One of our corporate goals is to protect the health of our employees. But our care for our employees goes much further than that. Demographic change has made it necessary for us to help employees remain healthy and productive for a longer working life. WACKER has signed the Luxembourg Declaration on Workplace Health Promotion in the EU. In doing so, we have undertaken to promote health and to encourage employees to improve their health.

In health management, the focus is on five fields. We seek to avoid spinal disorders and cardiovascular diseases in our workforce, increase mental resilience, enable age-appropriate work and find suitable jobs for staff with health restrictions.

Two of the most important strategic instruments for ensuring occupational health and safety are medical checkups and health-promotion programs. Health Services at our Burghausen site advises employees in all health matters, particularly concerning availability for work and reintegration. Risk groups like diabetics, employees with back problems or psychological problems receive in-depth care and are thus kept fit for work in the long term.

In the 2011-2012 reporting period, we turned the pilot project that we launched in 2010 together with the South German branch of the statutory pension insurance system (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Süd) in 2010 into a long-term collaboration. The goal of the program is to improve the effectiveness of rehabilitation measures for employees, the Group and the insurer. WACKER’s Health Services department can now submit rehabilitation applications on an employee’s behalf, for expedited processing by the insurance system. Our company doctors work with partner clinics to tailor rehab measures to the requirements of the employee’s job. Around 70 rehab procedures were managed this way in 2011/2012. We were able to reintegrate into the work process 87 percent of employees who had been on sick leave for a longer period of time due to illness or accidents.

Since 2012, we have been offering preventive checkups to third-level executives (“FK3” personnel) over 45 years of age at all locations in Germany. In addition to organ examinations, the FK3 checkups also focus on giving employees advice on how to deal better with mental stress situations. Around two-thirds of the employees approached have taken advantage of this offer to date.

During the period under review, we also examined workplaces at the Burghausen and Nünchritz sites for possible psychological stress. The new analysis initially focused on work activity in control rooms. It will, however, be gradually expanded to cover other areas of production as part of the general hazard analysis.

In 2012, Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) presented Siltronic Singapore (SSP) with the silver Singapore HEALTH (Helping Employees Achieve Life-Time Health) Award. The authorities use this award to honor companies that support their employees in leading a healthy and active lifestyle.