Staff Expenditure and Value Added
Migros as an employer: attractive employment terms, fair wages with above-average salary growth and generous pension benefits.
Personnel costs
The wages of Migros employees rose in nominal terms by 20.4% and in real terms by 13.3% between 2002 and 2012 via the annual wage adjustments. The wage bill exceeds CHF 3.9 billion and the personnel costs amount to some CHF 5 billion. In 2012 Migros spent more than 74% of its total net value added on its employees.
Real wages at Migros rose by an average of 1.25% as of 1 January 2012. This wage adjustment is part of a wage-policy strategy that is not aimed at short-term effects, but guided towards long-term sustainability in wage development. Employees benefit from this. While wages in the Swiss private sector rose by 14.8% in nominal terms and by 7.5% in real terms between 2002 and 2012, Migros increased its nominal wages by 20.4% and its real wages by 13.3%. The overall economic wage development was therefore clearly exceeded.
As the employees play an important part in the contribution that Migros makes to the economic value added in Switzerland, they also make up a major proportion of the social value added of Migros. In 2012 Migros spent more than 74% of its net value added on its employees.
Chart Personnel costs development
Chart Wage bill development
Chart Share of value added
Wage equality
The principle of role- and performance-based remuneration applies throughout the entire Migros group, based on a fair and clear system.
The employee management development remuneration system (M-FEE) of Migros consistently implements in practice the principle of equal wages for equal roles, performance and experience. The tool has a gender-neutral design. The principle therefore not only promotes equal wages for women and men, but also applies in general within Migros. It ensures role, performance and distribution equality for wages and wage adjustments (chart) as the basis of a transparent, clear and fair wage policy.
Employee pension plans
The Migros Pension Fund (MPF) organises the occupational pensions for the policyholders of 43 associated companies of the Migros Group based on performance. Some 54'000 active policyholders and 28'000 pensioners are managed.
The MPF provides excellent pension benefits: the target benefit is 70.2% of the insured salary at the normal retirement age of 64 for men and women. For over 25s, the employer contribution is 17%, and the employee contribution 8.5%. Migros covers two thirds of the contributions and therefore lies well above the Swiss average.
The MPF also offers policyholders and employers various options in the event of retirement (time, scope and withdrawal options), longer employment if the labour market has dried up, as well as attractive purchasing possibilities to improve the pension benefits.
Due to an excellent investment year with an overall performance of 9.9% and a coverage ratio of 115.8%, the Migros Pension Fund is in a good financial position.
Supplementary benefits
Migros offers its employees attractive additional benefits, such as extended maternity leave, various discounts, and profit-sharing schemes. It thereby emphasises its position as an attractive employee in Swiss retail.
Migros grants all mothers 16 weeks of maternity leave at full salary and thereby exceeds the legal requirements. Every father can also take up to four weeks of paternity leave during the first year of his child's life. Two of these weeks are paid by Migros, and unpaid leave can be taken for an additional two weeks.
In the event of death, Migros will cover the cost of a special life insurance policy which pays the employee's bereaved family members up to three annual salaries. This benefit is available to both unmarried couples and same-sex couples.
Migros involves its employees in the company's success. In the first four years of employment, CHF 1'000 is paid into their M-Participation Account, which earns interest at favourable rates. In 2012 these employee deposits amounted to more than CHF 200 million.
In addition, the companies of the Migros Group grant their employees numerous discounts and favourable terms on many different products and services, thereby emphasising the role of Migros as an attractive employer.