Employees participate in the decision-making process regarding the company’s policy through the Works Council. In 2024, the Council dealt with issues including social security, the introduction of the On-call and Incident Response Service ICT and various requests for advice on operations. The Standing Committee on Safety, Health, Welfare and Environment (HSE) is new.
Employee participation at Enexis consists of the Central Works Council (CWC) and three underlying Works Councils (WsCs) representing the various business units.
The CWC consists of 10 members (11 seats). These members are delegated from the underlying WsCs: the Operations WsC (6 members), the Transition WsC (2 members) and the Staff WsC (2 members, 1 vacant seat). These Works Councils are supported by a secretariat.
Central Works Council (CWC)
In 2024, the CWC discussed a wide range of topics, such as social security and thus also Company Regulation 15. There was also an organisational change in Data & Digitalisation and ICT. In accordance with the existing step-by-step plan for handling requests for advice, the CWC was closely involved. The employees concerned were consulted by the CWC by means of a survey. The process was very constructive. The CWC was satisfied with the final result and gave a positive advice. In the triangular consultation between CWC, EB and SB we discussed, among other things, the labor market, strategy, digitalization and AI.
Step-by-step plan
In 2024, we began to benefit from the roadmap developed in 2023 through productive consultations between management and the CWC. The plan outlines the best approach for navigating the consultation and approval processes, saving significant time without compromising the quality of discussions or content. An added benefit is the improved overall quality.
Professionalisation
The CWC aimed to become more professional. In this context, members took part in a course on interaction science. As a result, the quality of meetings, consultations with the EB and with the Supervisory Board improved. The CWC also published an annual report.
New elections
In 2025, the three-year term of the current councils will expire. Elections for the new council will take place in mid-May/June.
SHWE Committee
The Central Works Council and the Staff, Transition and Operations Works Councils have jointly established a Standing Committee on Safety, Health, Welfare and the Environment (SHWE). The SHWE Committee reviews the company’s compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act requirements and ensures safe working conditions for the company’s employees. All employees must be able to work in a safe and healthy manner. The committee consults with its director, the HSEQ director. In accordance with the decree establishing it, the SHWE Committee has the right and duty, among other things, to carry out processes of advice and consent independently. The members of the committee also make use of the facilities agreed for employee participation within Enexis. The committee consists of five members from employee participation and four members appointed from within the organisation through a recruitment and selection process.
During the past year, the SHWE Committee and the Director have mainly focused on establishing the consultation structure. Topics such as Lifting & Hoisting and Prevention Officers were discussed in this context.
Operations WsC
The energy transition is creating a lot of pressure and change in Operations. The work package is increasing, while staff shortages are making it difficult for the organisation to keep pace. As a result, we need to work smarter and more efficiently across different departments. This led to several requests for advice, approvals and written communications in 2024. In all cases, the WsC focused on ensuring that the changes were practical and manageable for employees, that they had a voice in the process, and that the proposed changes actually contributed to Enexis’ objectives.
New COO
After Liesbeth Kaashoek’s interim period, Han Slootweg started as the new COO and Director of Operations in April. There was no time to get used to each other’s work approach – faced with a massive pile of files, everyone had to hit the ground running.
Personnel changes
2024 also saw some personnel changes. Wijnand Willigenburg started in June to replace a colleague who had left the company. In addition, two members left at the end of the year. Dave Pauëlsen has a new position in Staff and therefore had to step down. Marcel Kabbedijk retired. The WsC decided not to fill these vacancies, given the planned WsC elections in 2025. The time frame is too short.
Transition WsC
Transition WsC represents the interests of all employees within the Transition business unit: the Asset Management, Energy System & Transition, Data & Digitalisation, Market Facilitation and Innovation & Development departments. Transition WsW also represents the interests of the whole company. It serves as the main point of contact for the Director, Jeroen Sanders, on matters concerning or impacting these departments.
Staff WsC
The Staff WsC represents the interests of the employees within the business unit: Communications, Corporate & Legal Affairs, Finance & Control, HR, HSEQ, Internal Audit & Risk, ICT, Procurement, Regulation, Strategy and Treasury. The Staff WsC also represents the interests of the organisation. It is the main point of contact for the Executive Board member, Mariëlle Vogt, on matters relating to or impacting the areas for which the WsC was established.
Better communication
In 2024, the Staff WsC focused on improving communication with its target groups. This included presentations in departments and youth organisations, surveys and a quiz with a cake as a prize. In addition, the Staff WsC approved the introduction of the On-call and Incident Response Service ICT in the Asset Registration chain and gave a positive advice on phase 1 of the organisational structure within HR and the organisational change within Facility Management.
Fewer members
Unfortunately, the number of council members decreased in 2024, resulting in understaffing at the time of writing. In 2025, we will have our regular employee participation elections, where we hope to welcome some enthusiastic new members to continue and expand the good work. We are eager to produce a newsletter and plan to use our right of initiative.