Here at Cathay, we value and cherish the unique value in each of our employees. We also firmly believe the foundation of our competitiveness lies within the differences between each individual employee. Cathay FHC compiled the "Cathay FHC Human Rights Policy" according to the UN's "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" and relevant initiatives to ensure that no individual is treated differently or discriminated against based on gender, sexual orientation, race, socioeconomic status, age, marriage and family status, language, religion, political affiliation, nationality, appearance, physical and mental disability, or other reasons. Cathay also recognizes the importance of genderfriendly mechanisms and has adopted measures and management mechanisms in excess of regulatory requirements to create a gender-friendly workplace.

 

Employee Composition and Diversity

Cathay FHC had 46,091 full-time employees and 369 part-time employees in 2022. Part-time employees account for 0.80% of all employees. We prioritize recruitment of local workforce and aim to recruit 85% local hires. A majority of our business locations are currently in Taiwan, where the local hiring rate is approximately 99%. We abide by labor regulations and have never engaged in child labor. Recruitment of foreign nationals complies with the Employment Service Act and Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers. For the number of employees by region, gender, and age, please refer to Table 12 in the Appendix. In 2022, Cathay FHC, CUB, Cathay Century, Cathay Securities, Cathay SITE, and Cathay Futures had 36 non-binary employees who disclosed their sexual preferences voluntarily.

Cathay also supports indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities, as well as their right to employment, and continues to provide employment opportunities through multiple channels. Indigenous employees enjoy "indigenous holiday leave" which provides them with one additional day of leave in accordance with special holidays for the tribe to which they belong. Cathay also provides accessible facilities in the workplace, and promotes workplace tolerance and inclusivity of diverse cultures through newsletters, seminars, and other events. For the number and percentage of indigenous and disabled employees, please refer to Table 13-1 in the Appendix. Lastly, Cathay is also concerned with the diversity of our employees and aims to hire locals at our global locations. Our employees come from a total of 13 countries spanning Mainland China, South East Asia, North America, and Europe. For the actual number and percentage of foreign employees, please refer to the attachment, Employee Nationality and Distribution_Workforce Breakdown, listed below.

Employee Nationality and Distribution_Workforce Breakdown  

Statistics of D&I Workplace

 

Southeast Asian Talent Development

Cathay is implementing various projects for talent internationalization and diversification. We are expanding into other countries, but also look forward to talent from different countries to become a part of Cathay, in order to achieve the goal of becoming the leading financial institution in the Asia Pacific. Cathay FHC's GMA (Global/Group Management Associate) project provides overseas job rotation opportunities. Among our two largest subsidiaries, Cathay Life implemented the VMMA Vietnam Office Reserve Talent Program and Vietnamese Actuarial MA Program, and CUB implemented the Southeast Asia Financial Market Pilot Program.

  

Building an Inclusive Workplace

Cathay's sustainability strategy blueprint focuses on diversity and inclusion, and deems a "workplace of diversity, equity & inclusion" as an important goal, so that diverse talents can unleash their potential and enhance our competitiveness. To support employee development at Cathay, we established the "Scrum Team," a diversity inclusion project. Through agile work methods, we conduct preliminary exploration and research for the project and consider internal and external trends and strategies from various angles. In the future, we shall continue with this framework and work with subsidiaries to meet demands and optimize the system. Through creating "a culture of diversity and tolerance," "a co-learning group for female empowerment," and "a flexibility program for employees to slow down but stay on board," Cathay constructs a diverse and inclusive workplace environment and atmosphere.

 

•Action Plan 1. Creating a Culture of Diversity and Tolerance

Cathay has a diverse workforce, so we continue to eliminate inequality through unconscious biases to construct a culture of diversity and tolerance. Cathay supports a workplace of equality and inclusion. To prevent workplace discrimination and harassment, we instituted the "Regulations for Establishing Measures of Prevention, Correction, Complaint and Punishment of Sexual Harassment at Workplace" and set up a dedicated sexual harassment mailbox and the Sexual Harassment Grievance and Investigation Committee to investigate reported instances of sexual harassment. If the report is deemed to be true, the accused will be subjected to disciplinary actions in accordance with company regulations, whilst the victim will receive all necessary care such as psychological counseling. Other colleagues will be asked to bolster their education and training on sexual harassment to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. In 2022, Cathay handled 7 incidents of sexual harassment or gender equality violation, 2 of which were dismissed due to lack of evidence, and the remainder handled accordingly. Cathay FHC has been included within the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index once again, earning near-perfect ratings in terms of equal pay & gender pay parity, inclusive culture, and anti-sexual harassment policies. We are especially supportive of gender pay parity, and we ensure equal remuneration standards for both genders in compliance with labor regulations. We believe in equal pay for equal work and strive to bridge the salary gap between men and women. For statistics on the number of women in management positions, as well as the gender pay gap, please refer to Table 16 and Table 17 in the Appendix.Cathay FHC values gender equality, and in terms of promotions, the Percentage of women total promotions in 2022 is 69%.

 

•Action Plan 2. Co-Learning Group for Female Empowerment

Cathay FHC values female empowerment in the workplace. Cathay is dedicated to cultivating female STEM talents by offering diverse educational resources, forging connections with external networks, and sponsoring the Society of Taiwan Women in Science and Technology (TWiST). For the ratio of women in STEM positions at Cathay, please refer to Table 16 in the Appendix.Percentage of women IT is 32% and percentage of women Engineering is 44%. In the future, Cathay will invite female role models to speak at internal seminars and share their career experiences, as well as their feminine resilience. We hope that this will help women in the workplace furnish bo th external network resources and connections.

 

•Action Plan 3. "Slow Down but Stay on Board" Family Support Measures

Cathay FHC has set up a "Slow Down but Stay on Board" task force to help employees come up with flexible work arrangements and support solutions to take care of their families. We hope that this means our employees can enjoy long-term career development and balance work and family obligations. For statistics on parental leave and family care, please refer to Tables 20 and 21 in the Appendix.

 

Milestones of External Recognition

 

Comprehensive Employee Benefits

Cathay FHC provides employee benefits in five aspects based on the concept of “Happy Tycoon”. Descriptions of important benefits and how to apply for them are available in a dedicated section of the employee website, so that employees can easily understand and enjoy the benefits.

 

Cathay Pregnancy Club

The Cathay Pregnancy Club has received good feedback. Besides giving gifts to pregnant employees, gifts for babies, and childbirth benefits, we also arranged a series of courses, family interactions, and professional consulting, and set up an exclusive website to provide employees with comprehensive care during pregnancy and after childbirth. Furthermore, Cathay not only provides male employees with 7 days of paternity leave, which is better than regulatory requirements, but also issued the Cathay Father-to-be Manual, encouraging couples to jointly take part in childcare. Fathers (-to-be) will be eligible for a gift if they complete designated childcare missions.

 

Long-term Incentives and Internal Job Rotation

Cathay provides competitive remuneration and refers to the market standard for salaries every year to stay competitive. We have again been included as a constituent stock within the Taiwan Stock Exchange's High Compensation 100 Index. We examine the salaries of all full-time office staff at Cathay once a year, and over the past four years, we've increased salaries by roughly 4% each year. To acknowledge senior employees for their long-term contribution, we established "Guidelines on Incentives for Senior Employees" to issue service bonuses for different years of service. Employees leaving due to retirement or termination of employment are entitled to receive retirement benefits and severance pay in accordance with the law. These benefits are provided to assist them in obtaining financial security afterward. Cathay also introduced an Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOT) program in 2022, allocating incentive funds and encouraging employees to make regular monthly investments through the trust to provide additional retirement security. During the last four cash capital increases (2016, 2018, 2019, and 2022), the company reserved 10% of the shares. These shares are allocated based on factors such as employee job levels, performance, and years of service, inviting colleagues to participate in the company's operations and share in the fruits of their labor. In 2022, the employee subscription rate reached 90%. The employee turnover please refer to Appendix Table 15 Employee Turnover Statistics. As the end o f 2022, Total employee turnover rate is 9.3%, voluntary employee turnover rate is 8.0%.

 

Mechanisms for Performance Evaluation

Cathay conducts annual performance reviews in accordance with the "Employee Performance Management and Development Guidelines" to ensure communication between employees and supervisors about work goals and career development plans. All full-time employees submit to performance evaluations. At the same time, Cathay set up the "Employee Performance Improvement Guidance Plan" to help supervisors come up with plans to assist employees who are lagging behind. Employees may file complaints if they want to dispute the results of the performance evaluations. The Admin Department then convenes a meeting to investigate the complaint, inviting the employee and supervisor in question to attend. Cathay FHC received no complaints in 2022. Also, all full-time Cathay employees submit to the 360 Degree Ability Feedback Mechanism. Diverse feedback is given across six major dimensions: learning ability, agility, communication, teamwork, problem analysis and resolution, and work management. Employees can better understand their own abilities and plan skills and learning goals for future career development, which connects to the IDPs (individual development plans). Cathay boosts productivity by helping employees fill in skill gaps. Types of Cathay FHC’s performance management appraisals please refers to the attachment, Type of Performance Appraisal, listed below.

Type of Performance Appraisal  

Employee Engagement Survey

Cathay FHC conducts Employee Engagement Survey every year and examines employee expectations according to quantitative feedback, sample interviews, focus questionnaires, etc. The five dimensions of the survey are corporate sustainability (CS), organizational commitment, employee happiness, leadership management, and overall job recognition. The survey is administered to Cathay FHC and its subsidiaries, with an over 80% completion rate in 2022 and an overall employee satisfaction score of 4.08. 80.5%% of employees with top level of engagement, satisfaction, wellbeing, or employee net promoter score.

 

2022 Employee Engagement Survey Results

Employee Communication and Employee-employer Meetings

Cathay promotes workplace transparency in many ways, including a group-wide internal communication platform, employee forum, business newsletter, Cathay Financial Monthly, Cathay FHC town hall meetings, the Chairman's mailbox, and the reporting mailbox to promote employee communication. 26 employee-employer communications were conducted in 2022. In 2022, Cathay handled 15 labor disputes, involving NT$ 2.52 million in fines, 14 of which are currently undergoing appeals. The remainder was handled in accordance with the legal process with improvements made for operational procedures.

Policy and Regulations on Occupational Safety and Health Management

To achieve the goal of "zero disasters, zero accidents," Cathay FHC emphasizes active prevention and continuously improves safety and health measures in the workplace. Employees, contractors and individual contractors working within the framework of Cathay FHC and its subsidiaries are required to comply with the outlined policy and guidelines. Cathay FHC and its subsidiaries have established operational guidelines such as "Safety and Health Work Guidelines," "Occupational Safety and Health Management Program," and "Occupational Safety and Health Management Guidelines." Cathay Life and CUB have implemented the ISO 45001 occupational safety and health management system. Our other subsidiaries also follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach in occupational safety and health management. Our goal is to establish a safe environment to facilitate employee wellbeing. The "Management Guidelines for Contractor Safety and Health" is also in place for Cathay's contractors. Contractors entering Cathay's workplace are required to fill out a form for joint prevention of occupational accidents and comply with relevant regulations to ensure workplace safety.

 

Compliance Risk Assessment and Management Measures for Occupational Safety

To promote employee wellbeing and reduce the risk of occupational accidents, Cathay FHC regularly identifies and evaluates risks based on occupational safety and health hazard factors. We also consider necessary planning measures and occupational safety prevention plans in the risk assessment process. Our goal is to fully implement appropriate measures and manage occupational risks to create a safe work environment:

 

Occupational Safety and Health Risk Identification and Management Measures

 

 

Occupational Safety and Health Governance

Occupational safety is becoming an increasingly important priority. It is a critical aspect of "Health", which is one of the three focus areas of Cathay's sustainability efforts. Beginning in 2022, Cathay's CS Committee is responsible for assessing and reporting on the status of occupational safety, and reporting the committee's proposals of major tasks and their implementation status to the board of directors. Our goal is to utilize a wide range of management approaches to improve Cathay FHC's occupational health and safety governance.

 

ISO45001 certification and TOSHMS certification