APC 2012 Annual Report Download - page 81

2012 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC 79
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
2
COMMITTED TO AND ON BEHALF OFEMPLOYEES
Disability (France)
Schneider Electric focuses on training and adapting workstations to
foster the independence of employees with a disability and to ensure
that all are accorded the same opportunities to succeed. Schneider
Electric is committed to ensuring maximum independence for
employees by adapting the organisation and workstations and
providing access to the best technologies available to compensate
for their disabilities. Schneider Electric also works on preventing
disabling situations.
All its teams cooperate to change behavior, improve practices, and
involve all personnel in actively providing equal opportunities for the
disabled:
•the Recruitment and Mobility Unit utilizes partner fi rms and
monitors compliance with equal treatment at all stages of the
recruitment process;
•the Occupational Health Department is responsible for
preventing individual and group disabling situations (ergonomics,
desktop adaptation, musculoskeletal risks…), retaining disabled
employees and disability compensation;
•the Purchasing Department specifi es its requirements to
temporary employment agencies and ensures compliance
with commitments in terms of subcontracting to the protected
employment sector.
Schneider Electric subcontracts to the Établissements et Services
d’Aide par le Travail (ESAT – Assistance through Employment Entities
and Services) for industrial work, landscaping services, catering and
seminars. In Europe, the amount subcontracted to the protected
employment sector represents EUR40 million in 2012, including:
EUR16 million in France, EUR10.5 million in Spain, EUR4 million
in other Western Europe countries and EUR9.5million in Eastern
Europe (Czech Republic and Hungary).
Schneider Electric signed its ninth Disability Agreement in France
in December 2012. The three-year Agreement is directed and
promoted globally and throughout the country through a network
of internal and external members (Purchasing Department,
Employment Management Department, Occupational Health
Department, Communication Department, corporate partners and
specialist agencies) with local rollout by “DisabilityOffi cers”.
In France, Schneider Electric recruits through work-study
programs for positions that are predominantly technical, and also
for service sector positions ranging from the Certifi cat d’Aptitude
Professionnelle (skills training certifi cate) to engineering degree
level. The Company aims at recruiting 20persons with disabilities
each year: 15 on work-study contracts (learning and/or professional
development) and fi ve persons on a fi xed-term contract.
In 2012, 14  people with disabilities were recruited on work-
study contracts and 3 on permanent contracts. In all, employees
with disabilities accounted for 6.05 % of employment at
Schneider Electric in France in 2012, 2.89 % of these in indirect
employment (subcontracting to the protected sector) and 3.16 %
in direct employment. The mobilization of internal actors and the
co-creation of projects led to an improvement of practices; thus,
the objective of 6% set by the law was reached for the third year
in a raw.
Schneider Electric in2012 committed to a voluntary approach within
the scope of the disability agreement to improve all of its industrial
and tertiary establishments in France and make them accessible. In
compliance with the French law of2005 promoting the principal of
equal access to all and for all, the program anticipates:
•carrying out an assessment of the situation on existing sites;
•ensuring compliance with legislation and going beyond;
•anticipating future construction and renovation projects;
•making expert occupations more professional in terms of
disability access;
•constantly working for improvement using a measurement
indicator: the accessibility index.
This project covered 25establishments in2011 and 32 entered the
program in2012.
Generational diversity (France)
Within the scope of the agreement on seniors, SchneiderElectric
has implemented an interview for the second half of a career called:
“The Outlook Meeting”.
This is a voluntary meeting for employees on their 45thbirthday.
The Outlook Meeting takes place in two stages:
•an outlook stage with an Apec consultant (Management
Employment Agency) that aims to help the employee to plan for
the second half of their career;
•a consolidation stage with their manager to validate the
professional development pathways they have taken and to
implement an individual action plan.
More than 450 employees have had an Outlook Meeting, 73%
would recommend the meeting to their colleagues.
In addition to this action plan dedicated to employability development,
Schneider Electric decided to strengthen its recruitment of young
people after their Apprenticeship. This strategy aims to match with
two ambitions: balance our age pyramid to better face the coming
challenges and create effi cient collaboration between generations
by sharing knowledge, skills and experiences.