HEP Rewards Employees with 48 Million Kuna

Before leaving his position as CEO of Hrvatska elektroprivreda, Zlatko Koračević, together with the unions operating within the company, established the text of a new collective agreement that came into effect on April 1 and is valid for the next year for 13,562 employees of the HEP Group, reports Jutarnji list.

The government, in accordance with the decision that Christmas and Easter bonuses and compensation for the use of annual leave will not be paid to public servants and employees, also issued a recommendation to the supervisory boards of public companies to cut these rights in the collective agreements of companies in majority state ownership, Jutarnji reports.

The former CEO of HEP and his unions complied with this directive, but a provision was introduced in the collective agreement to compensate for the lost benefits. It was agreed that all employees of the HEP Group will receive a one-time special bonus on the occasion of HEP Day in August this year in the amount of 3,550 kuna net. It is also stated that of the total amount, 2,500 kuna is tax-exempt, while 1,050 kuna is taxable.

There was no provision for the payment of a special bonus on the occasion of the company’s day in the previous collective agreement. Considering that approximately 13,500 people are employed in the HEP Group, HEP will pay around 48 million kuna net for this purpose in August. The total amount will be even higher since the company pays contributions to the state on the taxable portion.

Another interesting provision of this collective agreement is that it cannot be terminated. Thus, even in the event of any extraordinary circumstances that could cause the company’s poor financial condition, the collective agreement remains in force.

The background of the story regarding the new collective agreement is that Zlatko Koračević, knowing that he would be dismissed from his position as CEO, approved benefits for workers in an attempt to buy the favor of the unions, believing that they would rebel against his dismissal. The collective agreement has also secured many other benefits for HEP employees.