The audit of the corporate system of wages and benefits with special regard to equity of rights.

Running operations with full respect to the legal environment is fundamental to our company. Hence no employee is entitled to a lower salary than the minimal wage by law. However minimal wage might not be sufficient to cover the basic needs of a decent life. Therefore in course of an internal audit we made a full analysis on the proportion, the job category and the extent of the lowest salaries within the company. We concluded that 3% of our colleagues were affected by the matter. Operating just in line with regulations did not meet our internal ethical commitments and policies. Hence, in cooperation with the Trade Union we decided to implement a new salary category, called a company based minimum wage. It defines the minimum salary that can be attributed to a colleague. This amount is higher than the minimal wage by law, it is currently at 150.000 HUF (gross) per month and is revised regularly at the annual wage increase calibration by the HR department. No one can earn below this amount, which together with the annual cafeteria sum, higher than the industry average, enables our colleagues to cover the basic needs of a decent life. The measure acts as an internal policy, but is also a mean for generating a cultural change.

Increasing the minimal wages at our company led to instant cost increases as well. However instead of looking at costs, we consider this measure as a social investment. It is not easy to monetise the impact of the company based minimum wage policy, but the effects are tangible. Our relationship with labour advocacy organisations has improved significantly. The working climate, the commitment of our colleagues along with the moral and performance have all improved. We managed to develop among our colleagues a sense of being part of a strong community and also indirectly we have positively contributed to our employer brand. The measure had direct impact on appr. 3% of our colleagues, however the extended effects are visible at almost 100% of them.