Group companies generally offer flexible working hours to accommodate staff combining work with family and personal demands, varying in duration on the basis of the national contracts in place in the various countries: the working week varies from 35 hours in France and Spain to 42.5 in Israel.

Some companies impose no restrictions on what time staff members arrive at or leave work, such as in Austria, where the law establishes a limit of 10 working hours a day, and in Switzerland, where members of staff negotiate their working hours with the Head of Department in compliance with legal limits. Employees in Italy, on the other hand, are generally offered a flexible start and finish times. In France, employees have several options, involving flexible combinations of workdays and holidays. Any hours worked in excess of the legal limit of 35 hours per week can be offset as paid time off. In Germany, flexible working hours are agreed on an as-needed basis to suit the needs of young families.

Vertical and horizontal part-time work contracts are available in countries/companies of the Sustainability Report area apart from Israel. Staff members are normally granted a part-time contract for family reasons, such as the need to provide care for close relatives (parents, children, spouse or other household members) who are ill or disabled, or to take care of children under 14, or for serious personal reasons. In France, workers over 55 years of age are encouraged to work on a part time basis, to prepare for retirement. In Germany, a similar contractual provision is in place for older workers.

Whether a staff member is granted a part time contract generally depends on whether this is compatible with the company’s technical, organizational and production needs. The option to return to full-time work often remains open, though normally for a period of time limited to a certain number of years. Women are much more likely to opt for part-time work contracts, as they are more involved with running and caring for the family. In 2008, 4,925 women worked part-time in the Sustainability Report area, accounting for 86% of the part time workforce.

Where company organisation permits, employees are generally entitled to take days or partial days off that can either be counted as paid time off, or they can make the hours up, helping to combine work with personal and family commitments. In-house nurseries were opened in Switzerland and in Germany to help staff members with small children combine their work and family commitments. In Munich, in Germany, a crèche and nursery are provided for the children of Generali staff members. In Italy a project was undertaken to create in-house nurseries in response to the results of a survey conducted among Group employees.

In 2008, Generali Versicherung and AachenMünchener were awarded “Audit Beruf und Familie” (work and family certification), a quality mark awarded by the non-profit organisation “Gemeinnützige Hertie-Stiftung”, sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs and the Federal Ministry of the Economy to companies employing efficient and outstanding measures towards balancing work and family life.