Taishin FHC Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2019

82 Friendly Workplace -24 Remuneration, Benefits & Employee Care Remuneration Policy Salary Ratio in Previous Years Salary Ratio (Female:Male) 2016 2017 2018 2019 Non-Managerial Role 100:101 100:101 100:101 100:101 Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 Average Salary Adjustment (%) 3.0 3.0 3.5 3.5 Managerial Role 100:105 100:105 100:105 100:106 Executive Officer 100:110 106% of male/female managers’ remunerations of male/female general employees’ remunerations 101% 100:108 100:108 100:101 Taishin Appreciation Rights Program Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Employee Stock Option Employee Cash Issue Subscription Program Taishin conducts market-wide salary surveys and reviews employees' compensa- tion on a yearly basis. Employees are distinguished between managerial and non-managerial role when determining compensation. Compensation difference between males and females is monitored by taking into account both basic salary and the overall package. Taishin treats employees equally and prohibits all forms of discrimination (such as ethnicity, gender, age, disability etc.) in its compensation decisions. Remuneration Policy In an attempt to align employees' goals with the Company's long-term performance and shareholders' interests while providingtheright incentivestoretaintalents,Taishinhas introducedanappreciationrightsprogramsince2012thatsets aside a certain percentage of bonus from each year's profits and defers payment for three years in association with the Company's futureshareprice.Thisdeferral is intended toencouragemanagers inmakingdecisionsand takingresponsi- bilities in long-term business performance. All key personnel and executive managers that may potentially affect the Company's operating decisions have been included in this program, even the Chairman's compensation has been designed based on this structure. In 2019, a total of 21,821 appreciation rights were issued while about 304 employees applied the plan. Taishin Holdings introduced the ESOP in September 2015 as a means to share business success with employees and to help them save for retirement. Under the ESOP, employees may voluntarily contribute a fixed amount to the program on a monthly basis, and the Company will support their commitment by making addition- al contribution that amounts to 100% of employees' monthly commitments to their accounts. By the end of 2019, 84% of employees had participated in the paln and the Company had contributed a total of TWD 380 million, whereas the return of investment in ESOP is 29%. Overall, the ESOP serves a number of purposes including long-term saving, wealth accumulation, and assurance for life after retirement. Taishin has made four issues of employee stock options since 2004, making it the most active issuer in the local financial industry. Options representing 377,000,000 shares of the Company have been issued to employees, of which 142,963,000 shares have been exercised to date. These employee stock options were issued as a means of sharing the Company's long-term business success, and therefore align employees' interests with the Company. Taishin Holdings made a cash issue of common shares in 2013, in which employees' were given the priority to subscribe 50,000,000 shares, and more than 5,000 employees of Taishin Holdings and subsidiaries were entitled to this program. Taishin made a cash issue of Class E preferred shares in 2016 and 2018, during which it also reserved 15% in both years, totally 120,000,000 shares for subscription by employees only, and more than 15,000 employees of Taishin Holdings and subsidiaries were entitled to this program. Note: The female-male remuneration ratio of management level is the same while calculating either only base salary or including other cash incentives. Taishin conducts annual salary surveys to measure itself against top-performing financial institutions local and abroad. The Company has designed a fair and incen - tive compensation system complete with competitive salary and welfare packages to reward its employees. Taishin has been a composition of "Taiwan High Compen- sation 100 Index" for 6 consecutive years since 2014. In the employee opinion survey, the Company scored better than Taiwan's financial industry in general in the "Salary and welfare" category, which proves that Taishin's compensation system works in favor of retaining talents. Taishin offers salaries based on objective factors such as the level of education and competency required to accomplish the assigned position. Starting salaries for all positions are far superior to the basic wages stipulated in the Labor Standards Act, and actions have been taken to ensure that employees' salaries are not differentiat- ed by gender, age or race. In 2019, male managers’ remunerations averaged 106% of those of female managers, whereas male staff's remunerations averaged 101% of those of female staff. There was no significant difference in terms of salary between the two genders. Annual salary adjustments are determined by job evaluation, which takes into account the diversity of expertise required to accomplish each role and the proficiency of skills that employ - ees have demonstrated. Average salary adjustment in 2019 was 3.5%; more than 80% of employees had their salaries adjusted during the year, some as high as 15%. This indicates that employees are treated fairly while top-performing talents are properly rewarded. Each year, Taishin pays out year-end bonuses based on company performance and individual perfor- mance as a means of profit-sharing, thereby rewarding employees for their contributions. Taishin employed a total of 7,158 full-time, non-managerial staff in 2019 (up 1.8% compared to 2018), with average salary of TWD 1,217,000 (up 6.1% compared to 2018) and median salary of TWD 972,000 (up 4.6% compared to 2018). Also, in view of the high turnover of global financial professionals, Taishin has aligned its talent rewarding plans with its strategies in various stages of development, and uses a broad variety of long-term performance-based incentives to attract, retain, and motivate talents.