Social responsibility

Proof of the empoyees commitment to the Group’s objectives and the vitality of a corporate culture built up throughout a company’s history filled with many different challenges, employee turnover has always been very low since Eurotunnel’s launch. One natural consequence of thsi fundamental asset is that many of the empoyees who started work here 25 to 30 years ago will start to retire from 2020 and subsequent years. Getlink has been preparing for this situation for many years by focusing its recruitment policy on rejuvenating its workforce whilst facilitating the transfer of skills. Apprenticeship schemes, professional contracts and International voluntary internships (VIE) are routinely used to allow for progressive integration and training.

Getlink’s remuneration policy offers a wide variety of individual increases, bonuses based on individual performance, incentives for collective performance, and saving plans that are supplemented by the company. Employees using the schemes reinvest these savings in Getlink shares, highlighting both their confidence in the Group’s outlook and the extend to which their personal interests meet those of their professional community.

Employees under French legislation are also able to benefit from a Group Savings Plan (PEG), featuring a mutual fund into which payments are supplemented by the company. They can also benefit from a Collective Retirement Savings Plan (PERCO) which aims to increase employee savings based on capitalisation. Employees subject to UK employment law have been able to use a sytem similar to the French PEG, known as a Share incentive Plan (SIP), to which more than 63% of eligible employees have already subscribed.

Since 2011, all Getlink employees present since the launch of the programme, with the exception of senior executives, have received a total of 1,260 free shares (as at end of 2020). This proactive policy associating employees wit the performance of the business, combined with other incentives has led to an increase in the employee share ownership in the Group’s capital. Both the SIP and the PEG can be boosted b yshares received as part of the free share award programme.

Diversity and social mix are a real source of prosperity, modernity and innovation for Getlink. The Groups is very vigilant to any form of discrimination, whether relating to age, sex, ethnic origin, political opinions or union activities. The sole valid criteria that the Group recognises are each person’s professional qualities, qualifications and skills.Professional equality between men and women is an important lever in the Group’s diversity policy. Its adherence to the principles of gender equality is reflected i nthe application of an equal opportunities policy in recruitment, access to training, remuneration and promotion, and by signing agreements within subsidiaries in favour of workplace gender equality.

Digital tools are used to help develop everyone’s employability, and to uncover and promote talent. The cornerstone of the digital overhaul of human resource management processes is the Success factor software package. This is already used to process the data collected during the annual executive performance reviews for Getlink and Eurotunel’s workforce. Everyone can now access the MyDev application on the intranet, where the contents of the performance review can be found, as well as the milestone review held with their manager.. They can also develop their profile, adding any new skills acquired during the year.

Getlink has also develop this programme by integrating all the digital HR tools to form a largely automated package, from the online Job Board and digital recruitment applications to career and skills management or annual reviews.