety Training

The health and safety of the Group’s employees is at the top of its priorities. In this regard, it implements training sessions aimed at further strengthening and embedding the safety culture, jointly across all Group facilities. To this end, it implements a common basic training process (fire safety, rescue techniques, first aid, etc.) and organises leadership seminars at all levels of the hierarchy. The training is also extended to those employed through external partners, customers, transporters and service stations. Specifically, those employed through external partners attend mandatory training by Safety Engineers and then sit written examinations at accredited training centres (KEK), as only successful candidates can work in the Group’s industrial facilities. In addition, guests are informed through printed material about the safety instructions of the respective facility.

In 2022, 85,375 man-hours of health and safety training were carried out for permanent staff and external partners, representing 60.2% of the total man-hours of training.

Group Training Program

2020 2021 2022  2023-2024
Target
Percentage of employees trained Total Training 74% 79% 74.4% >75%
Training in Health & Safety topics 63% 73% 66.8% >60%
Average number of teaching man-hours per trainee Total Training 30 27.6 31.4 >30
Training in Health & Safety topics 10 9.6 17 >10

 

Man-hours of health & safety training by facility and gender
SCROLL to the right to view all data

AIC – EIC – TIC Headquarters ΕΚΟ ΟΚΤΑ DIAXON EKO CYPRUS ΕΚΟ SUBSIDIARIES* ASPROFOS
Employees trained (Male/Female) 1,536
(1,425/111)
44
(21/23)
185
(167/18)
180
(167/13)
85
(81/4)
56
(42/14)
146
(94/52)
120
(76/44)
Man-hours of training (Male/Female) 34,929
(33,052/1,877)
394
(253/141)
1,913
(1,824.95/88.1)
451
(428/23)
136
(103/33)
905
(725/180)
615
(451.5/163.5)
246
(181/65)
Contractors & third parties trained (Male/Female) 3,960
(3,746/214)
47
(33/14)
675
(634/41)
605
(598/7)
2
(2/0)
134
(125/9)
1,065
(636/429)
0
(0/0)
Man-hours of training of contractors & third parties (Male/Female) 34,515
(33,174/1,341)
324
(182/142)
6,141.4
(5,922.8/218.6)
303
(299/3.5)
3
(3/0)
778
(734/44)
3,722.4
2,647.6/1,074.8)
0
(0/0)

*EKO BULGARIΑ, EKO SERBIA, JUGOPETROL

  • >60%

    of man-hours of training relate to Health and Safety training

At HELLENiQ ENERGY, the consolidation of safety culture is a top priority and therefore trainings are continuously implemented for all employees and partners.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunities
for Employees and Partners

Relations between employees and the Group are based on the principle of equal treatment. Both the integration and the career of each employee in the Group are assessed on the basis of his/her qualifications, performance and potential, without discrimination.

HELLENiQ ENERGY strictly observes the relevant labour legislation (national, European, ILO), which includes issues relating to respect for human rights and working conditions and is in full compliance with national collective agreements and relevant international conventions.

Employees of the Group may, without any restriction, participate in trade unions and professional associations. The average participation rate of all employees covered by corporate labour agreements is 82.8%, (see details in Appendix Ι, GRI 2-30) and the average participation rate of all employees participating in representative unions is 82.4%. There are nine (9) representative employee unions in the Group companies, which co-sign respective Company Collective Labour Agreements with the companies.

  • 82.8%

    of employees are covered by collective labour agreements

  • 82.4 %

    average percentage of employees’ participation in representative unions

HELLENiQ ENERGY applies a common Code of Conduct that defines the principles governing the Group’s activities in Greece and abroad and covers principles related, among others, to human rights. In this respect, the Group is committed to the following provisions towards its people.

 

Commitments to workers

  • Ensuring Health and safety
  • Equal opportunities policy, meritocracy
  • Stable working environment
  • Performance-based career and professional development
  • Provision of incentives and competitive pay and benefits
  • Continuous training for knowledge and skills development
  • Work-life balance

Health & Safety of
Employees and Partners

The Group’s Approach

Ensuring the Health & Safety of employees and partners of the Group, is HELLENiQ ENERGY’s top priority and also one of its key business commitments. Its objective is to prevent accidents and illnesses through the implementation of safe working environment practices and continuous improvement of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System in each Group company and the development and expansion of the application of the Holistic Safety Management System.

The Group’s four main lines of action on Health & Safety are:

  • Leadership and commitment
  • Adoption of a safety culture
  • Improving performance and using safety indexes
  • Leveraging experience from incidents, implementing actions and corrective measures

Recognising, thus, the value of Health and Safety and HELLENiQ ENERGY’s opportunity to enhance its positive impact on employees, subcontractors and partners, it aspires to be at the forefront of the energy sector and to ensure a working environment, in all its activities, with zero accidents and absence of occupational diseases. It is worth noting that the Group has created a working environment where risks have been identified, assessed, prevented and eliminated. In this respect, the Group:

  • Continuously strengthens measures to prevent and mitigate risks.
  • Commits to the provision and availability of the necessary resources to implement the Health & Safety objectives, as well as to the continuous improvement of the Health and Safety Management System of each Group company and the development and expansion of the application of the Holistic Safety Management System.
  • Consults with all stakeholders and ensures that the needs of society are met.

These three Principles are clearly reflected in the Group’s “Policy on Health, Safety, the Environment & Sustainable Development” and constitute a commitment on behalf of its Management.

Occupational Risk Management

In the area of occupational risk management, the principle of prevention is applied in order to identify, assess, and control all potential health & safety risks.

HELLENiQ ENERGY companies implement Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, the core of which is “Risk Management”, which is supported and informed via procedures, inspections and training.

The identification and assessment of threats and opportunities help to fully understand the external factors affecting Health and Safety issues in the Group, in order to develop the appropriate strategies and make the right decisions that will lead to the upholding and/or improvement of working conditions.

Potential occupational risks are identified and controlled in accordance with the criteria of Greek legislation, European and international codes and good practices. All facilities have Occupational Risk Assessment Studies, which include the measures taken to eliminate or control the risks and keep them at very low levels.

Furthermore, HELLENiQ ENERGY applies a Holistic Safety Management System, whose implementation started in its industrial facilities and is being extended
to its other activities. The System aims to promptly inform, effectively prevent, and promptly address risks that may affect the health and safety of employees and the security of processes.

HELLENiQ ENERGY believes that “Safety is Everyone’s Business”. An open and trustworthy learning environment ensures that both Management and employees are actively committed to following procedures and achieving targets, while staff contributions to Health and Safety risk management are recognised and rewarded. The reporting and investigation of incidents, near misses and unsafe situations by employees is strongly encouraged. Through this process, immediate protective measures are taken and corrective actions are implemented to prevent future incidents.

HELLENiQ ENERGY implements Health and Safety programs and actions, such as the preventive health monitoring of employees, safety campaigns that take place at the facilities regularly, as well as other actions intened for stakeholders. This way, the longterm benefits of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System, such as the development of a Health and Safety Culture, are promoted and consolidated.

Employees' Health in the Workplace

Ensuring the health of employees is an integral part of the HELLENiQ ENERGY’s strategy. The Group implements the Health Supervision Procedure under which workers are offered periodic medical examinations of employees, depending on their job, age group and gender.

In addition, the Group provides Occupational Physicians in order to offer their services to its employees.

Group investments in safety issues

In 2022, over 17 million euros were invested in safety improvements in all HELLENiQ ENERGY facilities in Greece and abroad. These fixed investments do not include the supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) against COVID-19, the supply and maintenance of safety instruments and equipment, and the supply of fire-fighting materials and other consumables.

Facility 2022
Investment in € mil.
2023-2027
(approved program)
Investment in € mil.
AIC – EIC – TIC 12.44 34.92
ΕΚΟ 2.75 9.95
DIAXON 0.08 0.19
ΕΚΟ CYPRUS 1.30 7.5
OKTA 0.38 1.5
JUGOPETROL 0.09 6.78
EKO SERBIA 0.09 3.54
EKO BULGARIA 0.17 0.46
TOTAL 17.30 64.84
  • >€ 17 mil.

    for safety improvements for all Group facilities in Greece and abroad

Prevention and Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

Alongside the key actions in terms of Health & Safety, HELLENiQ ENERGY continued to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, through the coordinated actions included in the pandemic prevention and response Policy, implemented in all activities and at all levels of the Group and periodically reviewed in accordance with the guidelines of the National Public Health Organisation (EODY) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), as well as in accordance with new scientific data. In addition, in 2022, the COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention Management System (COVID SHIELD) was recertified by an independent third party in all Group facilities and Headquarters.

Health and Safety Indexes – Performance of Facilities

HELLENiQ ENERGY’s subsidiaries set annual measurable targets to improve their performance in Health and Safety issues. These targets are assessed monthly and annually and a report is presented to the Management.

The Group cooperates with the European organisation CONCAWE and participates in the annual survey and benchmarking of Health and Safety performance.

In particular, in 2022, out of a total of 10,543,649 man-hours worked, there were 26 accidents resulting in absence from work (HELPE RSSOPP, EKO, Headquarters) among staff and external associates. The number of accidents resulting in absence from work decreased by 7% compared to 2021.

  • >2,500,000

    man-hours for Marketing without an employee occupational accident

Group accidents based on CONCAWE definitions by facility and gender

SCROLL to the right to view all data

AIC – EIC – TIC Headquarters ΕΚΟ DIAXON ASPROFOS ΕΚΟ CYPRUS OKTA EKO SERBIA EKO BULGARIA JUGOPETROL
Lost Workday Injuries (LWIs) (M/F) 23
(23/0)
2
(0/2)
1
(1/0)
1
(1/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
6
(6/0)
0
(0/0)
1
(1/0)
2
(2/0)
Lost Workday Injuries (employees/ partners) 14/9 0/2 0/1 1/0 0/0 0/0 5/1 0/0 1/0 1/1
Fatalities (M/F) 0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
(Medical Treatment Cases1 (MTC) (M/F) 7
(7/0)
0
(0/0)
1
(1/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
3
(3/0)
1
(1/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
Restricted Workday Injuries (RWI) (M/F) 3
(3/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
LWIF Index (M/F) 3.42
(3.42/0)
3,69
(0/3,69)
0.31
(0.31/0)
3.96
(3.96/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
5.51
(5.51/0)
0
(0/0)
0.63
(0.63/0)
1.96
(1.96/0)
LWIS Index (M/F) 25.04
(25.04/0)
34,50
(0/34,50)
36.00
(36.00/0)
8.00
(8.00/0)
0
(0/0)
0
(0/0)
22.33
(22.33/0)
0
(0/0)
14.00
(14.00/0)
11.00
(11.00/0)
AIF Index (All Injury Frequency) (M/F) 4.91
(4.91/0)
3.69
(0/3.69)
0.61
(0.61/0)
3.96
(3.96/0)
0
(0/0)
21.96
(21.96/0)
6.43
(6.43/0)
0
(0/0)
0.63
(0.63/0)
1.96
(1.96/0)
Occupational illness frequency (/106 ) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rate of all kinds of absenses2 (%) (M/F) * 0.7/1.76 0.55/ 1.90 3.16/0.26 1.04/0.86 1.22/2.77 3.25/10.39 1.88/ 3.33 0.98/ 1.45 3.00/ 0.30

1 Medical care accidents do not include first aid accidents.
2 Absences due to incapacity of any kind (illness, accident) are counted.
* More detailed data by region and gender are presented in Appendix Ι (GRI 403-9).

The following charts show the evolution of the most important indicators of HELLENiQ ENERGY, compared to the corresponding CONCAWE ones for the last 6 years.

In 2022 the lost workday injuries frequency index and the total injury index – which are key indicators of worker safety – decreased by 16.5% and 12.5% respectively compared to last year, in contrast to the corresponding European indicators which showed a slight increase (available for the year 2021).

AIF All Injury Frequency Index

LWIF Lost Workday Injury Index

CONCAWE data for 2022 will be available in July 2023.

Previous Chapter Society Value Creation
Next Chapter Society Market