Own workforce (S1)

Alliander employs about 9,900 people (over 9,400 FTEs), including agency workers, mostly in the Netherlands, who all work together to ensure a reliable, affordable and accessible energy supply. These people are an indispensable link in the daily performance of our tasks. Alliander acknowledges the importance of good employment practices and wishes to be and remain an ‘employer of choice’, i.e. an inclusive workplace where employees trust the people they work with, have opportunities for personal development and are proud of what they do. Alliander wants to be an organisation where they enjoy working in a pleasant atmosphere with colleagues, customers, suppliers and partners on the energy supply for a sustainable future.

Concerns the number of employees (including agency workers) measured on the last day of the reporting year.

Concerns the number of employees in terms of full-time equivalents (38 hours) measured on the last day of the reporting year. FTE means a full working week, irrespective of the number of hours worked. The number of employees in service (in FTEs) is shown in the financial statements under note 24.

Policy and organisation

Our commitment to employee retention is outlined in policies, targets and measures of various types. All policies concerning Alliander’s own workforce apply to all employees directly employed by Alliander, as well as to agency staff where stated. Where applicable, distinctions are made in these policies based on position and authority, which are approved by the Management Board. 

We are committed to Dutch labour law and to compliance with international human rights and labour standards, as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of the International Labour Organization (ILO). These declarations form the frameworks for our policy, although they are not explicitly incorporated into it. In our policy, we emphasise freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the prevention of discrimination, and we embrace diversity. 

Within Alliander, the HR (Human Resource) department is responsible for personnel policy. At the end of December 2024, it had 440 employees with an annual budget of €58 million. The SEQ (Safety, Environment and Quality) department is responsible for safety policy. At the end of December 2024, it had 150 employees with an annual budget of over €20 million.

OGSM-based working

Based on the strategic topics and the underlying impacts, risks and opportunities, we formulate specific targets in relation to personnel and safety. These are enshrined in the business plans and translated into concrete strategies and measures. Alliander use the OGSM model (Objectives, Goals, Strategies, Measures) in this regard. The HR and SEQ departments each have their own OGSMs. In addition, personnel and safety form part of the OGSM of every Alliander business unit. Progress towards the targets is monitored on a monthly basis in discussion with the Management Board. Additional measures are formulated where required. 

Employment conditions

For Alliander, good employment conditions are an indispensable part of attracting and retaining highly qualified and motivated staff. Employment conditions are subdivided between general employment conditions and health & safety. General employment conditions cover the sub-subtopics of job security and collective bargaining, including the percentage of staff covered by collective labour agreements and work-life balance.

General employment conditions 

Impacts, risks and opportunities 

As a network operator, we invest heavily in expanding and upgrading energy networks that are needed for the energy transition. To make this possible, we are growing substantially as an organisation, both by attracting more permanent employees and by hiring temporary staff. In order to scale up and increase the amount of work we can do, work is increasingly being outsourced to contractors with whom we have long-term working relationships. At Alliander, we are conscious of the impact, risks and opportunities that our strategy and business model have on our personnel. We are expecting labour market scarcity to continue to grow over the next few years. Due to the ageing population and growing demand for skilled workers, there are persistent staff shortages in the engineering, construction and energy sectors, especially for technical and IT positions. This poses a risk to our mission to create an energy supply that gives everyone access to reliable, affordable and sustainable energy. For Alliander, good employment conditions are an indispensable part of attracting and retaining well-qualified and motivated staff. They also have a positive impact on employee well-being. Alliander remains committed to attracting and retaining well-qualified and motivated staff by offering attractive employment conditions and development opportunities. We take a variety of actions to encourage more people to take an interest in technology. We keep a close eye on employee satisfaction in order to respond to the needs of our different groups of staff and offer appropriate support and training.

• Positive impact – Good employment conditions make a positive contribution to employee well-being.

• Positive impact – Alliander’s growth leads to more employment opportunities.

• Risk – A shortage in the availability of technical or other personnel on the market could lead to higher costs.

Policy and approach

Collective labour agreements

Network companies make the energy of tomorrow possible. For this to be achieved, network operation must be and remain an attractive industry for workers, even in the current tight labour market. Based on this vision, employers and unions have agreed a collective labour agreement for network companies that runs until 1 July 2025. Among its terms are agreements on structural wage increases and making additional parental leave more attractive for partners. Agreements were also reached on how to spend the sustainable employability budget available to employees, which can now also be used for specific sustainability and greening purposes. Agreements regarding diversity and inclusion, such as a pilot scheme on swapping public holidays, are also part of the package. Finally, the Vitality Scheme and the Sectoral Social Plan have been extended and agreements have been reached on work stress and the industry frameworks for taking leave under the Early Retirement Scheme. In 2024, we reached an agreement with the unions on the new Alliander collective labour agreement. This contains agreements on a job classification system with a logically linked salary scale, delinking pay from performance assessments, and a new remuneration policy. In so doing we have taken important steps towards being a learning and well-performing organisation with an attractive salary package. Employees with contracts under the collective labour agreement make up 99.6% of the workforce. Employees of our German businesses are covered by an equivalent German agreement. The remainder are the members of the Management Board and TReNT employees.

All employees under the collective labour agreement have a right to family leave.

Sectoral Social Plan

The Sectoral Social Plan, which runs from 1 January 2024 to 1 July 2025, applies to employees who are potentially affected by organisational changes. The point of departure for the unions and the employers in the Energy Network Companies sector of the WENB (the employers’ association for firms in the energy, telecoms, recycling and environment sectors) is to prevent redundancy and unemployment due to organisational change as far as possible. The Sectoral Social Plan is focused on finding alternative work and offers employees various possible ways to do this.

Employee participation 

Employee participation at Alliander represents over 99% of permanent staff members. Alliander has a single Works Council at the level of Alliander N.V. The Works Council is directly elected by the employees and is involved in developments, progress towards targets, and measures affecting the company and its employees. The Works Council receives input from organisational unit committees (OCs), permanent committees (VCs) and preparatory committees (VBCs). Organisational units are represented in an organisational unit committee, each of which has a representative on the Works Council. The OCs discuss all relevant matters concerning the organisational unit and its employees with the unit’s director. OCs can make use of focus groups to coordinate with the staff they represent, as set out in the Works Council regulations. For formal Works Council projects, i.e. requests for advice or requests for consent, the Alliander Works Council can appoint a preparatory committee (in consultation with the business unit committee) to handle the request and submit a draft letter of advice or consent to the Works Council. There are also permanent committees, each of which covers a focus area such as finance, HR, Safety, Well-being and the Environment. Elections took place in late 2024 and the new members have taken their seats on the Works Council.    

The Works Council has monthly consultation meetings with the CEO, which are also attended by the CHRO (Chief Human Resource Officer). Members of the Supervisory Board attend consultation meetings twice a year. In 2024, the Executive Committee and Works Council organised ‘Get to the Point’ sessions in order to talk directly to staff at all sites about current issues or concerns.  

Labour market

Labour market scarcity is expected to increase further in the next few years. Alliander is preparing for this with initiatives that make it easier for groups from outside the field to find work at Alliander or in the industry. Examples include:

• Conversion programmes for technicians trained in other fields.

• Industry-wide training programmes for refugees in conjunction with TenneT, Enexis and Refugee Talent Hub.

• Objective hiring so that everyone has an equal chance of a job.

• Exploring the transformation to a skills-centred organisation, in which the threshold for working in a particular job is lowered.

Employee satisfaction survey 

The Central Employee Barometer is an important way to measure how things are going with the employees, how we are doing as an employer and what things we can improve. We measure this, among other things, by way of an employee satisfaction score called the employee Net Promotor Score (eNPS). This year’s response was similar to last year’s: 74%, above the sector benchmark of 64%. Employees feel inspired and proud (84%; target 81%). The combination of a high eNPS score (36) and its high score as a good employer (76%) earned Alliander ‘World-class Workplace’ status for the second year running. The survey compares Alliander with the Dutch average scores of 15.0 for the eNPS and 72% for the good employer score. Concerns remain about Alliander’s agility and effectiveness. 54% believe that Alliander is taking the right steps towards being an agile and responsive organisation, 3% points more than in 2023. Many colleagues (23%) state that work processes at Alliander are not well-organised, although it may be noted that this is also the case for the industry benchmark. In concrete terms, this is reflected in the slow rate at which improvements are converted into working solutions. Belief in the achievability of Alliander’s mission has increased (from 62% to 66%). Experience of work-related stress has decreased and is below the benchmark. Nevertheless, some of our teams still perceive their workload as high or very high. The barometer shows that more colleagues are now looking around for a job outside Alliander. The various organisational units and teams have been informed of the most important points for improvement from the employee barometer and can use the results as a starting point for discussions and improvement initiatives.    

Objectives and results in 2024

Alliander takes active steps to attract talent. We focus not only on jobseekers, but on a broader target group whom we try to interest in engineering. Examples of the activities that Alliander performs include:

• Using ‘engineering promoters’ to interest young people in technical careers.

• Rolling out a ‘job match’ platform to help people transferring from other fields find a job in our industry that suits their skills.

• Setting up various target group campaigns.

• Attending different events to reach out to a diverse target audience.

• Talent pooling and talent matching.

• Recruitment strategies for specific target groups such as refugees.

• Setting up framework agreements with diversity targets for headhunters and recruitment firms.

Last year, Alliander welcomed 246 IT staff and 515 new technicians. This year, there was also a development plan for refugees to train for a qualification in electricity grid installation and maintenance. 

Employee departures 

In 2024, 863 employees left Alliander, 390 of whom (306 men and 84 women) left due to the sale of Kenter. This is a turnover of 11.7%. This percentage is calculated by dividing the outflow (excluding agency staff) by the average number of permanent employees during the reporting year. 

Employees who leave Alliander receive a questionnaire and attend in-depth interviews on their reasons for leaving. Based on the results of these inquiries, we take measures to increase employee satisfaction and reduce staff outflows. 

Our plans 

In 2025, we concluded a new and appropriate collective labour agreement for the sector and Alliander, which will increase our attractiveness through modernisation and better employment conditions. 

Due to the expected labour market scarcity, we are continuing work in 2025 on expanding the target pool for technical personnel through measures such as:  

• Increasing inflows of untapped potential through an industry-wide technical advancement programme. 

• Setting up a technical operations school to provide optimal training to technical staff while minimising the burden on the organisation. 

• Readying the organisation for international employees.

Health and safety

Safety is not a given, because our work involves safety risks. The impact of incidents can be severe. The number one priority is the personal suffering of those immediately affected and their families, colleagues and others around them. An accident often has a direct impact on business continuity (work comes to a halt) as well as on Alliander’s reputation as a business and employer in a tight labour market. Safe, incident-free working is vital for everyone. The safety of networks for everyone involved is therefore our top priority. The possibility that incidents could occur in the energy network makes it even more essential to adopt a targeted approach. To achieve this, we ensure that we understand the risks and take action to mitigate them. The measures we take include procuring safer materials and better work equipment, improving working methods and training our employees and contractors. The safety policy is geared towards specific, higher-risk jobs, such as the technicians who work directly on the gas or electricity network.

Scope of the issue

Work-related accidents and sickness impair the well-being and happiness of those concerned. As an employer and project manager, Alliander always aims to make a positive contribution to the well-being of internal and external employees. Our impact extends to our contractors and supply chain partners. Safe and responsible working conditions are a fundamental human right, enshrined in national and international legislation, and agreements such as OECD, ILO and UN treaties. Safety incidents can also involve other stakeholders such as the general public, visitors or passers-by at locations where we are working.

Alliander is currently facing a variety of challenges that lead to increased health and safety risks. These include the increasing speed of the energy transition, staff shortages, increasing material shortages, the outsourcing of work to contractors and the ageing of our assets.

On balance, we are having to handle a much higher workload, under high pressure, with less experienced employees. We have a duty to ensure that everyone gets home safely and to strive for a successful energy transition with zero avoidable accidents. Given the challenges, this is an exceptionally hard task. Safety is integral to all of our work, from design and materials purchasing to creating grid connections. To ensure that we live up to this responsibility, we dedicated even more thought in 2024 to the safety transition. There are three key aspects to this: safety controls, broad safety expertise and safe behaviour. We work on these aspects for and together with our staff, local communities, suppliers and contractors.

Impacts, risks and opportunities

The challenges of the energy transition are putting considerable pressure on safety. Safety is the foundation that underpins our strategy and an essential precondition for our work. Health and safety risks are increasing due to the growing quantity of work, high work pressure, the growth of the organisation and the increased outsourcing of work to contractors. The biggest risk of incidents is faced by the employees who work directly on our energy networks. Our commitment to safety goes beyond our own organisation. It encompasses not only our employees, but also our supply chain partners, contractors, suppliers, customers and local residents. We have a safety management system for identifying and managing the safety risks associated with our operations. Alliander also promotes a proactive safety culture. This results in a learning and performing organisation where ‘continuous safety improvement’ plays a central role.

• Negative impact – Health & safety incidents lead to the injury and death of employees.

• Risk – Safety incidents involving our staff lead to sickness absence, reputational damage, compensation and fines.

Safety

Policy and approach

The ‘Safety Vision’ policy document has been drawn up for safe working on our networks and approved by the Management Board. It covers the following topics:

Safety controls

Alliander, together with its partners, has firmly embedded safety objectives and risks for working on assets in safety systems and structures. Measures to mitigate these risks are included in the production process. Incidents and nonconformities are always reported centrally and analysed, so that we can learn from them. This leads to better risk estimation and to improvements in the associated mitigation measures. Our primary focus is on full transparency. Safety data and information about our assets, projects, processes and risks are collated in conjunction with our partners and are made available to them. This results in a learning and performing organisation where ‘continuous safety improvement’ plays a central role. That enables us to follow new techniques and processes in a safe way. 

Broad safety expertise

All staff at Alliander and our partners have the knowledge and skills required to work and act safely. We make sure of this in the selection, training and assessment of employees. Together, we are committed to both technical and personal skills. We embed this in selection, assessment, training and education by explicitly defining the skills required for each role. We look at the hard and soft skills of all colleagues, we maintain those skills, and we no longer select technicians based on technical skills alone. New joiners, including those from other industries and speakers of other languages, can be deployed more easily, as the safety risks for numerous tasks have been reduced and the training requirements have been adjusted downwards accordingly.

Safe behaviour

Reducing avoidable accidents to zero demands not only broad safety expertise and controls in systems and structures, but above all a permanent change in behaviour. We know that we cannot guarantee safety by making rules alone. Many of our jobs take place in the countryside, in conditions and surroundings that are often different to what we expected. Employees regularly work alone as well. At Alliander, it is therefore crucial that safety is part of who we are and part of the intrinsic motivation of staff.

Objectives and results in 2024

Our goal is: ‘Everyone safely home! With zero avoidable accidents.’ No target is set for Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF) because the number of accidents leading to time off work should ideally be zero. In addition, Alliander promotes a proactive culture where safety comes first. We want a permanent change in behaviour that we can demonstrate by remaining consistently at level 4 on the Safety Culture Ladder. This score is monitored continuously via an internal safety management system comprising internal self-assessments, behavioural audits and topic-based analyses.  

ISO 45001 

All employees, both permanent and temporary, are covered by the Alliander safety management system. Alliander has had the operational business units with the highest safety risk certified under ISO 45001. ISO 45001 is the standard for health and safety management systems. 49% of Alliander employees and 31% of temporary staff work for a business unit with an ISO 45001 certificate. These are the O&S, GVRN, KV and Qirion operational business units. In additional to an internal safety management system, the safety processes are documented, tested under ISO 45001 and recorded in a central IT application so that they can be consulted by all employees.   

Mandatory training 

Last year we improved safety levels by making sure that all employees followed the mandatory training on time, including instructions for first-time visitors, VCA and life-saving actions. In addition, tool testing and calibrations have been centralised to ensure that technicians have access to the right tools in a timely manner and without having to interrupt their work. 

Life Saving Rules 

Alliander goes by the ‘Life-Saving Rules’. A safe working environment and a culture of safety help us raise safety awareness and ensure safer behaviour. 

Accidents

In 2024, there were 41 lost-time accidents and 71 accidents that did not result in sickness absence. This was partly why the LTIF was 2.9. These figures include accidents involving contractors (12 with lost time and 12 without) Falls and trips constituted most of the lost-time incidents in 2024, followed by traffic-related injuries. Three lost-time accidents were the result of electric arcing in 2024, including one that resulted in very serious injuries.

The number of days’ absence is adjusted based on the number of hours for which employees are contractually employed.

LTIF indicates the number of work-related accidents during the financial year in which Alliander employees were involved and which led to time off work after the accident, expressed per million of man-hours worked. The LTIF figure is calculated using the average number of FTEs in 2024 and a standard number of 1,600 hours worked per employee.  

Our plans

Our aim remains to achieve the energy transition with zero accidents. This responsibility, combined with the growth in the number of new employees, means that the priority in 2025 is to get the basics right. Understanding and managing the risks is key. This means ensuring that employees know and can locate up-to-date information, instructions and agreements, with a focus on demonstrable expertise. We will increase safety consciousness by embedding the desired safety behaviour into all interventions. We will continue to comply with all laws, regulations and certification requirements in relation to safety.

Health

Policy and approach

Alliander supports its employees in taking responsibility for their own welfare, by means of the Sustainable Employability Budget and by making it possible for staff to work remotely, set their own hours and so find the right work/life balance. Investing in sustainable employability has a positive effect on staff retention. In addition, Alliander increasingly positions itself as an attractive employer for potential staff members. An employer that invests in employees has an advantage on the labour market. Alliander’s vision and approach to sustainable employability have been specified in a communication document. This is not an official policy document.

Staff members unable to work: recuperation

If an employee is not available for full-time work, the reintegration process is led by their manager. The manager receives assistance and support from an in-house prevention and leave specialist (case manager) and a certified occupational health and safety service (the Arbodienst). They help managers by answering questions and providing advice on counselling employees who are off work or reintegrating. To maximise the employability of employees, interventions are performed by the collective health insurer Zilveren Kruis.

Managers can also rely on the back-to-work protocol. This offers an approach for managing leave, promoting employee welfare and ensuring a permanent return to work. Alliander has two protocols:

1. The time-off-work protocol (a brief summary of the time-off-work process).

2. The sick leave timelines for managers and staff, which contain detailed process descriptions.

Around 10% of Alliander employees take sick leave three times or more each year. We call this ‘frequent absence’ and it is an important indicator for a decline in sustainable employability. Alliander believes it is important to pay close attention to frequent absentees, firstly to ascertain the underlying cause of their absence, but mostly in order to resolve it. Managers can also rely on the frequent absence protocol.

Optimising sustainable employability: prevention

In 2024, Alliander rebranded its ‘Duurzaam Fit’ (Sustainably Fit) offering and vision. The introduction of the new Sustainably Fit brand name is enabling Alliander to translate sustainable employability into clear words and ideas, with the goal of improving the recognisability and overall cohesion of the different parts of the offering.

At the end of September 2024, Alliander introduced the Sustainably Fit Coach scheme. This gives employees easy access to optional coaching, without having to go through their manager. Coaching sessions of up to three hours are given by an occupational psychologist, either by phone or on Teams, and start within four working hours of signing up.

Alliander supports employees in managing their own welfare through the sustainable employment budget. Among other things, this enables them to purchase facilities for their workplace, cover budget coach fees or recover expenses for sports facilities and equipment. In 2024, a large number of employees made use of this budget. 40% of the budget is spent on sports.

Every three to five years, every Alliander employee is invited to undergo a Periodic Medical Check, which provides insight into their health and employability. Employees in the On-Call and Breakdown Service aged 55 or above are invited once every two years. Periodic Medical Checks are always voluntary. They consist of an online questionnaire, a medical check-up and a talk with a vitality coach. In 2024, 1,426 invitations were sent and 662 checks were performed.

Objectives and results in 2024

In 2024, the sickness absence rate was 4.1% (2023: 4.4%). This was lower than the 2024 target of 4.3%. The sickness absence rate gradually dropped during the year. The absence rate reports sickness absence (short, medium and long term) for permanent staff over a rolling 12-month period, excluding absence due to pregnancy.

Our plans

The target for the next few years will be to keep the average sickness absence rate below 4.3%. In 2025, we are doing this through policy and sustainable employability programmes based on mental relaxation, physical fitness and social engagement. Alliander thus ensures that employees feel good both mentally and physically, which contributes towards a vital and productive workforce. We are maintaining our existing approach and will monitor the different types of absences.

Equal treatment and equal opportunities for all

Alliander aspires to be an organisation where everyone feels at home. We also strive to reflect the diversity of society in the composition of our Management Board, management and workforce. We pay attention to the needs of employees. Alliander values a good gender balance and cultural diversity. A diverse organisation makes us more innovative and more effective, which safeguards our future. In equal treatment and equal opportunities, we distinguish between inclusion and equality, training and development, and actions against violence and intimidation in the workplace.

Impacts, risks and opportunities

Our task of doing more work demands new ways of thinking, so it is important that colleagues feel at liberty to show their best and unique selves at work. That’s why we are increasing our positive impact by focusing on inclusivity and diversity. We pay particular attention to women in managerial positions, the cultural background of our employees, people from the LGBTIQ+ community, people with poor employment prospects and the age structure of our workforce. This applies both to our permanent and temporary employees, and to all our partners in the energy supply chain. We believe that a safe workplace where everybody feels at home contributes to the welfare of our employees and benefits productivity. However, there are challenges. Inappropriate behaviour has a negative impact on the shop floor and can diminish employee well-being. Moreover, a lack of diversity and inclusion leads to a loss of talent and higher staff costs. To manage and mitigate such impacts and risks, we invest in special employee networks to promote inclusion and social cohesion, pay active attention to the code of conduct and pay a great deal of attention to the ‘Spreek je uit’ (Speak Up) policy so that we can identify and correct abuses.

• Positive impact – Equal treatment and equal opportunities for all contribute positively to the welfare and development of employees.

• Negative impact – Inappropriate behaviour on the shop floor can diminish employee well-being. 

• Risk – Insufficient diversity and inclusion lead to a loss of talent and higher staff costs.

Inclusion and equality 

Policy and approach

The Management Board approved the diversity, inclusion and equality policy in 2023. The policy was incorporated in a multi-year plan containing spearheads in the field of inflow, women in managerial positions, management and data, advancement and retention of colleagues from minority groups. Our inclusion policy focuses on five areas:

• Gender: we aim to create equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of their gender. We aim to balance diversity in all layers and parts of our organisation. Our policy specifically targets representation of women in managerial positions and in technical positions.

• Cultural background: we aim to create equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of their ethnic background (colour, religion, culture). We aim to improve cultural diversity in all layers and parts of our organisation.

• LGBTQ+: we aim to create a culture where everyone can be themselves and feels safe to express their sexual orientation, gender identity, relationships or family situation. 

• Poor employment prospects: we aim to include people with poor employment prospects, focusing on the target group that falls under the government’s job promise scheme (‘banenafspraak’). We offer long-terms jobs and work experience placements.

• Age: we aim to create a culture where both young and old feel at home and realise their potential. Here we also target diversity: different generations bring different perspectives that will make the future energy transition possible.

Objectives and results in 2024

Alliander is taking initiatives that respond to the needs of women. To start conversations on this topic, we carried out various webinars and organised the Hi Vrouw (‘Hi Woman’) event. We have also extended the range of safety workwear and specifically tailored it to meet women’s needs. Alliander also pays attention to festivals that are important for certain groups of colleagues, such as Ramadan, Keti Koti, Coming Out Day and Diversity Day. Six employee networks play a role in promoting inclusion and social cohesion, namely: ‘Wij zijn Nexus’ (a multicultural network), Lianne (a women's network), Pride (an LHBTIQ+ network), Young Alliander (a youth network), Mission Possible (for people with occupational disabilities) and Globals (for international colleagues). In 2024, Mission Possible drew attention to the issue of neurodiversity by organising a webinar for more than 500 colleagues. Lianne adopted a fresh vision and new logo. The network regularly holds open-to-all events where women can meet female colleagues. The Globals network has contributed to the inclusion of non-Dutch speaking colleagues by holding information sessions in English on topics such as the collective labour agreement and the intranet.  

Women in senior management

The proportion of women in senior management (positions immediately below the top level, i.e. directors and managers reporting directly to the Management Board) is 38%, which means we met our target of 33% for 2024.  

Equal pay

The gender pay gap, defined as the difference between the average pay of male employees and female employees, is -1.3%. In other words, women are paid slightly more on average than men. The pay gap is calculated based on the number of staff employed at the year-end and gross monthly pay in December of the year in question. 

The ratio of the total annual pay for the best-paid person to the median annual pay for all employees is 4.2. The KPI is based on gross annual salary. 

Number of participation jobs

Alliander also strives to include people with poor employment prospects. We offer long-term work to people with poor job prospects who meet the criteria of the Dutch Labour Participation Act. In 2024, we met our target of 145.0 FTEs, which shows that we are on the right track. This number is lower than the statutory target for ‘participation jobs’ of 207.8 FTEs. Alliander has opted for a realistic growth model based on sound analyses and realistic expectations, which enables us to offer permanent job opportunities to people whose job prospects would otherwise be poor. In our experience, the labour market shortages also apply to the target group of people with poor employment prospects. Finding suitable candidates for Alliander requires additional effort. We are looking for new partners who have candidates with the right level of education. Alliander’s demand for candidates currently exceeds the supply. 

Definition: Number of employees with a target group registration at UWV as at 31 December. Employees who have a registration and employees participating in the practical route* are counted. *Practical route: The municipality conducts what is known as a ‘wage value measurement’ to determine whether an employee is capable of earning the Dutch minimum wage and forwards the result to UWV, which then includes the employee in the target group register. These employees are counted until the application is completed. 

Age structure 

Based on the number of permanent employees on the last day of the reporting year.

Our plans

We will continue to build an inclusive and diverse organisation. In 2025 we therefore shaped our policy, regulations, financial resources and assistance opportunities so as to make it as easy as possible to create, source, fill and make a success of participation jobs and the people who work in them. We aim to comply with the statutory target by 2029. In 2024, we investigated the best way to measure cultural diversity, so that we could implement and monitor the required interventions with effect from 2025. 

Training and development

To find solutions for the energy issues of today and tomorrow, we invest in our people. We do this, on the one hand, by offering good pay and benefits, and, on the other hand, by helping our employees get the best out of themselves through training opportunities. That is good for them and good for the company. Employees are encouraged to develop their professional skills with a range of training and development opportunities. Special attention is devoted to safety training for specialist roles or roles involving specific risks. 

Impacts, risks and opportunities 

Impact (positive) – Developing and educating employees makes a positive contribution to their skills and competencies, and expands the pool of trained technical personnel.

Policy and approach

In 2024, we began implementing the new operating model for Learning and Development that was approved by the Management Board in 2023. The underlying policy document is in the course of being drawn up and will be completed and approved in 2025. The first Academies for specific organisational units are now in the works. The Academies will serve to structure and classify training courses and other interventions to support each unit’s strategy.

We have also launched five Topic Academies on five topics that are strategically important to Alliander: engineering, safety, leadership, personal development and digital. In the Academies, the first training courses and interventions are being identified and made available to everyone at Alliander.

In 2024, we began the implementation of a managed service provider for training. This is an external partner that performs supplier management on our behalf and meets Alliander’s external training needs. The Academies that have been set up can be discovered on the associated digital platform. Moreover, by engaging this service provider, Alliander has also moved to offering unlimited learning to all permanent employees (as from 2025). This means we are making training courses equally available to all employees, subject to a set of ground rules, and so are offering equal opportunities for development. 

My Energy Plan is the new approach we are using at Alliander to set agreements and targets for permanent staff. It enables us to pay attention to the performance, conduct and development of employees. In My Energy Plan, pay is no longer linked to performance assessments. My Energy Plan forms the basis for meetings between employees and their managers.

Objectives and results in 2024

In 2024, Alliander invested 3.6% of its wage bill in employee training (2023: 3.0%). We offer various training programmes and opportunities for development to make teams better able to perform and learn. In addition, the right professional knowledge and skills are available when needed and we apply a broad approach to talent development, both professional and personal. These learning and development opportunities are offered by way of team coaches and training and development programmes, and are also part of our talent management and trainee programmes.  

In 2024, the Alliander-wide onboarding programme was also extended, so that we can welcome our many new employees efficiently and inspirationally. The e-learning courses have been updated and have been made available to employees in an attractive and user-friendly way. We have begun improving and refining employee onboarding in the various organisational units, with the aim of optimising the onboarding experience for new members of staff. 

Career centre

The career centre supports all Alliander employees who are reviewing their career and employment options because their job has changed, or may be about to change or be terminated. A total of 4 colleagues became redundant in 2024 (2023: 21), and 415 (2023: 367) people made use of careers advice and coaching. In 2024, 65 employees managed to find a new job or an appropriate alternative (2023: 78). Career counsellors help employees to discover their talents and find the most suitable role for them, either inside or outside Alliander. We believe that everyone is worth investing in, and we do this by offering internships, secondments, and training. We talk to employees about their future development in their current role or elsewhere. By making timely investments in our employees, we try to avoid redundancies wherever possible. 

Our plans

Employees improve their performance, conduct and development in meetings with managers through My Energy Plan. In 2025, we made unrestricted learning available to all employees with an Alliander contract. Career and development pathways are also available for critical target groups in the production chains. 

Actions against violence and intimidation in the workplace 

Policy and approach

Code of conduct

The code of conduct sets out how we deal with each other, business and personal interests, business assets, health and safety, and the environment. In this way, we protect Alliander’s customers, relationships and reputation, and jointly safeguard a pleasant and safe working environment. If the code of conduct is violated, this will be dealt with fairly, and may lead to disciplinary measures, varying from an (official) warning to dismissal, depending on severity.

In order to identify and address possible misconduct on a timely basis, we have a ‘Spreek je uit’ (Speak up) policy in place for employees, which sets out where and how employees can report inappropriate behaviour. Various options exist, such as the scheme for reporting suspected misconduct, the complaints procedure for inappropriate behaviour and the general regulation on complaints. The Management Board monitors the effectiveness of, and compliance with, the Alliander Code of Conduct. Every six months, the Management Board informs the Supervisory Board of its findings and observations via the Audit Committee. These reports are based on investigations into suspected violations of Alliander’s code of conduct.

The Internal Audit department acts as a fraud disclosure desk and investigates reported incidents in accordance with the investigation protocol. One officer of the fraud disclosure desk is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners with a continuing professional education obligation.
Every new employee, including Management Board members and agency workers, is given the code of conduct when they start work. In addition, employees must take a regular e-learning course dealing with subjects relating to the code of conduct. With this, we aim to state clearly how employees should behave towards one another, what standards and values we cherish in our organisation and how and where they can report inappropriate conduct. In this way, we can all safeguard a pleasant and safe working environment.

Acting with integrity

The e-learning course helps employees to become more conscious of integrity requirements and challenges. Integrity issues and ways of dealing with dilemmas in this field are also discussed in team meetings. Aspects covered include a safe working environment, anti-corruption measures, prevention of conflicts of interest, dealing with gifts, and handling confidential information. Articles and blogs by managers and directors focusing on integrity risks are also regularly published on the intranet. 

Channels for raising concerns 

Alliander’s aim is to be a (socially) safe organisation with a (socially) safe working environment. An organisation where all employees act in the interests of the organisation and society, and where they can feel at ease and be themselves. This means doing the right things (in line with our strategy) in the right way (according to our values), with our code of conduct as the basis. 

Handling complaints

The complaints procedure for inappropriate behaviour, the regulation on reporting suspected misconduct, and a whistleblower policy are in place so that employees can report suspected misconduct safely and in a structured way. In addition, the regulation on complaints related to employment conditions – previously applicable only to reorganisations – is available as a procedure for objecting to all decisions affecting employment conditions. Employees can also raise concerns in confidence with nominated officers within Alliander. In 2024, eight people, including one outside the company, served as confidential advisers for reporting inappropriate conduct such as discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying, aggression and violence.  

Whistleblower policy

The whistleblower policy encourages employees to report every complaint or inappropriate situation within the organisation. More information about the whistleblower policy can be found under Business conduct (G1). Every six months, the nominated officer for the whistleblower policy provides the Management Board and the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board with a list of whistleblowing reports received and the actions taken in response.

Aggression help desk

We are also seeing an increase in aggression towards our employees by customers and members of the community. Alliander has set up an aggression help desk to support employees experiencing aggression in the workspace. The help desk offers instruments such as training courses and toolboxes to prepare employees for possible situations and limit the impact of aggression as much as possible. Protocols for aggression and intimidation have been developed, in which we set out what we can do together to prevent aggression as much as possible and what to do if an incident has occurred. The help desk offers a safe space where such incidents can be reported and immediately looked into. The safety management system includes a separate form for reporting aggression. This gives us a clearer picture of what is happening in terms of aggression, so that we can put the right provisions and measures in place to minimise its negative impact.

Objectives and results in 2024

Personal safety

Last year, several actions were carried out to increase personal safety. The code of conduct was updated and the ‘How we do things at Alliander’ e-learning course was completely revamped. The e-learning course consists of a number of interactive modules which help you judge for yourself whether or not a particular action shows integrity or looks questionable. It includes a number of dilemmas and film clips on personal safety that help you take the right decision. A number of personal safety toolkits have also been implemented, which the whole organisation can use. The ‘Spreek je uit’ (Speak up) processes have also been expanded and the content and visuals have been updated, so that it is clearer to both employees and managers what routes they can take when they make or receive a report. Lastly, several personal safety workshops were held, both to increase knowledge of the subject and to enable people to take action. 

The 2024 Central Employee Barometer shows that 87% (2023: 86%) of employees view Alliander as a socially safe workplace. However 6.7% (2023: 6.4%) of our colleagues indicate that they experienced inappropriate behaviour last year like abuse of power, bullying or discrimination. These cases often remain unreported, unlike cases of aggression or violence. Since 2023, our employee satisfaction survey has also included questions about experiences with inappropriate behaviour by customers or passers-by. People experienced inappropriate behaviour and aggression in some parts of the organisation. This appears to be a social trend, which is having a major impact on our colleagues. The new ‘Through Different Eyes’ intervention can help people learn to recognise such situations and teach members of the public what they can do about them. 

Reporting to confidential advisers

The number of reports submitted to confidential advisers increased from 83 in 2023 to 116 in 2024. Ten of these were discrimination cases. The number of serious human rights incidents remained at zero. We found no cases of non-compliance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). These reports did not give rise to fines or compensation for discrimination or for human rights breaches. The rise in the number of reports is partly due to the increase in employee numbers at Alliander. In 2024, the number of confidential advisers increased from five to eight. 

Reporting fraud and incidents

The fraud disclosure desk completed 31 investigations into fraud and incident reports in the year under review. This prompted the management involved to impose measures or sanctions in 23 cases, including terminating the employment contract by means of a settlement agreement. Apart from reports of fraud and incidents, there were 80 cases in which managers decided to impose sanctions varying from an official warning to a settlement agreement. These cases ranged from attitude issues and behaviour (including transgressive behaviour) to issues around an employee’s performance. 

Our plans

In 2025, we will continue devoting attention to social safety. In January, the industry’s Integrity Week took place, during which we organised a total of nine events. These included a ‘Social safety on the shop floor’ webinar for managers within and outside Alliander. The Integrity working group will also carry out several social safety actions, such continuing the development of toolboxes and running workshops for a variety of Alliander teams. 

We believe there is further scope to increase the effects of our policy, processes and measures on social safety impacts and risks by further formalising surveys and performing more focused research among our staff, for instance, by carrying out specific research on vulnerable groups and victims of inappropriate conduct.