84
high compared to other sectors. Working
from home does not just have a positive effect
on mobility; it also ensures that employees can
better combine their workload with family life.
Employees of the financial sector enjoy a se-
ries of social benefits, depending on each fi-
nancial institution’s policy. Examples include:
access to healthy food (mainly via the compa-
ny canteen), the availability of sports facilities
at no or at a reduced charge or the possibility
to follow programmes to learn to deal better
with stress. Some financial institutions also
provide international exchange programmes,
activities for children during the school holi-
days or a crèche.
In addition to the 20 mandatory days of leave
and the 10 mandatory public holidays, the fi-
nancial sector offers a number of additional
days of leave.
Many financial institutions encourage their
employees to change positions every 5 to 7
years In order to try to keep the motivation
of their employees up and their productiv-
ity intact. In the collective labour agreements
(
CLAs) of the banking sector, the aim is to
achieve an HR policy in which broad deploy-
ability of the employees during their entire
careers has a central place. The CLAs also pro-
vide that the employees who change positions
are given guidance.
Training
Training is a constant point for attention for
the financial sector. The figures show that the
number of training days hardly decreases as
staff ages. The most recent figures of the Na-
tional Bank of Belgium (from 2010) indicate
that the financial sector spends 2.75% of the
total of gross salaries on training. The average
for Belgian companies is 1.64%. The target de-
scribed in the Generation Pact is 1.9%.
Per employee the financial sector spends
€2,000 on average on training annually. In the
other sectors that amount is far below €500.
Due to the crisis, training courses are made
available in a more selective manner. For in-
stance, more internal training courses are
given, and the courses given by external par-
ties are limited. In addition, new methods are
more often used, such as e-learning, to reduce
cost and nevertheless have the possibility to
offer training.
Workload
Despite the efforts of the financial institutions
to offer their employees healthy working condi-
tions, we cannot deny the workload. Reaching
targets and sales figures, the restructuring and
soft dismissals of the last few years, etc., many
employees have to cope with additional pres-
sure in the working environment.
2,000
1,250
200
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
Non- nancial
companies
Telecom
Financial sector
ANNUAL EXPENSE ON TRAINING PER
EMPLOYEE IN 2009
(
SOURCE: FPS ECONOMY)
4.
>
PEOPLE