Work / Life Balance

WACKER is dedicated to helping employees successfully integrate their careers and private lives. Our modern work-time systems are extremely flexible and offer considerable individual leeway. We have a wide range of flextime models, even including a self-regulated system based on trust. Wherever possible, we offer both full-time and part-time jobs, even for shift workers in continuously operating plants. In individual cases, WACKER enables employees to work from home (an option that may be combined with part-time work), and authorizes unpaid leave for urgent private business.

Another key aspect of WACKER’s HR policy focuses on balancing family life with work. The varied range of work-time models reflects the circumstances specific to men and women at particular stages in their lives. WACKER was one of the first companies to sign a joint declaration on Germany’s “Family as a Success Factor” business network, which has its origins in an initiative launched by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs and the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce. In the declaration, WACKER commits itself to taking into account the needs of employees with family obligations and to offering suitable support. In 2009, WACKER also joined the “eff” project (Efficient Family-Friendly Leadership) launched by the Bavarian Ministry of Family Affairs.

We support childcare and the return to work after parental leave. One example is the return-to-work workshop at the Burghausen site. Kindergarten and after-school care facilities are available at the Wöhler-Kinderhaus, located very close to the plant. At the Munich site, pme Familienservice GmbH helps employees find kindergarten and preschool places. In Freiberg, Saxony, Siltronic has a collaborative agreement with a local day-care center, which offers Siltronic a fixed number of preschool places, extended opening times and, if required, longer individual care hours.

At all its German sites, WACKER offers a service for family emergencies. Whether employees themselves or family members fall ill or need nursing care, advice can be obtained from pme Familienservice GmbH.