Case study: How Bangkok Bank promotes employee welfare
Bangkok Bank is a leading bank in Thailand, a major regional bank in Southeast Asia and a market leader in corporate and business banking, with a large retail customer base. Nurturing employees by providing them with adequate and appropriate benefits, workplace safety, good living conditions, life security and long-term service at the Bank is a key priority for Bangkok Bank.
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by Bangkok Bank published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Bangkok Bank makes sure it equitably provides additional welfare and privileges to its employees Tweet This!, such as health benefits, loans, and life security after retirement, in order to lessen the burden and anxiety of employees and their families. In order to promote employee welfare Bangkok Bank took action to:
- provide financial aid
- establish a provident fund
- help employees with family care
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Bangkok Bank has identified;
- How Bangkok Bank proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Bangkok Bank to promote employee welfare
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Bangkok Bank identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, customer satisfaction, anti-corruption, community development. Among these, promoting employee welfare stands out as a key material issue for Bangkok Bank.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Bangkok Bank engages with:
Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
Shareholders and Investors
| · Annual General Meeting of Shareholders once a year and Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders as required · Disclosure of information in the Annual Registration Statement (Form 56–1), Annual Report (Form 56–2) and Sustainability Report in print on an annual basis · Disclosure of information through the website of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), electronic publications and the Bank’s official website on a regular basis · 41 meetings with investors and stock analysts · 169 conference calls with investors and stock analysts · 20 meetings with investors · International roadshows in foreign countries |
Customers | · Conduct a customer satisfaction survey at least once a year · Organise activities throughout the year to foster positive relationships between the Bank and customers · Organise training and seminars throughout the year to provide knowledge and financial advice regarding saving, trade and investment, as well as cyber security · Arrange year-round appointment schedules for customer visits to strengthen relationships and accommodate their needs · Provide a range of digital channels for easy and quick communications with customers, such as LINE Groups, Facebook and Twitter · Receive and handle complaints and provide services through the Bank’s Phone Banking Centre on telephone number 1333, or website www.bangkokbank.com, 24 hours a day, seven days a week |
Employees | · Organise orientation programmes for new hires twice a month · Organise an annual meeting of executives from across the country at the beginning of January each year · Conduct an annual survey of executives’ satisfaction levels with the performance of the Human Resource Division · Assign representatives to take part in weekly scheduled meetings of the Bangkok Bank Managerial Officers Union and the Bangkok Bank Workers Union · Disseminate news and information to all employees in the “Our News” internal newspaper which is published every two weeks · Make announcements and disseminate news and information about interesting activities on the Bank’s intranet “BBL CONNECT”, internal e-mail, and public address system to keep employees up-to-date with important information and news · Evaluate the performance of employees twice a year |
Counterparties
| · Meet with new vendors (or with existing vendors when new contracts are signed) to listen to their suggestions and clarify protocols for working together · Hold a seminar with counterparties to promote sustainable supply chain management once a year · Communicate in writing to inform counterparties of any significant changes to the Bank’s relevant rules · Maintain regular contacts with counterparties to listen to their opinions and recommendations on product development as well as to build good rapport |
Creditors
| · Disseminate accurate and honest information · Communicate about the Bank’s products and services through mass media and advertising channels · Receive suggestions and complaints through the Bank’s Phone Banking Centre on telephone number 1333, or website www.bangkokbank.com, 24 hours a day, seven days a week |
Industry Peers
| · Participate in activities and meetings of the Thai Bankers’ Association and those of its working groups and associations. These include for instance the CSR Club, Credit Cards Club, Thai Commercial Bank Branch Executives Club, and Sustainable Banking Working Group · Participate in the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB – Thailand) comprising the Board of Trade of Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the Thai Bankers’ Association |
Community, Society and Environment
| · Produce weekly television programmes to share knowledge about finance and business administration with the general public and business sector · Organise regular community, social and environmental activities with a focus on preserving the uniqueness of Thai identity and culture · Build awareness and share knowledge with people and businesses about finance, investment, savings and business administration through training, seminars and various media channels on a regular basis · Receive complaints and suggestions through the Bank’s Phone Banking Centre on telephone number 1333, or website www.bangkokbank.com, 24 hours a day, seven days a week |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Bangkok Bank carried out a survey, using questionnaires, among both internal and external stakeholders, including the Bank’s management and staff, shareholders, investors, customers, business partners, creditors, community members and industry peers.
What actions were taken by Bangkok Bank to promote employee welfare?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Bangkok Bank reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee welfare:
- Providing financial aid
- Bangkok Bank provides additional benefits on top of those specified by law to lessen burdens and anxiety for employees. For example, an employee who has children is entitled to an allowance of Baht 600 per month for each of the first three children until they reach their legal age or graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. In addition, Bangkok Bank provides a special allowance to employees working in high-risk areas in the southernmost provinces. The Bank provides a gratuity benefit equal to the last 15 months’ salary to an employee’s family in case of death or disability of employees from a cause not related to work, under specified terms and conditions. In case of death or dismissal from work due to sickness or accident from a cause related to work resulting in the inability to work, Bangkok Bank provides a gratuity benefit equal to the last 30 months’ salary, with specified terms and conditions, and children continue to receive the allowance as if the employee remained employed. Bangkok Bank also provides loans with special interest rates for employees in need to help them have a good quality of life throughout their career with the Bank. The loans include home loans, car loans, educational loans, medical loans, debt consolidation loans, living-cost loans and disaster relief loans.
- Establishing a provident fund
- Bangkok Bank encourages saving and investment through the provident fund established in 1989, to make sure employees have enough savings for their retirement. Members of the provident fund can choose an investment policy that suits their expected return on investment at their retirement with acceptable risk levels. Employees can change their investment policy twice a year during specified periods. In 2019, Bangkok Bank received the Silver Award from the Happy PVD Company Project organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise awareness of Thais about the need to have sufficient long-term savings for their living after retirement, under the concept “Optimum saving. Well planned. Sufficient funds”. Bangkok Bank encouraged employees to be aware of retirement savings through the provident fund scheme. Employees can contribute between 3 percent to 15 percent of their monthly salary, with the Bank contributing 6.75 percent to 8.75 percent of their salary, depending on their years of service. At present, 95.4 percent of the employees participate in the provident fund.
- Helping employees with family care
- Bangkok Bank believes in the importance of family and has set some benefits higher than the minimum standards specified by law to promote strong relationships and a good quality of life for the families of its employees. Employees can take maternity leave, before and after delivery, for a maximum of 98 days. Male employees can take paternity leave for five days with full pay to take care of their wives during the first 15 days after delivery. Bangkok Bank also allows sick leave for up to 90 working days with full pay (the law requires 30 days).
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
2) Disclosure 401-3 Parental leave
Disclosure 401-2 Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
- Targets: 3.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality
- Targets: 5.4
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.5
Disclosure 401-3 Parental leave corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality
- Targets: 5.1, 5.4
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.5
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Bangkok Bank, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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