Breakdown of expenses by nature |
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Breakdown of expenses by nature |
9.2 Employee benefits expenses
Termination benefits The Group incurred termination benefits in connection with the restructuring of its operations in 2020. Refer to Note 25 for details. Average number of employees During 2021, 149 employees were employed on a full-time basis (2020: 189, 2019: 273). Of these employees, 48 were employed outside the Netherlands (2020: 52, 2019: 63). Pension plans The Netherlands In the Netherlands, the Group voluntarily participates in the industry-wide pension fund for civil servants “ABP”. All Dutch employees are covered by this plan, which is financed by both employees and the employer. The pension benefits are related to the employee’s average salary and the total employment period covered by the plan. The Group has no further payment obligations once the contributions have been paid. As the ABP pension plan contains actuarial risks, i.e. a recovery contribution is charged as part of the annual contribution, it does not qualify as a defined contribution plan under IAS 19 and thus qualifies as a defined benefit plan. Under IAS 19, the ABP pension plan qualifies as a multi-employer plan. The Group’s proportionate share in the total multi-employer plan is insignificant. . The pension plan of the Group in the Netherlands is administered by Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (“the fund”). The most important characteristics of this pension plan are:
The main features of the implementation agreement are:
The funding ratio of the fund as at December 31, 2021 was 110.2% (December 31, 2020: 93.5%, December 31, 2019: 97.8%). The policy funding ratio as at December 31, 2021 was 102.8% (December 31, 2020: 87.6%, December 31, 2019: 95.8%), which is below the required minimum of 104.0% as prescribed by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). As a result, a funding deficit exists. The policy funding ratio is lower than the required funding ratio of 110.0% (December 31, 2020: 126.0%, December 31, 2019: 128.0%) and therefore a reserve deficit exists as well. The fund will therefore submit a recovery plan to DNB in 2021 (similarly as to what the fund did in 2020), demonstrating how the fund expects the funding ratio to recover to the level of the required funding ratio within ten years. The board has also drawn up a financial crisis plan that describes which additional measures can be taken to make timely recovery possible. If it turns out that the fund cannot recover in time, the board will have to take additional measures in accordance with the financial crisis plan. At this moment, the fund does not anticipate any positive or negative adjustments in pensions and or contributions, but this can be the case in the near future if the funding ratio does not improve towards the minimum requirements. Belgium The Group operates a defined contribution pension plan in Belgium. Statutory minimum interest rates apply to the contributions paid. If in any year the pension contribution is insufficient to cover the minimum yield and if the means in the premium reserve / depot are not sufficient to finance the deficit, the employer should finance the deficit by paying an additional contribution into the depot. Therefore, although the plan has many characteristics of a defined contribution plan, it qualifies as a defined benefit plan under IAS 19 due to the employer’s obligation to finance the plan’s minimum guaranteed returns. These should be quantified and recognized as a liability in the Group’s consolidated statement of financial position. However, given the limited number of participants, limited annual contributions of €10 thousand in 2021 (2020: €27 thousand, 2019: €27 thousand) and as the plan started as of 2016, the current underfunding and the resulting pension liability under IAS 19 is expected to be limited. The Group estimates that the resulting pension liability is immaterial to the consolidated financial statements and therefore the Group has not recorded a pension liability for this plan in the consolidated statement of financial position. The contributions to the defined contribution pension plan in Belgium for the year ending December 31, 2022 are expected to be in line with the contributions paid for the year ended December 31, 2021. Other countries The Group solely operates defined contribution plans in Germany, United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway. The Group’s legal or constructive obligation for these plans is limited to the Group’s contributions. The expense recognized in relation to these defined contribution pension plans was €75 thousand in 2021 (2020: €124 thousand, 2019: €101 thousand). The contributions to these defined contribution pension plans for the year ending December 31, 2022 are expected to be in line with the contributions paid for the year ended December 31, 2021. Other post-employment benefits and other long-term employee benefits: France A retirement indemnity plan (‘Indemnités de fin de carrière’) applies to the Group’s employees in France, which qualifies as an other post-employment benefit under IAS 19. The retirement benefit depends on the number of service years within the industry and the Group. The benefit equals 1/4 th of the average monthly salary for the first ten years of seniority and 1/3rd of the average monthly salary for the service years thereafter. Contributions for the retirement indemnity plan are obligations from past events with a probable outflow for which reliable estimates can be made. The Group should therefore record a provision for these obligations on its consolidated statement of financial position. However, given the limited number of employees in France, the Group believes that the resulting liability is limited. The Group estimates that the resulting liability is immaterial to the consolidated financial statements and therefore has not recorded a provision for this plan. Consequently, the contributions are treated as an employee benefit expense in the consolidated statement of profit or loss when they are due. The expense recognized in relation to the ‘Indemnités de fin de carrière’ indemnity plan in 2021 was €49 thousand (2020: €48 thousand, 2019: €43 thousand). The Netherlands Jubilee plan The Group operates a jubilee plan for all active employees under the Dutch collective labor agreement (CLA) for energy networking companies (CAO NWb). The most recent actuarial valuations of the present value of the long-term employee benefits were carried out as at December 31, 2021. The valuation is carried out with a discount rate of 0.8% (December 31, 2020: 0.3%), an expected rate of salary increase of 2.50% The amounts recorded in the consolidated statement of financial position and the movements in the jubilee provision over all reporting periods presented, are as follows:
For the year ended December 31, 2021, past service costs of positive €19 thousand are the result of a change in the jubilee plan as part of the new company collective labor agreement which became effective on April 1, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2020, past service costs of positive €380 thousand comprise of €269 thousand due to a reduction of the number of participants in the jubilee plan as a result of the Group’s restructuring in 2020 (refer to Note 25 for details) and €111 thousand due to the change in the jubilee plan as part of the new collective labor agreement (‘CAO NWb’) which became effective on January 1, 2020. Senior leave plan Additionally, the Group operates a senior leave plan for its employees in the Netherlands. As the amount of benefits (i.e. additional leave) provided under the plan is limited, the Group does not contract any additional hours to replace the respective employees. In addition, only a limited number of employees is entitled to seniority leave as of December 31, 2021. The Group estimates that the resulting liability is immaterial to the consolidated financial statements and therefore the Group has not recorded a pension liability for this plan in the consolidated statement of financial position. |