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Widely differing labor laws as well as family policies and health systems can be found in the various countries in
which RBI operates. In order to offer employees more options for reconciling work and family life, as well as for
a good work-life balance, the network banks provide a range of supplemental offers tailored to local needs and
possibilities. The initiatives shown below demonstrate how these have contributed to supporting the SDG goals 5
and 8 (for SDGs, see also pages 25–26).
Central Europe (CE)
The program “Family is important to us” has been in place at Raiffeisen Polbank for a number of years. Among
other things, this program offers mothers and fathers of newborn children the chance to individually adjust their
working hours as well the opportunity to make use of work tools (computer, mobile telephone) during parental
leave. It also includes health services for the entire family and three additional days of paid vacation for fathers in
the first month after the birth of a child. A new program was introduced for this in 2016 which makes flexible
working hours possible for other employee groups as well. The starting point for this was the relocation of the
head office. A social fund makes it possible to support employees in crisis situations. This can take the form of
financial help or granting time off. The bank also has an anti-discrimination policy (“Transparentny Bank”). Every
employee can report discrimination or similar misconduct directly to the HR department or via other, defined
communication channels. The employees can rely on complete confidentiality.
An important building block for a good work-life balance at Tatra banka, a.s. in Slovakia is the principle of using
annual vacation time within the calendar year, instead of putting it off; this ensures more time off and more regular
opportunities for relaxation. There is also an option to prevent the risk of burnout by taking a longer and partially
paid leave.
In the newly launched home office project, first steps are being taken toward creating a work culture that is more
viable for the future by offering the possibility of a home office workplace.
Raiffeisenbank a.s. in Prague became the first Czech company to establish a company kindergarten, called
ŽIRAiFKA. This has been operating successfully for eight years now and had 69 children of employees enrolled
in 2017. In this way, the bank helps employees returning from maternity leave, since very few spaces are available
for young children in public kindergartens. The bank bears 70 percent of the costs and the employees pay the
rest. Employees who live outside of Prague are assisted on their return from maternity leave with a financial subsidy
toward kindergarten costs.
Since 2013, employees of Raiffeisenbank a.s. have participated in the diversity program “Odyssey Leadership.”
This company-wide diversity program is aimed at talented female managers from across the Czech Republic and
lasts for ten months. In 2017, the program was conducted with 35 participants from all over the Czech Republic.
There are currently two programs consisting of a basic module and an advanced module. Two female managers
were nominated for the basic program and two for the advanced module by Raiffeisenbank a.s. in Prague in
2017. The goal is to support female managers at Raiffeisenbank in multiple areas: effective management style, increased
self-confidence and courage, as well as expanding their networks to include other women with similar
interests in the Czech business community. The program has been very well received and the majority of participants
found it to be very useful and supportive in change processes. The overriding goal of Odyssey is to increase the
number of female managers at the top of the company.
The project for creating teleworking jobs at Raiffeisen Bank Zrt. in Hungary was continued in order to establish
more of the necessary infrastructure. This should allow a larger number of employees to be given the option of
teleworking. Employees will also be offered more flexible working conditions through part-time work. If it can be
reconciled with their work commitments, employees may be able to adjust their working hours to suit their personal
needs (with permission from their supervisor). The possibility of part-time work is basically available to all employees.
This option is increasingly popular, especially with employees returning from parental leave. Assistance aimed at
supporting and promoting families and children also includes an additional five days of special leave, which
fathers are given upon the birth of a child. The bank also makes childcare available to employees who work on
Saturday.
Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2017