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64 ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE REPORT 2020
Management Attracting and Retaining Staff
Approach We have developed and instituted a wide range of
employment practices, including family-friendly policies
We are committed to providing an inclusive and and competitive remuneration packages well above
rewarding work environment that leads to high the regulatory minimum, in order to make Towngas a
engagement and enables our staff to grow and rewarding and attractive place to work.
develop their potential in their careers with us.
Benefits for full-time employees include maternity and
All human resources matters at Towngas are overseen paternity leave, medical and dental insurance, group life
by our Corporate Human Resources Department and insurance, town gas allowances, education allowances
handled according to the Towngas Human Resources and performance-based bonuses in Hong Kong. We
Policy Manual and Employee Handbook. We comply also provide a maternity allowance and counselling
with local laws and regulations in relation to recruitment for managing emotional issues. Subject to eligibility,
and promotion, compensation and dismissal, working the children of our staff can take advantage of an
hours, rest periods, equal opportunity, diversity, anti- education allowance and scholarship for attending
discrimination, and the provision of other benefits and overseas exchange programmes and local universities.
welfare. To help our staff balance their work and family
responsibilities, we have established a variety of family-
Our Code of Conduct outlines the expectations we friendly practices. These include flexible working hours
set on our people, their responsibilities and all relevant and special provisions for taking time off for family
policies and procedures our employees should follow reasons, such as marriage, compassionate and casual
in their everyday work duties, including behaving leave.
ethically in their business practices, promoting equal
opportunities and eliminating acts of discrimination. Any Our remuneration packages are periodically reviewed
employee found to be in violation of the Towngas Code and adjusted according to trends in the labour market.
of Conduct, Equal Opportunities Policy or relevant
ordinance will be subject to disciplinary action. The retirement benefits we offer include the defined
contribution schemes and Mandatory Provident Fund
schemes in Hong Kong. In mainland China, staff
In managing our people, we take a systematic approach
that spans their entire career lifecycle at Towngas. participate in social security plans organised by the
relevant municipal and provincial governments.
Attraction
We also collaborate with various education institutions
to provide training programmes that not only create
Retention Recruitment a pipeline of future workers for Towngas, but also
contribute to the dissemination of gas knowledge and
advancement of the gas industry.
Talent Employee Engagement
Management
Inclusion Engagement
We recognise that close communication with our
staff is critical for maintaining a harmonious and
Development productive work environment. To keep our employees
engaged and informed, we provide multiple two-way
communication channels.
CONTRIBUTING TO STAKEHOLDERS 65
Our employees are also guaranteed freedom of
association in the workplace and may join the
organisations and professional bodies of their choice.
Members of associations are also allowed to participate
in association activities during working hours, reflecting
the high degree of freedom they enjoy at Towngas.
Although Hong Kong has no regulatory requirement
with regard to collective bargaining, we consult our staff
on a range of employment issues through our internal
communication channels. We send a formal notice at
least two to four weeks ahead of time to all employees Apart from technical and engineering subjects as well as
when significant operational changes are about to non-technical subjects such as leadership development
be implemented. In mainland China, we comply with and interpersonal skills, we also identify emerging areas,
applicable legal obligations concerning freedom of such as innovation, digitalisation and climate change, to
association and collective bargaining. help staff develop new skills or refresh their knowledge.
To equip potential employees with management skills
While the labour unions of our joint ventures (JVs) have and build a sustainable leadership pipeline, we offer a
not entered into any collective bargaining agreements, variety of career advancement programmes. Delivery
we continue to maintain open communication with channels include classroom training, e-learning, Virtual
union representatives on staff-related matters. Reality (VR) training, frontline attachments, workshops
and site visits.
Training and Development
We also encourage our employees to supplement
Training our people and developing their skills and their development through external courses, seminars,
competencies are essential for our long-term success visits and conferences, according to identified training
as a company. needs. Subsidies are provided for staff who pursue
further education related to their job duties, according
Training and development programmes, including to the Towngas Human Resources Policy Manual.
competency and skills based courses, are organised
and delivered internally through our Learning &
Development function and the Towngas Engineering
Academy (TEA) in Hong Kong. We also have
five training bases in mainland China, as well as
partnerships with education institutions.
Our training begins with our new joiners, who during
their orientation with us become familiarised with
Towngas, our corporate culture, policies and business
processes. Recognising that individual employees
have different learning needs, we identify and provide
a wide range of training and development opportunities
for our general and technical staff as well as our
management colleagues.