On Tuesday, 14 June, ORLEN Unipetrol’s representatives received the award for third place in the nationwide round of the prestigious competition, Employer of the Year 2022. After the seventh place last year, the refining and petrochemical group advanced among the top three employers in the Czech Republic in the category of up to 5,000 employees. It is another great success for ORLEN Unipetrol’s HR department, following the second position in the Ústí Region.
“We are so happy about our achievements in this year’s Employer of the Year competition. ORLEN Unipetrol has got on both with the second place in the Ústí Region and by being among the three best firms at the nationwide level. It is another acknowledgement showing that we can do the best for our employees even amid adverse times. Furthermore, we are delighted that the independent experts also appreciate our activities to support Czech schools, including talented students, enthusiastic teachers, and individual schools. It is because ORLEN Unipetrol is a forward-looking company seeking to establish and maintain sustainable development,” says Michał Chmiel, HR director of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group. He adds: “We pursue an end-to-end HR strategy focused both on improving the conditions for our current employees, increasing their qualifications, and creating an optimal environment for their career growth, and on supporting Czech schools and talented students over the long term. They are the foundations of our future prosperity.”
In employee care, ORLEN Unipetrol bets on modern trends, including a broad selection of employee benefits and personal and professional development support. The traditional HR tools are complemented by supporting employees’ sports, social, and community engagement. One of the best employers in the Czech Republic in its category is also intensively involved in training and educating managers from among its employees. Long-term learning support based on close collaboration with many secondary schools in the region plays a critical role in this respect. Furthermore, ORLEN Unipetrol enables studies at the University Centre of the Czech University of Chemistry and Technology located in the Litvínov plant. In addition, the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation provides financial support to successful secondary and university students and their teachers.
“This year’s ranking among the top three companies at the national level in the Sodexo Employer of the Year competition is not accidental for ORLEN Unipetrol,” Pavel Hulák from the organising Employers’ Club commented on the results. He adds: “ORLEN Unipetrol collects prizes in the Employer of the Year competition for many years, thus impressively showing that systematic and high-quality HR work bears fruit for all stakeholders and the entire society.”
The independent assessment in the Employer of the Year competition is based on the international methodology of PricewaterhouseCoopers Czech Republic, which prepares the background documents as the competition’s expert guarantor. Prestigious awards go to the employers who outdo the standard conditions in the Czech labour market in the most crucial indicators. Specifically, the jury assesses values related to remuneration, learning, internal promotions, or career development opportunities. Last but not least, the methodology also includes indicators of a company’s economic success. The aim of the competition organised since 2003 is to publicly present businesses with an excellent approach to their employees. In 2022, the Employers’ Club ranked ORLEN Unipetrol in the third place in the national assessment and in the second place among employers in the Ústí Region (in the category of up to 5,000 employees).
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. It belongs among the critical players in the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo, with its Mogul brand in Pardubice and Kolín, Spolana Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. Unipetrol also includes a network of Benzina ORLEN filling stations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With 426 filling stations, Benzina ORLEN is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. Since its entry in 2019 to Slovakia, Benzina ORLEN has been one of the fastest-growing chains and currently has 23 stations in its network. ORLEN Unipetrol employs almost 5,000 people and is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became a member of the ORLEN Group, the largest crude oil processor in Central Europe. The ORLEN Unipetrol is also active in corporate social responsibility. Therefore, it pays equal attention to initiatives that cultivate and support sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment.