Responsible employer

As a company providing services, it is the Zurich Airport Groupʼs employees who hold the key to its success. The daily efforts of 2,163 employees in over 70 different occupations materially influence the quality of services and the long-term success of the company.

Relevance

The wellbeing of the workforce is essential if the Group is to achieve its goals. This applies to all employees, irrespective of their background and their position in the company. The Zurich Airport Group not only has a major responsibility for its own staff, its actions also influence the working conditions of employees of its airport partner companies.

During the reporting year Zurich Airport Ltd. decided to take over the provision of support services at the Zurich site for passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) or other disabilities from the current supplier at the start of 2025 (see Equal opportunity and freedom from discrimination). To this end, approximately 120 employees involved in providing these services will be transferred and fully integrated into the Zurich Airport Ltd. workforce.

Approach

Safeguarding rights

The Zurich Airport Group respects the core conventions of the ILO (International Labour Organization) and all labour laws applicable locally at its airports. It offers fair pay, higher than the respective minimum wage, and guarantees that no child or forced labour is used in its companies. Measures and precautions relating to human rights, including in its value chain, are described in a separate section.

Employee representation

A new participation agreement was drawn up by the PeV and the Management Board during the year under review and came into force in September. The revised agreement provides more transparency and clarity about the rights and obligations of the parties. Participation of the PeV includes, for instance, issues such as occupational safety and health, working time arrangements, business transfers (parts or whole), mass redundancies as defined by the Swiss Code of Obligations and collective pay bargaining.

One of the most important issues discussed between the PeV and the Management Board during the reporting year was the difficult labour situation at the airportʼs partner companies. Even though the company itself was able to field enough personnel, annoyed passengers represented a major challenge for Zurich Airport Ltd. employees. The PeV identified concrete measures to improve the situation, some of which were speedily implemented. The PeV was also involved in negotiations for collective pay increases (see Remuneration and equal pay).

There are no collective bargaining agreements at the Zurich site or in India and Chile. In Brazil on the other hand, 100% of employees with a local contract of employment are legally entitled to the conditions negotiated annually in collective bargaining agreements.

Attractive jobs

Airports are unique working environments involving an enormous variety of occupations. The jobs offered by Zurich Airport Ltd. at the Zurich site are attractive to applicants and cover a broad range of occupations and qualifications. This also applies to the other companies operating at Zurich Airport – a total of over 300 firms employing some 30,000 people between them.

The majority-owned airports in Brazil were jointly awarded the Great Place to Work label. This label is awarded to companies that have a good workplace culture. Using data from regular employee surveys, action is taken to improve the quality of the workplace on an ongoing basis.

In the reporting year, Zurich Airport Ltd. employed 95 non-guaranteed hours employees (see Key data). At the Zurich site, these are mainly people who work for VIP Services or at service points and info desks, along with tour guides, the majority of whom have already reached retirement age.

Remuneration and equal pay

The Zurich Airport Group attaches importance to fair, market-based remuneration: at its Zurich site it pays bonuses above the statutory minimum for working at night and over weekends and holidays. It also awards bonuses for work in especially unpleasant, dirty or noisy environments. During the period under review, pay was increased by the previous yearʼs inflation rate. Furthermore, lower-paid workers in particular benefited from a guaranteed additional fixed sum of CHF 150 per month.

Swiss law requires companies based in Switzerland with over 100 employees to periodically review pay equality, for which the federal government provides a specific tool to measure earnings equality (Logib). Zurich Airport Ltd. last undertook such an analysis of pay equality at its Zurich site in 2021. Calculated according to the Logib method, there was a gender pay gap of 3.5% in favour of men in the reporting year, which is within the Confederationʼs tolerance threshold of 5%.

Compensation ratio

Pension fund and health insurance

The Zurich Airport Group also seeks to provide adequate pension provision for employees of its subsidiaries abroad. In Brazil, the subsidiaries match the amount of any additional payments into a private pension plan. Chile does not provide for direct employer contributions to private pension plans. The legally required portion of pension benefits for private individuals is deducted from the salary, however, and paid out directly by the subsidiary to the private pension accounts of the employees. India has a similar system, where the employer likewise directly pays the pension portion of remuneration directly into its employeesʼ accounts.

Whereas health insurance at the Zurich site is a private matter of the employees, at the sites in Latin America, the company participates in the premiums for employees’ health insurance. Arranging and paying for health insurance policies for workers is mandatory in Brazil, while the subsidiary in Chile voluntarily pays 70% of these costs.

Additional perks

All Zurich staff enjoy discounts from cafés, restaurants and shops at the airport. In addition, for employees who work more than 50% of full-time hours, Zurich Airport Ltd. pays the full cost of a public transport card for the Canton of Zurich, or contributes to the costs of a cross-zone or general season ticket.

Similarly, employees in Brazil benefit from discounts in stores at the airports. Certain deals for employees have also been negotiated with schools, shops, pharmacies, etc.

Annual leave

In 2023, Zurich Airport Ltd. decided to increase the number of annual leave days at the Zurich site with effect from 2024. In future, employees aged up to 59 will get two more days off a year. There are no changes to the annual leave entitlement for those aged 60 or over. The new leave entitlements will now be 25 days (up to age 49), 28 days (50 to 59) and 31 days from age 60.

Employer branding and recruitment

In order to be able to continue to find enough suitable employees in future, at the Zurich site the company is investing in further increasing its attractiveness as an employer. This is also one of the strategic action points for the Board of Directors and Management Board. An additional Employer Branding post was created during the reporting year to tackle this. The company also employs innovative recruitment methods featuring a simplified application process and making quick contact. For instance, people can apply for jobs via video or messenger app, without submitting a motivation letter.

Flexible working hours and remote working

Zurich Airport Ltd. employees based in Zurich benefit from an annual working time model with flexible working hours. This makes it easier for employees to work around family commitments, devote time to important public or political office, have time for further education, or simply pursue social activities.

For occupations where this is feasible, employees have the option of remote working. Zurich Airport Ltd. can provide the necessary equipment and organisational structures to facilitate this. Meeting face-to-face in person remains important too, however.

Work-life balance

The ability to combine work with family life is especially important to the Zurich Airport Group. In addition to the enhanced flexibility options outlined above, at the Zurich site new mothers receive 16 weeks paid maternity leave, two weeks more than the statutory minimum. Fathers and spouses of women who have given birth are entitled to the statutory 10-day leave of the other spouse on a full salary. 32% (previous year: 32%) of Zurich-based employees with open-ended contracts worked part-time in the year under review. To encourage more part-time working at the Zurich site, the company offers the option of a trial reduction in working hours for twelve months. It also supports unpaid leave, allowing employees to pursue life goals such as world travel, longer courses of study, extended maternity or paternity leave, or for any other reason they wish a leave of absence. After such time spent on personal development, they will return to their jobs with renewed energy and all the more motivated.

Diversity

Fostering diversity begins already during the recruitment process. Applicantsʼ qualifications for the job and their alignment with the companyʼs values will always be the primary criteria for Zurich Airport Ltd. However, criteria such as ethnic origin, age, lifestyle or gender must not lead to any discrimination. Furthermore, in order to promote working time models such as part-time work or job-sharing, most jobs are advertised with a flexible percentage of full-time hours ranging from 80-100%.

Diversity in governance bodies and management

Four women and four men sit on the Board of Directors of Zurich Airport Ltd., and two women and five men sit on the Management Board. This meets the current gender balance requirements for listed companies.

At the Zurich site, the percentage of women in management during the year under review was 22.2%. At its Zurich site Zurich Airport Ltd. aims to increase the proportion of women in management positions to 25% over the next few years.

Training and professional development

Training

The Zurich Airport Group considers basic vocational training to be both an economic necessity and a social duty. It consequently takes responsibility for providing professional vocational training. In the reporting period, the company employed 54 apprentices for 14 different occupations as well as nine newly qualified apprentices in a one-year follow-on programme after completing their apprenticeships at the Zurich site. Moreover, a total of 21 interns and trainees received mid- and post-training work experience over several months. As at the cut-off date at the end of the year, around 4% of all employees had completed basic vocational training and internships at Zurich Airport Ltd.

When taking on new apprentices, trainees and interns at the Zurich site, Zurich Airport Ltd. seeks to recruit applicants with a wide range of educational backgrounds and school qualifications. For instance, it offers basic training leading to the Swiss Federal Vocational Training Certificate or Diploma which can also accommodate trainees with prior qualifications at various different levels. In addition, the company helps people in various occupations integrate in the world of work. This includes, for example, providing integration pre-apprenticeships for refugees or people temporarily admitted to the country. During the year under review, the company also employed one commercial trainee from the primary labour market and two apprentices with hearing impairments in skilled manual trades. Appropriate programmes will enable them to start in or make the transition to the regular labour market.

Apprentices, trainees and interns are assimilated in regular work processes and are given tasks and responsibilities appropriate to their level of training. Zurich Airport Ltd. ensures that its training staff are suitably qualified by providing further development along with the resources, expertise and assistance to ensure successful training. Wherever possible, the company seeks to promote young workers to suitable jobs within the company.

A 24-month internship programme is offered at Florianópolis, Vitória and Macaé airports. A total of four participants received training during the reporting year. There is also a programme for trainees.

At the companyʼs site in Noida, India, a programme was launched in conjunction with an NGO to provide six-month work placements for school-leavers and students in various units, for example in accounts, software development or paramedic services. A total of 75 people joined the programme in the year under review.

Professional development

As the operator of several airports around the world, Zurich Airport Ltd. additionally offers suitable personnel the opportunity to take up airport-related posts at one of its other locations to enable them to develop their skills in an international environment.

Health management

The Zurich site has a health management policy aimed at promoting and maintaining the health of employees, both at the workplace and in their private lives. Firstly, this policy includes occupational safety (see the Occupational and aviation safety section), i.e. the prevention of accidents and other negative health impacts resulting from work. Secondly, it encompasses collaboration with the external consultancy MOVIS on overall wellbeing and health-related issues. Zurich Airport Ltd. furthermore offers employees an extensive range of opportunities to improve their physical and mental health. For instance, the company offers free sport benefits and free vaccinations against flu, and – for personnel exposed to them – tickborne encephalitis (FSME), hepatitis A and B, as well as specific travel vaccines for staff who are sent to work abroad.

If they have any personal issues or work problems, employees at the Zurich site also have the option of contacting an external advice center for free and confidential advice. The center can be contacted 24/7 and is completely confidential – the employer cannot determine who has made use of this service.

At the airports in Brazil, employees must be allowed to participate in a “CIPA” forum (Comissão Interna de Prevenção de Acidentes de Trabalho). As well as promoting good health, such forums seek to prevent workplace accidents and occupational illnesses. Employees elect the members of this body themselves.

Workers in an employment-like relationship

Cleaning workers in an employment-like relationship are used to cover peak periods, and are therefore used mostly during the summer months. These workers are employed by an agency, but are treated the same as the companyʼs own employees in relation to working hours and bonuses.

Workers who are not employees are also used in the field of ICT. This enables the company to buy in necessary skills and bridge short-term capacity bottlenecks. These workers are often employees of specialist IT companies, for example.

At the international majority-owned subsidiaries in Brazil and Chile, it is very rare for workers not to be direct employees. There are no such employment-like relationships in India at all.

Key data (as at 31 December 2023)