Umicore Sets Standards for Work-Life Balance

Umicore's sites in Hanau and Bad Säckingen have been awarded the "audit berufundfamilie" certificate for their exemplary family- and life-phase-conscious personnel policies – for the seventh time in a row. Mareike Wulf, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, presented the company with the certificate with distinction during the 27th certificate award ceremony. This recognition honors Umicore's long-standing commitment to fostering and developing a corporate culture that consistently promotes the compatibility of work, family, and private life.

A total of 306 organizations were honored for their innovative and flexible solutions that help their employees better balance different areas of life.

"The certificate is not a one-time project for us, but part of our continuous journey to create a work environment that aligns with the needs of our employees.“

Carsten Neumann, Head of People & Organization Hanau at Umicore

Since 2007, the company has regularly undergone the demanding audit. Umicore now participates in the so-called dialogue procedure, which is a special recognition for organizations with an advanced level of development.

Umicore is currently implementing targeted measures to further strengthen the compatibility of work, family, and private life. A key goal is to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions to at least 35 percent by 2030. The focus is on fair opportunities, transparent career paths, and targeted development programs. At the same time, the company promotes leadership with individually adapted working hours – for example, through part-time models or flexible working time solutions that are tailored to the respective life phases. Knowledge transfer also plays an important role. Umicore is developing models that enable valuable experiential knowledge to be passed on during the transition to retirement and to make this transition mindful. In addition, existing regulations to support caregiving situations are being made more visible and further developed to best relieve employees in challenging family situations.

With the "audit berufundfamilie" certificate with distinction, Umicore is one of only 28 organizations in Germany to have been awarded for the seventh time. This underscores the company's stance of understanding and actively shaping compatibility as a permanent task.

For more information on the audit and the list of certified organizations, visit: www.berufundfamilie.de.