SEAT, Top Employer five times

• The company receives this hallmark for the fifth consecutive year that recognises it as one of the best companies to work for in Spain
• The accreditation certifies SEAT’s excellence as an employer and labour benchmark in Spain for the working conditions provided to its more than 15,000 employees

SEAT is one of the best companies to work for in Spain, as certified by Top Employer, which has given the carmaker its seal of approval for the fifth year in a row. This certificate evaluates businesses all over the world that offer the best working conditions and are the most attractive for employees.

SEAT’s recognition as a Top Employer business in Spain consolidates the company’s commitment to the professional development of its workers and to providing them with an excellent working environment. SEAT was the first manufacturer in Spain’s automotive sector to receive this distinction. In recent years, the company has promoted a human resources policy whereby working conditions, flexibility, career growth and employee well-being are at the core of every initiative.

SEAT Vice-president for Human Resources Xavier Ros emphasised that “in a context where the sector’s professional profiles are going to change, the acknowledgement as Top Employer strengthens us on two fronts – firstly, it is a recognition to the entire workforce, so they can be even prouder to be working for SEAT and feel that their future lies with the company; and secondly, it is a beacon to attract external talent with different profiles, who might otherwise not consider they could have a prosperous career at a carmaker whose business model is undergoing a deep transformation.”

SEAT, one of the best companies to work for in Spain
With a workforce totalling more than 15,000 employees, SEAT is the largest employer in the sector in Spain. At SEAT, 97% of the workers have an open-ended contract. Balancing work and private life, talent recruitment policies, specialised training in Industry 4.0 or the health and well-being service provided to all the professionals are examples of the company’s commitment to quality employment and attracting talent.

The labour relations framework of the company is established by its collective bargaining agreement, which was signed in 2016 and is notable for its flexibility and modernity. It included enhancements to the variable remuneration system and new measures to boost competitiveness and make the company ready for the production increases that have taken place in recent years. Among other improvements, the agreement consolidated the variable remuneration system, added an increase in several salary concepts and extended the social benefits provided to the workforce, such as the possibility of having more paid leave.

Beyond the scope of the collective bargaining agreement, the company has implemented a new Employer Branding strategy with several initiatives to attract and retain talent. One of the most prominent was SEAT DisrUP, an event aimed at connecting with the most promising talent by inviting young people to reflect on and come up with mobility solutions for users in large urban areas. All these initiatives are included in the SEAT Talent Xperience project that the company is promoting to attract professionals with a technical and digital profile to face the company’s future challenges.

Training and healthcare, distinguishing aspects

Training is one of the pillars for the growth and transformation of SEAT workers. In recent years, the company has invested close to 17 million euros annually in continuous training for the workforce. Among other initiatives, SEAT has implemented a training programme focussing on the future challenges posed by Industry 4.0, aimed at the entire workforce. The goal of the programme is to raise awareness of what the Industry 4.0 concept really means and the importance of people and continuous training as the cornerstone of the fourth industrial revolution. To date, more than 2,000 employees have followed the programme.

Together with training, another aspect that sets SEAT apart is its worker healthcare and well-being service, spearheaded by the CARS Healthcare and Rehabilitation Centre, which provides all SEAT employees with advanced preventive, healthcare and rehabilitation services in specialisations ranging from orthopaedics, cardiology, gynaecology and mental health to image diagnostics, physiotherapy, fitness and rehabilitation. In 2018, more than 70,000 treatments were performed in these facilities.