Employee-related Matters

Group-wide, Fraport aims to remain competitive at all sites and in all areas, so as to provide workplaces with fair and just working conditions and guarantee appropriate salaries and wages.

Pursuant to responsible corporate governance, Fraport has made a commitment to comply with internationally recognized standards of conduct, such as those defined in the principles of the UN Global Compact, the OECD guidelines, and the ILO Core Labour Standards. They are published in the Code of Conduct, which obliges employees to comply with these fundamental principles.

The fundamental importance of the human resources strategy is generally taken into account in Germany by the three key non-financial performance indicators of satisfaction of employees, women in management positions, and sickness rate. Another key figure used to monitor accident development is LTIF (Lost Time Injury Frequency).

The Emergency Situation Collective Bargaining Agreement concluded in 2021 for German airports bound to the collective bargaining agreement for the public service (Tarifvertrag für den Öffentlichen Dienst TVÖD) was a measure to reduce personnel expenses during the time of the coronavirus pandemic. The agreement included postponing wage increases, the elimination of collectively agreed performance-based pay, an increased employee contribution to the company pension scheme, and the option of reducing working hours without wage compensation. Due to the sharp increase in passenger numbers in the past fiscal year, an early wage increase was implemented. Instead of a gradual adjustment on October 1, 2022 by 1.4% and on April 1, 2023 by 1.8%, both wage increases were implemented on August 1, 2022. This rule also applies to employees of FraCareS GmbH. For the employees of FraGround GmbH, only individual regulations of the Emergency Situation Collective Bargaining Agreement were applicable due to other collective bargaining conditions.

Attractive and responsible employer

Objective – Fraport seeks to create good working conditions and increase employee satisfaction (see also the “Control System” and “Non-financial Performance Indicators” chapters).

Concepts, measures and results – The Group Barometer, which is used to measure employee satisfaction, was redesigned in 2022 in terms of content and procedure. One of the goals is to make well-founded statements on employee satisfaction at Group level. This should also make it easier to derive target-oriented improvement measures on the basis of the results throughout the Group. The survey will be conducted every two years from the 2022 reporting year. Optimizing the derivation and implementation of measures is a key factor in the decision to switch from an annual to a biennial cycle. This will allow the potential of the measures to be better displayed and the impact of implementation to be reflected in the results of the follow-up survey.

The Group-wide structure of the survey is the same in terms of content. All questions are assigned to four topics - "My employer," "My workplace," "My team," and "My manager" - and rated on a scale of one to seven. An average score is calculated for each topic. The average value of all four topic scores is the indicator for the survey of a Group company. The average of the indicators for all companies, weighted by the number of participating employees per company, gives the satisfaction level of the Group's employees. Based on the results, improvement measures are then derived Group-wide. A process instruction for the Group barometer has been included in the management system documentation.

The Group agreement “Conduct of Partnership, Diversity and Equality in the Workplace” forms the basis for principles such as freedom from discrimination and equal opportunities. The company agreement includes explicit definitions of values as well as specific internal regulations and structures. As far back as 2007, Fraport committed itself to the “Charta der Vielfalt” (Diversity Charter) – an initiative to promote diversity in companies and institutions. From an organizational perspective, responsibility for diversity is assigned to the Labor Relations Director with corresponding resources.

As a responsible employer, Fraport respects and promotes personal diversity and attaches great importance to ensuring that this is reflected in the way employees interact with each other. Diversity is a key goal for Fraport, which the Group systematically tackles as part of its diversity management. Different cultural backgrounds, experience abroad, gender and inclusion aspects, social origin, sexual orientation, or mix of ages enrich cooperation and promote innovation and creativity. This enables Fraport to flexibly respond to the changing requirements in the international markets and benefit from them. In 2022, Fraport continued its activities to strengthen and utilize diversity in the Group. One focus was on the topic of discrimination. Racism and sexual discrimination were discussed in seminars and presented with trainers and managers. The focus was on recognizing and dealing with discrimination and on conflict management. The issues were addressed by apprentices in the “Impro Theater” theater education project. In the past fiscal year, information events and counseling offerings were also held on the topics of career and family as well as career and care.

Fraport employs many international workers. These often have different language qualifications. The Fraport Group therefore uses language trainers and explains the safety regulations of the work areas with forms in easy language and with many illustrations, thus ensuring continuing language education.

Measures to increase employee satisfaction were also implemented at the international Group airports. For example, additional benefits such as the use of a knowledge portal were made available to employees at the airport in Ljubljana. Fraport Greece and the Group company Lima continued to address the respective corporate culture, mission, vision, and values in order to strengthen employee identification.

The measures for strategic succession planning and the supervision of top management positions are carried out organizationally by the “HR Top Executives” central unit. Executives are supervised at the third and fourth level, and talent management, which is primarily concerned with developing potential executives, is assigned within the “Human Resources” central unit of Fraport AG. Both organizational units report to the Labor Relations Director.

Fraport AG has been pursuing its goal of increasing the proportion of women in management positions for many years (see also the “Control System” and “Non-financial Performance Indicators” chapters). In addition to systematic talent management and the Potential Assessment Center, the long-term measures include the Cross Mentoring Program, coaching measures within the context of the continuous development of female executives, and promoting a network of female employees. In addition, there is the option of working part-time. In 2022, discussions were held at Executive Board level with female high-potential employees to clarify their requirements for assuming a leadership role in top management. The findings from these discussions were incorporated into the design of the development initiative “Empowering Leaders”. The individual promotion and stronger networking of high-potential female employees have thus been stepped up once again. The focus is also on increasing their visibility.

Performance indicator – Employee satisfaction at Fraport AG and in the Group and the ratio of women in management positions at Fraport AG and the Fraport Group in Germany (see also the “Control system” and “Non-financial performance indicators” chapters).

Occupational health and safety

Objective – Preventive measures in occupational health and safety in the Fraport Group focus on preserving and strengthening the health, performance, motivation, and thus productivity of employees in the long term. Fraport has therefore set the goal of continuously reducing the number of accidents at work and stabilizing the sickness rate in Germany in the medium term and reducing it in the long term.

Concepts, measures, and results – The key principles for Fraport AG and the Group companies can be found in the Group “Occupational Health and Safety” policy. Drawing on the requirements of ISO 45001, the Group policy ensures accountability. The defined guidelines are to be implemented independently by the Managing Directors and supplemented by company-specific rules in internal regulations. This requirement is valid effective immediately for Fraport AG and German Group companies. Taking into account the national laws, the regulation is also an option for desired action for the international Group companies.

In accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Fraport AG has established an occupational safety unit and an occupational health, prevention and health management services unit under the Executive Director of Labor Relations, which advise and support corporate departments in the further development of occupational safety. Measures to promote occupational health are controlled by occupational health management. The Occupational Safety Board represents the Executive Board’s efforts for the effective and efficient organization of preventive health and safety for the Fraport Group worldwide. The cooperation and the exchange of experiences is organized in the Occupational Health and Safety Management System Board, which has a Group-wide meeting once a year. Group-wide tasks are promoted together in order to work efficiently and conserve resources. In addition, there is a steering committee for Fraport health management, where Group and sector-related health measures are discussed, and decisions are made.

Preventing accidents at work remains an issue of great importance in the Fraport Group. For the LTIF indicator, which is calculated based on the number of accidents at work (from the first day of absence) in relation to the hours worked (in millions), the objective is to reach a value of 22.5 by 2025. The Group LTIF increased to 22.6 in the 2022 reporting year (previous year: 20.3). The rise is primarily attributed to the increased volume of traffic compared to 2021, and the associated decrease in short-time working rates.

Over the past year, many employees have continued to work from home. A questionnaire with the requirements for an ergonomic working area in a home office was integrated into the assignment process for mobile working. Fraport Health Management has expanded its digital health offers. In summer 2022, licenses for a health application were purchased for any interested Fraport AG employees. Offering useful tips for your daily routine, both in the office and at home, the app helps you to take care of yourself and stay healthy. Four digital newsletters address seasonal health issues on a quarterly basis.

Screenings for skin and bowel cancer were offered at the Frankfurt site as well as workshops for apprentices to increase awareness of health issues. Company sport has been gradually structured and expanded. At this year’s European Company Sport Games in Arnheim, Netherlands, which saw company sport teams come together from all over Europe, the Frankfurt site was represented by 39 sportsmen and women. They won four gold medals and one silver medal in the disciplines of football, darts, and orienteering.

It is important that a high level of occupational safety standards is maintained when handling dangerous goods, in Ground Services’ operations, in maintenance, in internal transport and traffic, and during infrastructure construction activities. In addition to basic and recurring training programs focusing on various workplaces for all employees and executives, special driver safety training is offered to employees whose work involves driving. Targeted and temporary measures and projects are intended above all to raise employee awareness of safe conduct in operational sections.

Different programs to promote health in the workplace, and training courses on the issue of occupational safety have been implemented at the international Group companies. Vaccination has also been offered at airports in Slovenia and Greece.

Performance indicator – LTIF in the Group, sickness rate in the Group in Germany, and in Fraport AG (see also the “Control system” and “Non-financial performance indicators” chapters).