Together4integrity

Negligence halts production

Adhering to the rules protects all the employees

P

t is absolutely essential for the VW Group that the company, its employees and business partners not be harmed. This can only be ensured if everyone behaves fairly, complies with the legal regulations and keeps in mind that the customer always plays a key role. Once every six months, the VW Group publishes its figures on rule violations and imposed sanctions. One example of such a transgression in one of the Group companies follows below.

Unauthorised grilling

Even a small breach can have serious consequences and cause the employer to impose sanctions. A group of employees learned about this first-hand, as they decided to organise a barbecue in the middle of one of the VW Group’s production plants. Although such an event can strengthen the team, it also breaks the rules because having an open fire on Group premises poses a security risk and is, therefore, prohibited. In addition, the smoke from the grill triggered a fire alarm followed by an immediate evacuation of the plant and firefighters being called. As a result, the unauthorised grilling temporarily halted production, and the plant was unable to meet the planned production level. The offenders were subjected to a verbal formal warning and fine. ED

Torsten Starke

Head of Fire Prevention at the VW Group 

Open flames or any use of personal electrical equipment can cause a fire and endanger the lives of our colleagues. Therefore, both of these activities are prohibited without the express consent of the Occupational Health and Safety department or the local fire protection organisation.

The Group’s instructions are summarised in the Plant Security Brochure.

Current Statistics

In the first six months of 2020, the VW Group issued 1,194 reprimands and written warnings in 62 companies with more than 1,000 employees each. These companies, including ŠKODA AUTO, have a total of approximately 477,000 employees. Because of their illegal behaviour, 317 were laid off for the following reasons:

123 

NON-OBSERVANCE OF WORKING HOURS (E.G. UNAUTHORISED ABSENCES)

43

TORT/FRAUD, INCLUDING INCITEMENT

40

OTHER VIOLATIONS OF LABOUR LAW REGULATIONS (E.G. CODE OF ETHICS, TRAFFIC REGULATIONS)

33

VIOLATION OF THE BAN ON ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE

30

NON-FULFILMENT OF WORK DUTIES

17

DISRUPTION OF THE WORK ENVIRONMENT (E.G. ASSAULT, THREATENING BEHAVIOUR OR RUDE SPEECH)

11

VIOLATION OF THE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS

10

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

4

DISCRIMINATION, BULLYING, PERSECUTION

3

VIOLATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION AND CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS

2

DAMAGE TO THE COMPANY’S REPUTATION OR UNAUTHORISED SECONDARY GAINFUL ACTIVITY

1

Acceptance of disproportionate advantage, corruption, conflict of interest (e.g. misuse of confidential information)