Remuneration and incentives
Remuneration and benefits
Remuneration and benefits: valuing people and creating value over time
Remuneration and benefits: valuing people and creating value over time
The Hera Group’s remuneration and benefits policy is designed to recognise people’s contribution, support their growth and encourage the achievement of business goals. It is not only about financial aspects, but takes a holistic view of all the ways in which Hera values, motivates and develops its people: fixed and variable remuneration, benefits, welfare, professional growth opportunities, training and initiatives to support development.
This approach supports the Group’s medium- and long-term strategies, helps improve business results and promotes the creation of sustainable value over time for all stakeholders. Remuneration and incentive systems strengthen the link between the Group’s goals, individual contribution and the recognition received, with particular attention to sustainability, fairness and gender equality.
The policy is based on clear, shared criteria: the complexity and responsibilities of the role, the skills required, results achieved, benchmarking against the labour market, and internal consistency between roles of comparable value. The aim is to attract, motivate and retain the professional expertise needed for the Group’s development while ensuring responsible and sustainable cost management.
The components of remuneration
The Hera Group’s remuneration system contains a balanced set of financial and non-financial components:
- fixed remuneration;
- short-term variable remuneration;
- medium- and long-term variable remuneration;
- benefits and welfare;
- other types of remuneration for specific roles or needs.
Fixed remuneration
Fixed remuneration recognises the value of the role, the responsibilities assigned, professional specialisation and the technical and managerial skills required.
It is set by taking into account the complexity of the duties, consistency with roles of comparable value within the Group and benchmarking against the labour market. The aim is to ensure internal fairness while also maintaining a remuneration offer that is suitable to attract and retain the necessary professional expertise.
Short-term variable remuneration
Short-term variable remuneration recognises the achievement of objectives set in advance, which must be concrete and measurable.
The objectives may relate to economic and financial performance, service quality, efficiency, customer satisfaction, strategic projects, managerial behaviours and sustainability commitments.
The bonus actually awarded takes into account both individual results and the Group’s overall performance, strengthening the link between personal contribution and business goals.
Medium- and long-term variable remuneration
Medium- and long-term variable remuneration is intended for a selected number of people in strategic roles.
It is linked to the achievement of the Group’s objectives over a multi-year period and aims to strengthen a long-term results-oriented approach, support continuity of management and retain the professional expertise considered essential for Hera’s future development.
Benefits and welfare
Benefits and welfare supplement financial remuneration through services and instruments dedicated to the wellbeing of people and their families.
The Group provides a welfare system accessible to the company workforce, including individual allowances, services dedicated to personal and family needs, initiatives to support children’s education and, for the relevant employee groups, the possibility of converting part of the performance bonus into welfare services.
Depending on the role held and the conditions set out in the relevant company rules, the benefits package may include:
- insurance cover;
- supplementary pension provision;
- company car for business and private use;
- accommodation;
- benefits linked to specific professional or personal needs.
- The composition of the package is defined in a differentiated and proportionate way, taking into account the characteristics of the role and the aim of attracting and retaining the most critical professional expertise.
Other types of remuneration
Certain roles or specific business needs may include other types of remuneration, which is defined according to specific criteria.
These include non-compete agreements for professionals who have knowledge, skills or relationships of particular significance for the Group.
Targeted measures may also be provided to support entry, retention or mobility for people in strategic roles or roles requiring skills that are difficult to find on the market.
Fairness and gender equality
Hera promotes a remuneration system based on the criteria of fairness, consistency and transparency.
The Group regularly analyses pay differences between women and men, taking into account objective factors such as the complexity of the position, the job family, experience in the role and individual performance. This makes it possible to distinguish between differences that can be explained by professional and organisational factors and those that cannot, enabling targeted improvement measures to be put in place.
This commitment is confirmed by the gender equality certification in accordance with the UNI/PdR 125:2022 practice, maintained in 2025 for Hera S.p.A. and for a further ten leading companies in the Group. The management system required by the certification covers topics such as recruitment, career management, pay equity, parenthood, work–life balance and internal communication.
The Group also follows the evolution of European legislation on pay transparency, which strengthens people’s right to receive clear information on the criteria used to determine remuneration and on the conditions required for economic and professional growth. The aim is to make remuneration systems increasingly understandable, verifiable and based on gender-neutral criteria.
Transparency in communication
Transparency is a fundamental element of our remuneration policy.
Hera communicates to people the objectives assigned, the assessment criteria and the link between results achieved and financial rewards. This focus makes incentive schemes easier to understand and strengthens awareness of each individual’s contribution to the Group’s objectives.
Every year, all employees also receive an individual statement, called the Total Reward Statement, which provides a unified view of the overall value recognised by the company.
The statement does not only show fixed remuneration, but offers a more complete picture of the financial and non-financial components received during the year, such as variable remuneration, benefits and welfare.
Each person can therefore learn more clearly the overall value of their package and understand how the different components contribute to recognising their role and contribution.
Valuing people to build the future
The Hera Group’s remuneration and benefits policy is an instrument for managing the company.
It helps to attract the required professional expertise, recognise people’s contribution, support their growth and strengthen their motivation. At the same time, it makes it possible to link individual results to the Group’s strategic objectives, promoting behaviours consistent with the company’s values.
Remuneration, benefits, welfare and development opportunities are part of a single commitment: creating conditions that can support people’s wellbeing and growth, fairness, sustainability and long-term value creation.
The Balanced Scorecard system
For executive directors, managers and middle managers, Hera uses the Balanced Scorecard, a system that links variable remuneration to the achievement of individual and company objectives.
For managers and middle managers, the individual scorecard may include:
- projects linked to the Group’s strategic priorities;
- financial objectives of the organisational unit;
- behaviours set out in the Group’s leadership model.
Individual results are also assessed in light of the Group’s overall performance, measured through economic, financial, sustainability and customer satisfaction indicators.
The performance bonus applies to eligible employees and is agreed through negotiations with trade union organisations.
Its amount depends on the results achieved by the Group as a whole and the individual Group companies. The indicators take into account profitability, productivity, quality, efficiency and innovation.
On a voluntary basis and within the limits set by legislation, people can choose to convert part of the bonus into goods and services available through the company welfare programme.
For roles directly linked to sales, specific schemes are in place to recognise the achievement of individual, team and organisational unit objectives.
The assessment takes into account business results, organisational behaviours and the Company’s overall performance. For staff in direct contact with customers, indicators relating to service quality and waiting times may also be considered.
For some sales roles, the package may also include a company car for both business and private use.
Page update 23 Sep 2026