Sustainability Report 2012 - Generali Versicherung AG

Work life balanceTo balance their working commitments with their familyand personal lives, Generali Group employees can takeadvantage of flexible working hours, part-time rolesand company crèches. In some overseas Groupcompanies telecommuting is also a possibility.In the countries considered by the Sustainability Report, theworking week ranges from 37 hours in Italy (administrativestaff that adhere to the National Collective BargainingAgreement for the insurance sector) to 42 hours at BancaSvizzera Italiana. A range of flexible start and finish timesand lunch hours are available. Furthermore, in Franceworkers can choose from different options involving variablecombinations of working days and holidays.Generali Rainbow Life, Hong KongShift work is used in Europ Assistance group companiesthat provide policyholders with a 24/7 service and insome Group call centres that provide assistance until10:00 p.m.. More specifically, at Europ Assistanceemployees work shifts of around 8 hours a day, 5 days aweek, and/or shifts of no less than 4 hours a day.Although there are differences from country to country, inaccordance with the law, National Collective BargainingAgreements and supplementary agreements in forceat each company, Group employees are entitled totake paid leave for: marriage, the death of a relative,pregnancy, breastfeeding, maternity/paternity leave,children's illnesses/birthdays, medical appointments andtests, study, care for disabled relatives and giving blood.In line with the company's organisational requirements,workers are usually also granted paid leave, leavewith compensatory working time and workinghoursbank, which can be taken in hours or fractionsof working days, to boost flexibility. More specifically,in the Italian insurance sector, the number of hours ofpaid leave granted to employees with disabilities andemployees with children under three years of age or withserious disabilities is doubled (in the Czech Republic thisentitlement continues until the disabled child has reachedthe age of 26, provided he/she is not being cared forsocial services), without prejudice to the provisions of thelegislation in force with regard to leave for people withdisabilities and their careers. The conditions as regardsleave for medical appointments and care and study leaveare also more favourable than those provided by the lawsin force and the sector National Collective BargainingAgreements. Employees are also entitled to periods ofunpaid leave of a maximum of 12 months for justifiedpersonal or family reasons.In the Sustainability Report countries forms of verticaland/or horizontal part-time work have been regulated.The number of working hours is usually reduced by 50%,but smaller or greater reductions are often possible,varying between a maximum of 80% (in France) anda minimum of 20% (in Switzerland) in the area underconsideration.Part-time contracts are generally granted for familyreasons, such as the need to provide care for closerelatives (parents, children, spouse or other membersof the household) who are ill or disabled, to look afterchildren, or in the event of serious personal reasons. InFrance, workers over 55 years of age are encouraged torequest a part-time role in preparation for retirement. Asimilar contractual provision is in place for older workersin Germany. The granting of a part-time contract alwaysdepends on the compatibility of such a request withthe company’s technical, organisational and productionneeds. Where it is not possible, employees may howeverbe granted reduced working hours if they are willing tocarry out a similar role or be transferred to a differentdepartment at the same company site. Employees52 | Assicurazioni Generali - Sustainability Report 2012