On our employees

Fair working conditions are highly important to RTL Group. Our business is a people business; our employees’ creativity and motivation are key to success, and a culture of pioneering and innovation can only thrive based on fair working conditions. In line with our decentralised structure, local management teams implement their own programmes to suit their business needs and local laws. Here are some examples:
 

Flexible life planning with the value account at Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland

Everyone has goals and dreams in life, and Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland plays a role in helping its employees make their own ideas and dreams come true. With the flexible, life-planning tool ‘Wertkonto’ [value account], employees can set aside part of their salary to an interest-bearing account. With the accumulating deposit, and subsidies provided by the company, employees can choose to finance an early retirement, caring plans, sabbatical leave or occupational training opportunities.
 

Employee Survey

The employee survey we conduct every three years is a Group-wide initiative. It aims to generate improvements throughout the Group – particularly at local level – and ensure employees have their say. By completing the questionnaire, available in 16 languages, each employee can express an opinion anonymously. A key area in this survey is working conditions. In recent years, participation in the survey has steadily increased. The latest survey was in 2016; the participation rate remained very high once again, with 84.4 per cent of RTL Group employees taking part. Here are some results from the 2016 survey:

Profit-sharing at Groupe M6

Groupe M6 has opened three profit-sharing agreements for its businesses Groupe M6, the Ventadis division, and Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux. In 2016, 2,166 employees benefited from a total of €7.5 million. In addition, there is a bonus scheme for the core Groupe M6, where everyone employed throughout 2015 received €640 in 2016. Groupe M6 offers its employees a savings plan, managed by a third party, where they can deposit part of their salary, bonuses and profit-shares, as well as a Groupe M6 contribution, which in 2016 amounted to €9.8 million across the Group. Employees can receive dividends and choose the savings plan best suited to their needs.

Profit-sharing at Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland

In 2015, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland offered its 2,500 employees a profit-share of €15 million. Based on financial success, the company distributed – for the fifth time in succession – the maximum amount of one and a half month’s salary for every employee who’d worked for the company for at least two years. Since 1992, company employees have received €180 million of incentive payments which had been saved up, with interest paid, to be distributed when they reach the age of 60.

Medical check-ups at RTL Nederland

RTL Nederland offers several initiatives to promote wellbeing and health for its employees, including regular medical check-ups for those working in specific positions, and yearly wellness check-ups for all employees.

Freelancers and contract workers

To attract certain skills for specific short-term projects, we often contract freelancers in compliance with local statutory conditions. Often this is to staff productions made over fixed time periods, where people wish to move on to another production afterwards, or where skills are not available other than through freelancers. We ensure the terms and conditions of freelance work are consistent with market practices, as befits our aim to be an attractive employer.

 

European Works Council In addition to each local employee representation, in 2001, RTL Group established a European Works Council (EWC) based on a voluntary agreement. The EWC consists of representatives from RTL Group’s local works councils in the EU. It maintains an open dialogue with RTL Group management to address cross-border employment issues, and to represent employee interests at the top level of the company. Members of the EWC at the premises of the parent company Bertelsmann The EWC and the Senior Management team meet twice a year. According to the current voluntary agreement, these meetings provide a platform for social dialogue and for consultation with employees. Kai Brettmann, Chairman of the EWC, says: “Our job is to remind employers of their responsibility towards employees. Certainly shareholders and the management aren't alone in their wish for a profitable company. The works councils want that as well: employees can only do well if the company is doing well.”