Own workforce

ESRS SBM-3

STRABAG’s success is built on the hard work and commitment of our dedicated employees. In the following, we report on the material impacts, risks and opportunities identified with regard to our own workforce in the areas of occupational safety and health, human rights and human resource development. Industry-specific characteristics, such as the use of heavy equipment and tools, as well as the exposure of 50,570 blue-collar workers (58% of STRABAG’s total workforce) to wind and weather, require a particular focus on occupational safety at our construction sites to avoid work-related accidents and ill health. Our adherence to Group-wide standards and the high collective bargaining coverage of our workforce ensure that all work at STRABAG is carried out under humane and fair conditions – both by our blue-collar workers on the construction sites as well as by the white-collar employees working in our office locations. STRABAG does not employ any external labour in its own workforce.

The range of services offered, along with the pace of technological progress, requires the use of numerous different skills and job profiles. As skilled labour becomes increasingly scarce, STRABAG is committed to strengthening employee retention and, above all, to attracting and retaining bright minds by offering opportunities for strategic training and skills development and fostering a diverse work environment.

We use the materiality assessment to consider and evaluate the negative and positive impacts on our own workforce as well as risks and opportunities with different areas of responsibility as a whole. The assessment allows us to identify material opportunities and risks in a qualitative manner, creating a basis for the future implementation of a resilience analysis for this topic as a way of further specify the financial impacts on the business model. Due to the thematic diversity involved, the implementation of appropriate actions to manage these impacts, along with our due diligence obligations, extends across various operating divisions within the Group. As these actions are an integral part of our ongoing daily business, it is not possible to say exactly which financial resources are allocated to the actions described in this chapter.

Reporting by the individual divisions to the Management Board enables the highest management level to monitor the issues described above. The Management Board also bears responsibility for human rights in this regard.

Human rights as an overarching topic

As an international technology group for construction services, we take responsibility for protecting human rights within our corporate sphere of influence. Due to the fragmented and complex supply and value chains, risks arise that we have to counter with foresight. Respect for human rights extends to three stakeholder groups: our own workforce, workers in the value chain and affected communities. Our Social Compliance Management System and the associated actions cover all three of these stakeholder groups, which are therefore addressed in general in the section Our social responsibility and in more detail in the three chapters Own workforce, Workers in the value chain and Affected communities.

ESRS S1-1

Our Policy on Employment Conditions and Human Rights, which covers the topics of employment conditions, human rights and diversity, is also explained in more detail in the chapter Our social responsibility. The policy applies to all three stakeholder groups. Other policies and guidelines that specifically concern our own workforce are listed in this chapter. The Group Directives described have been approved by the STRABAG SE Management Board.

In the event of a violation, remedy is provided. This includes, first and foremost, putting a stop to the violation, planning the necessary actions and initiatives on a case-by-case basis and, if no other solution can be found, taking further consequences such as disciplinary action. Compensation can also be provided. Restitution payments are used on a case-by-case basis, with the amount and scope reviewed and adjusted depending on the incident.

ESRS S1-2

STRABAG uses various channels and pursues a range of formats to enable and promote a respectful dialogue and exchange with our employees. These include the annual appraisal interviews, exit interviews conducted when an employee leaves the company, and the involvement of employees as needed in the processing of workplace accidents. There is no overarching structured process for ongoing engagement with the company’s own workforce that goes beyond this. In principle, employees can take their concerns to their respective supervisors, regional works councils and ombudspersons. In 2024, we redesigned our intranet, creating the technical capability for commenting on posts as a way to encourage dialogue among our workforce.

ESRS S1-3

At STRABAG, there are several points of contact and channels through which employees can express their concerns, including anonymously. The ombudsperson and whistleblower platform are the central points of contact, in addition to the works councils and the Human Rights Officer. This ensures that employee concerns and potential misconduct are systematically documented and investigated, and that appropriate remedy is provided. Remedy is determined on an individual basis and evaluated as part of the effectiveness reviews by the Social Compliance Management System.

The ombudsperson system offers a confidential point of contact for internal conflicts, cases of discrimination and personal hardship. The ombudspersons act as impartial mediators to support employees in finding solutions to their problems. Employees can either contact the ombudspersons directly or submit a report anonymously via the whistleblower platform. The ultimate responsibility for finding a solution lies with the persons concerned, while the ombudspersons accompany and support this process.

Another important channel of communication is the STRABAG whistleblower platform, which offers employees the opportunity to report their concerns anonymously. The platform can be used to report potential misconduct in the categories of discrimination, human rights and working conditions, as well as occupational health and safety. Incidents related to the company’s own workforce that were received in 2024 are explained in a separate section of this chapter.

The works council plays a central role in safeguarding employee interests. STRABAG SE has a corporate works council that is represented on the Supervisory Board of STRABAG SE and champions the interests of employees throughout the Group. Other works councils are the country- and business-specific works councils. STRABAG respects the principle of freedom of assembly and free participation in trade unions as well as free participation in works councils in accordance with local legislation.

The Human Rights Officer acts independently and is available as a confidential point of contact for employees to report concerns or violations related to human rights. She investigates the concerns for potential violations and, if necessary, initiates the process for providing remedy. In addition, all reports, even if they do not constitute a violation, are included in the human rights risk assessment.

Policies, actions and targets

ESRS S1-1, ESRS S1-2, ESRS S1-3, ESRS S1-4, ESRS S1-5

Occupational safety and health

The STRABAG Group is certified to ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) and is regularly audited internally and externally in this regard. An obligation to comply with this standard is laid out in an HSW Group Directive that applies to all employees within the Group as well as to our external contractors. The directive defines corporate-wide minimum standards for occupational safety and health to avoid accident and health risks in the workplace, including the standardisation of organisational structures, accident reporting processes, accident investigations and personal protective equipment as well as the assignment of responsibilities.

The central staff division Health Safety Wellbeing (HSW) brings together the areas of occupational safety, health and health promotion for all of STRABAG’s site workers and office employees. The head of the central staff division reports directly to the CEO. A Group-wide accountability structure ensures the regular exchange and continuous development of these topics:

• HSW Group Committee (meets once a year)
• HSW National Committee (meets once a year in each country)
• Subdivision Occupational Safety Committee (meets at least once a year)
• Knowledge sharing with the HSW national representatives (once a month)

The committees consist of employer representatives and prevention experts as well as employees from various corporate levels. Employees have the opportunity to register relevant topics through the occupational safety specialist and/or the works council as their representative, which are then dealt with by the above-mentioned bodies, depending on the extent to which they affect  employees. Country-specific requirements regarding the composition or frequency of meetings are taken into account with regard to the committees’ work in each respective country. The management is responsible for convening and conducting the meetings.

To better reflect the STRABAG Group’s broad positioning, an accident frequency rate (number of work-related accidents per million hours worked) below 35 has been defined as an absolute limit for all subdivisions and corporate entities. This benchmark was introduced across all countries with the HSW country safety managers, agreed with the works council and ultimately approved by the STRABAG SE Management Board.

To continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of the occupational safety organisation, occupational health and safety management systems (ISO 45001, Safety Certificate Contractors) have been implemented and certified throughout the group. Occupational health services are guaranteed in accordance with the respective legal requirements in the EU countries where we operate. Compliance is also ensured with the EU’s OSH Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, which precisely defines the requirements and basic principles for prevention and risk assessment as well as the obligations of employers and employees with regard to occupational safety.

To maintain safe working conditions, risk assessments are carried out for each area of work to derive relevant protective measures, rescue concepts and corresponding training and instruction needs. This evaluation is carried out for employees at all levels. In this context, own employees and those of external companies are treated equally and are jointly required to responsibly implement the derived protective measures in their own area of work.

The HSW inspection pyramid commits our leaders at all levels to monitor compliance with the protective measures. An inspection form, which varies depending on the area of work and risk assessment, is used to document the HSW inspections.

Serious accidents are thoroughly investigated, if possible and necessary with the persons involved in the accident themselves. An accident analysis sheet is used as a standardised template to systematically document and process a work-related accident. If a cross-organisational learning effect can be derived from the analysis of work-related accidents, an anonymised lessons-learned report is created. A lessons-learned report must always be created for life-threatening and fatal work-related accidents and submitted to the HSW country representative for further communication to the construction sites in order to develop specific prevention initiatives. Reports on analysed accidents are made available to employees through publication on the intranet and on noticeboards at the construction sites. Health actions to prevent work-related ill health are also derived from the anonymised metrics provided by the accident insurance providers. Recognised occupational illnesses include skin diseases, back pain, hearing loss and asbestosis.

In the 2024 reporting year, we further pursued the centralised procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE). Personal protective equipment minimises the risk of injuries and work-related accidents by protecting employees from specific hazards in the workplace, making PPE a crucial addition to our technical and organisational safety measures. STRABAG aims to harmonise and standardise the procurement of PPE within the Group by rolling out a central purchasing platform and providing training on proper use and care. These actions ensure that all employees are provided with high-quality protective equipment that meets the required standards and is used correctly. The target is to achieve a maximum maverick buying rate (the unauthorised purchase of goods or services outside of the established procurement guidelines) of 10% by 2028. The target was developed in consultation with and ultimately approved by the STRABAG SE Management Board. In the year under review, the maverick buying rate fell to 40.5% (2023: 49.1%). The rate is calculated on the basis of a Group-wide central cost account where PPE purchases are booked centrally. Any booked purchases that are not made through approved PPE partners are classified as maverick buying.

Another important action that was continued in 2024 is the centralised collection and storage of accident and occupational safety data on an HSW platform. Bundling our HSW statistics and documents (e.g. inspection forms, accident analyses) on a central platform will make it easier to evaluate and manage HSW-related topics in a targeted manner within the Group. In the reporting year, requirements from various operating divisions were collected and a proof of concept was carried out. Technical implementation on the HSW platform and a test and pilot phase are planned for 2025, with Group-wide roll-out of the platform scheduled in 2026.

Strategic human resource development

Creating attractive working conditions involves much more than merely implementing occupational safety measures. Our goal is clear: As a leading construction technology company, we want to be an attractive employer for all people. To counteract the shortage of skilled workers and the loss of qualified personnel, our focus is on recruiting, training and appreciation. Only by supporting our workforce and taking their needs into account can we ensure employee satisfaction and provide our services on time and to the required quality.

The Group Directive on People & Culture Development summarises the structures and processes in the area of People & Culture. It covers all phases of the candidate and employee journey at STRABAG, starting with initiatives to attract personnel to actions designed to retain our employees to defined processes that are applied when employees transition internally or leave the company. The directive also includes a guideline for promoting internal employee mobility as a way of increasing the permeability of employees within the Group and improving employee retention by highlighting opportunities for further development in other corporate entities.

The central division People & Culture Development (P&C DEV) is a Group-wide organisational entity tasked with supporting STRABAG’s strategy and goals in human resource matters. To ensure successful implementation, the central division develops all guidelines and standards for the search, selection, qualification, promotion and development of employees at all levels.

In addition to a career as a line manager, which focuses on general day-to-day operations, two further career paths are also available at STRABAG: expert careers and project management. Experts have a high degree of professional specialisation in a specific field. Project managers possess many years of experience in project management and are responsible for complex construction projects.

The material impacts, risks and opportunities related to human resource topics are reflected in the “People” pillar of our corporate strategy, which includes the goal of increasing employee retention by 6% year-on-year. This target was actively developed by P&C partners and company leaders. Various discussion formats were used to explore the concept of employee retention, collect feedback, make adjustments and precisely formulate the target for approval by the STRABAG SE Management Board. Employee retention is calculated as the inverse of the turnover rate. In 2024, we achieved an employee retention of 5.2 (2023: 5.5), falling just short of the target of 5.8.

In the face of ongoing demographic trends and changing qualification requirements, STRABAG is working on a variety of actions to further strengthen employee retention and ensure that the Group has sufficient young talent with the best possible qualifications. These actions are not time-bound, as this is a long-term undertaking.

Our key priority initiatives include the recruitment and training of specialists as well as strategic human resource planning. The focus of the project work to date has been on conceptual planning and strategic preparation, which has laid the first important foundations for further developing the initiatives according to their priority relevance. To achieve the goal of employee retention, actions to support the implementation of successful employee appraisal interviews were introduced in 2024. A Group Directive requires an employee appraisal to be conducted at least once a year, including a digital recording and documentation of the interview content. The appraisal interview is an opportunity to give and receive mutual feedback and to show employees prospects for further development and, in this respect, is an important tool for positively influencing employee retention. In 2024, we launched a new e-learning course on how to properly assess employee skills, with corresponding teaching content included in leadership training as a way to better prepare our company’s leaders for the interview situation. The e-learning course is open to all employees of the Group. By 31 December 2024, the course had been completed by 48.5% of STRABAG’s leadership employees.

An individual development plan is defined during the employee appraisal, which can comprise various actions depending on the further development needs and skills. Examples are traditional training formats, coaching and mentoring, participation in development centres to prepare potential candidates for new roles, and job rotation to gain insights into other fields. Working on the basis of our Strategy 2030, the central division P&C DEV developed a series of P&C focus topics together with the divisions that were then approved by the Management Board. A target was defined in this process, requiring a development plan for 30% of white-collar (salaried) employees. In 2024, a development plan existed for around 20% of salaried employees. The evaluation of development plans according to different actions is being considered for the future to be able to evaluate their need and effectiveness in a more structured way.

Employees who leave the company of their own accord are offered the possibility to engage in an exit interview. The insights gained from these interviews also serve to identify actions to improve our human resource development processes. To increase the response rate, the process will be rolled out in digital form starting in 2025, with a questionnaire sent to departing employees. This will also allow the results to be evaluated anonymously, if desired.

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

In addition to the strategic development of our workforce, we have also identified an inclusive and diverse working environment as a material factor for STRABAG’s success, incorporating this into our corporate strategy within the action area Inclusive Leadership@STRABAG. We summarise our understanding of diversity under the term Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).

Our Policy on Employment Conditions and Human Rights calls on STRABAG’s management and all employees to combat all forms of discrimination and to promote equal opportunities regardless of skin colour, nationality, ethnic origin, social background, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability or age.

• Annual increase of 6% in the percentage of women in management (Management Level 0–2) by 2030: The aim is to achieve the same percentage of women in management as in the Group as a whole. The annual increase of 6% was achieved in 2024.
• Gender pay gap of 0 by 2030: The value is determined annually and calculated as an average across all employees in the Group, regardless of their role. The figure is influenced, among other things, by the low percentage of women in technical professions and in management positions, which is common in the industry. For this reason, there are no annual targets for the period up to 2030.
• Mandatory e-learning course on equality, diversity and inclusion for all STRABAG leadership employees (Management Levels 0–4): Roll-out of the e-learning course began in November 2024, with a completion rate of just under 42% at 31 December 2024. Roll-out of the e-learning course translated into a further nine languages is planned for the first half of 2025. The course is open to all Group employees.

The EDI team is working on further awareness-raising actions for the structured treatment of the three priority EDI dimensions of gender justice, generational diversity and ethnic diversity. The actions include the increased inclusion and integration of EDI in training courses and in existing processes in human resource development. We also established the Female Leaders@STRABAG programme in 2024 to connect women leaders across the Group and to promote their personal development through mentoring and coaching. The programme was launched in March 2025.

Metrics

Characteristics of own workforce

ESRS S1-6

All employee figures were determined by including all associated Group companies and represent annual average values. The information required to generate the metrics was taken from the HR master data of the ERP system at Group headquarters as well as from organisational entities with other ERP systems through standardised monthly reporting. All employees with a valid employment contract were included.

In 2024, STRABAG employed a total of 86,883 people. Of these, 50,570 were blue-collar (wage-earning) workers and 36,313 were white-collar (salaried) workers. The number of employees in FTE is 78,174 (in line with the information in the notes to the consolidated financial statements). 3,238 employees (FTE) are attributable to subsidiaries and affiliated companies that are not included in the scope of full consolidation.

Number of employees by gender (head count)

Number of employees by country (head count)

Number of employees by gender and employment contract (head count)

Departures 

Collective bargaining coverage and social dialogue

ESRS S1-8

A total of 95% of STRABAG employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

Diversity metrics

ESRS S1-9

Adequate wages

ESRS S1-10

All STRABAG employees receive adequate wages in line with applicable benchmarks as stated in ESRS Disclosure Requirement S1-10.

Training and skills development metrics

ESRS S1-13

The different rates for appraisal interviews at STRABAG result from the use of different reference values. While the appraisals for salaried employees are systematically assigned and recorded via internal IT systems, this does not happen automatically for hourly workers due to the limited technical integration of the latter into the IT systems. This results in a different calculation basis for the respective rates cited.

Health and safety metrics

ESRS S1-14

No cases of work-related illness were reported at STRABAG in the reporting year. Based on the evaluations of health insurance companies and employers’ liability insurance associations, as well as sick leave reports, only generic information on work-related illnesses can be provided.

Remuneration metrics

ESRS S1-16

Human rights incidents

ESRS S1-17