ÖBB Annual Report 2023

Group Management Report 94 Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft Consolidated Financial Statements | Group Management Report 49 “You are our potential“ is an internal awareness-raising initiative to increase the visibility of employees with visible and invisible disabilities and chronic illnesses, as well as raising awareness among managers and employees. The aim of this initiative is to facilitate participation and break down barriers. The campaign also aims to increase the proportion of employees with disabilities (degree of disability of ≥ 50%) from 2.7% (ÖBB domestic) to 4.0% as set out in the ÖBB Diversity Charter 2026. The campaign also aims to increase employee satisfaction. The aim is to make it easier to talk openly about disabilities and chronic illnesses and to create a barrier-free working environment. Communication takes place via news articles, postings on Viva Engage, screens and events. A new network for employees with disabilities was also established as part of the campaign. The new Diversity Council, which comprises of employees in the regions, ensures knowledge sharing across the organisation. The overall percentage of women in the ÖBB Group increased by 1.0% compared to the previous year’s reporting date and now stands at 16.1%. The percentage share of apprentices increased by 0.4% and is currently 18.9% (excl. foundation apprentices). 45.8% (59.4% excluding employee representatives) of the Supervisory Board mandates for the joint stock corporations were held by women, as of the reporting date. There has also been a 1.1% increase in managerial positions to 19.1% from 18.0% in the previous year. Women accounted for 42.0% of participants at the ÖBB academy training programs in 2023. An important factor of employer attractiveness is good compatibility of work and private life. This topic is also part of the ÖBB Equal Opportunities Policy. Among other aspects, it provides for specific measures to promote the reconciliation of work and private life. These include childcare throughout Austria during holidays and on national holidays, or kindergartens close to the workplace. Other measures include Nannies4ÖBB-Kids and the RailMap*Reconciliation of work and private life, an information portal on maternity leave, care and ÖBB’s reconciliation offers. In addition, the digital platform for care and support counselling “Alles Clara“ supports ÖBB employees in caring for close relatives. In 2023, a Group-wide work-life balance strategy – with a focus on childcare in the area – was endorsed. The regional childcare services offered throughout Austria were also expanded during the holidays and on public holidays. Employees with Disabilities Program (Disability Management) Another strategic goal is to continually increase the number of employees with special needs. The implementation of disability management at ÖBB-Holding AG marks a fundamental step towards the successful implementation of the “Employees with Disabilities“ program. This is accompanied by disability awareness training for managers and employees as well as training on accessible communication. The ÖBB Group’s team currently includes 662 employees with health- related disabilities whose degree of disability is over 50%. A specialist in disability management and accessibility at the workplace as well as the group’s disability liaison officers are available to provide personal support. Practical knowledge transfer has taken place since 2022 via webinars on topics such as accessible recruiting, inclusion management and accessible communication. The e-learning programme “Disability Management“ ensures a minimum level of qualification for managers and employees. In addition, further qualification offers were added to the ÖBB training catalogue in 2023. The further steps set out in the Charter for Inclusion have been implemented. The Action Plan 2026 was presented on 03.12.2021 and with it the implementation of measures to increase the proportion of employees with disabilities in the Group’s domestic operations was fixed. The basic measures include the “Inclusive Workplace” checklist for evaluating barrier-free and diversity-sensitive workplaces as well as the cooperation with the myability-jobbörse. These measures should help to ensure that as many people with a facilitated disability as possible apply for suitable jobs. In 2022 / 2023, inspections were conducted in selected railway bistros and at the Lassallestrasse site, digitally recorded and measures to improve accessibility in the workplace were derived. Also in 2023, a cooperation was entered into with specialists in order to recruit people in the neurodivergent spectrum for the ÖBB Group and to provide them with good support during the familiarisation period. In addition, another cooperation partner was found with “NEBA” (Netzwerk Berufliche Assistenz) in order to recruit people with disabilities for ÖBB and obtain advice in this area. | MR49