Because we believe in an equal opportunities world, we have adopted effective policies for equal treatment and opportunities for men and women, for reconciling personal, family and professional life and for professional development. These policies were drawn up on the basis of the principles of the United Nations Global Compact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines.

Gender equality, opportunities and inclusion 

We have established measures to encourage inclusion and equality, with greater attention on decision-making and management positions. In this regard, we highlight the following initiatives:

• Commitment to Target Gender Equality: to enhance and accelerate the journey we are taking towards gender equality in leadership.

• Active participation in the iGen Forum for Gender Equality: to promote gender balance and a forum for sharing successful practices to achieve the targets set.

• Participation in NOVA SBE's Inclusive Community Forum: signing of the Commitment to Inclusion, dedicated to the lives of people with disabilities, which aims to promote a more inclusive community.

The numbers on equality

36.7 % female management staff

2.7 %* people with a disability or certified incapacity - a figure above that specified in Law 4/2019, which establishes the employment quota system for people with disabilities.

See our Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunities Policy and the Human Rights Policy.

We know that happy employees are more motivated employees, which is why we try to identify the main challenges and find answers to help improve work-life balance. To this end, we offer a range of initiatives designed to contribute to employee satisfaction, talent management and retention.

• Time off work on the employee's birthday and for children starting school;

• Restricting the scheduling of meetings to before 6pm, as well as the use of the central buildings until 9pm, switching off the lighting and air conditioning systems as a way of preventing people from staying on the bank's premises;

• Early Friday/Late Monday: additional hours worked during the week which are compensated for with time off on Friday afternoon or Monday morning, as long as the 35-hour week is guaranteed;

• Additional holiday acquisition: up to 5 extra days of holiday, to help reconcile working life with children's school holidays;

• Home office: working remotely from home.

We support our employees at various stages of their lives, providing a range of measures that have a positive impact in terms of savings and personal satisfaction. Thereby, under the Internal Social Responsibility Programme, we award the following benefits:

• Support for education: support for early childhood, school, scholarships, children and young people with special needs;

• Special conditions as part of the bank's commercial offer, in particular loans with lower interest rates;

• Access to low-cost meals: we have 3 canteens and 4 bars, geographically located in the areas with the highest concentration of employees, with low-cost, nutritionally balanced meals. In addition, we were the first national organisation to adopt the concept of a "nutritional traffic light" in the menus served in canteens;

• Cultural and Sports Group for novobanco Group Employees: encouraging cultural, sporting and leisure activities for employees and their families;

• Support for senior citizens: part-payment of costs for admissions to nursing homes, day centres, home support, medicines or basic necessities for retired employees.

The physical, mental and social well-being of our employees is one of our priorities. Improving their experience, promoting their holistic well-being through a better work-life balance and mitigating health risks are our objectives.

5+ Programme with five objectives: +physical health, +mental health, +well-being, +balance, +happiness. This programme aims to care for and promote employees’ well-being by providing well-being experiences in various dimensions through a series of initiatives: health, nutrition, physical exercise, emotional management, family and home, interpersonal relationships, personal image, culture and leisure.

Provision of clinical services: we provide all employees and Group companies with our own health services, through clinical services in Lisbon, Porto and Tagus Park. A strategic direction that goes beyond simple fulfilment of legal obligations, and which also includes the following aspects:

• occupational medicine

• curative medicine

• nursing services

• psychiatric consultations

• psychology consultations

• nutrition consultations

• smoking cessation consultations

• check-up programmes