Children are our future. Mothers and fathers seeking a good work/life balance can take advantage of practical services from BPW aimed at reducing their burden on a day-to-day basis. When their regular childcare happens to cancel, work meetings are held outside opening hours or the summer holidays are coming up, they can rely on their employer’s support.
Support in an emergency
The childminder calls in sick in the morning, or an important work meeting is scheduled outside nursery opening hours – at times like these, working parents face real challenges. BPW set up KidsTreff, a childcare service to provide rapid assistance for all employees in emergencies of this kind. In partnership with an AWO Rhein-Oberberg e.V. family centre, children aged four months to 14 years can be looked after free of charge in a childcare facility in Wiehl for up to three days in a row. This service is easy for parents to use at short notice if their regular childcare falls through and no one they know can help them out. BPW is also currently looking into setting up a company nursery.
Sport and summer activities for little ones
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To allow parents to work more flexibly in the afternoon, BPW offers afternoon childcare in conjunction with sport associations, so the kids can play ice hockey or go ice skating or swimming. In this context, they are picked up from their regular childcare and taken to the sports facilities, where their parents can pick them up later.
With its annual summer camp, BPW lets its employees’ kids enjoy a week’s summer holiday in some lovely locations. Children aged 10 to 13 spend the holidays together in the countryside, where they can enjoy lots of leisure activities in the best possible hands. In 2017, the kids headed to Worriken in Belgium, while in August 2018, the week’s holiday took place on the island of Sylt. Parents only make a small contribution to the costs of the trip.
Compliance
At BPW, conducting its business in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations is a matter of course. The company sets great store by openness, honesty and fairness when dealing with employees, customers and business partners, and stands behind its actions. BPW has committed to acting in a responsible, ethically impeccable and lawful manner.
Acting lawfully
Whether with regard to environmental protection, occupational safety or competition law – to ensure unfailing compliance with all legal provisions, BPW introduced the GEORG software module for legal organisation. This gives management staff an overview of their respective duties and obligations and reminds them in a timely manner when these are due. The tool therefore helps them to act responsibly and lawfully at all times and to be able to document and demonstrate this.
Code of conduct outlines values
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BPW has a strong moral compass –sustainability and corporate responsibility have always been a matter of course at the company. This is reflected in the company’s strategies, products and services, as well as its management and corporate culture. Now, for the first time, BPW has laid down these values in writing in a code of conduct that contains eleven guidelines for day-to-day business.
Published in autumn 2017, the code includes a description of how BPW prioritises openness, honesty and fairness when dealing with employees, customers and business partners and undertakes to protect the environment in a sustainable way and use resources and energy carefully in all business activities. It also includes commitments regarding proper conduct between superiors, employees and colleagues, rules on occupational safety and rules on accepting gifts. The code of conduct is intended to act as a guide for everyone in the company – company management, management staff and every single employee.