Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2017

51 Work experience for Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs students. For four months, 8 Al Noor special needs students between 18 to 23 years old have been undergoing a training programme at Centro Barsha in the departments of housekeeping, laundry, administration and kitchen. The work experience is aimed at providing hands-on education and emotional support in a real work environment. BENEFITS AND COMPENSATION Rotana offers its permanent colleagues a competitive compensation and benefits package in all its regions of operation. Performance based incentives underpin our compensation strategy, which we believe, enhances the culture of partnership and teamwork across the company. Under our compensation framework, a proportion of colleagues’ annual bonuses are deferred, and subject to key performance objectives and an evaluation of competency. This creates a sense of ownership and accountability that is central to our corporate culture. EMPLOYMENT OF COLLEAGUES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS In 2016, our Abu Dhabi hotels launched a new employment Medical Special Needs questionnaire to be completed when employing new colleagues in compliance with the occupational health and safety requirement. It screens individuals to assess any special needs required to enable the employee to fulfill their stated roles and responsibilities and the following considerations are made to support those needs: • Reasonable adjustments are made in the colleague’s department and facilities to provide the person with access to all normal areas in the hotel; • Reasonable adjustments are made in the colleague’s workplace and their responsibilities to ensure reduction and prevention of occupational incidents; • The Human Resources leader ensures that a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is developed for each person who is identified as having special needs. The colleague is allocated a designated “buddy “who will provide him/her with any necessary assistance during an emergency evacuation. We also offer a benefits’ programme that includes medical, health and disability cover, end of service plans, parental leave, food and beverage discounts and stay-over discounts for colleagues and for friends and relatives of colleagues. The end of service payments are paid as per the applicable country’s labour law and are accrued pro-rata forming part of Rotana’s operating cost. Cash and receivables normally cover such accrual commitments. Overtime hours are duly compensated. Rotana has a policy that requires our colleague’s passports to be secured with Human Resources to prevent loss of personal documents. In the last 2 years, 67 of our colleagues received their maternity leave as per the applicable labour law and returned to work soon after their leave. The Rotana Balance Score Card (RBS) policy fairly recognises and rewards eligible colleagues for their contribution and good performance. To encourage colleagues to be involved and to participate in the success and growth of the company, a Performance Management policy has been established to reinforce the company’s belief that good performance of our colleagues directly reflects on our growth, and colleagues who contribute with good performance deserve recognition, merit and reward. Thus, further motivating them to continue to be highly productive. Men and women are treated equally in this performance based remuneration framework. To ensure Rotana’s compensation package retains its competitive edge, Rotana participates in an annual compensation and benefits survey and has signed an agreement with Aon Hewitt, a 3rd party company which conducts salary surveys. The total paid in colleagues’ salary, benefits and rewards in 2016 and 2017 was USD 424.5 Million. In the last 2 years, 67 of our colleagues received their maternity leave as per the applicable labour law and returned to work soon after their leave.