Competitive Compensation | ACER ESG

Competitive Compensation

Competitive Compensation

In order to attract and retain outstanding employees, we provide competitive comprehensive salary packages. When developing salary policies, we comply with labor laws of each location and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, religion, race or political affiliation. We consult salary survey information from management consultancies to ensure our salaries are competitive in each region's job market. To reward outstanding employees, we issue bonuses based on company profit and both department and individual performance.

Acer Salary Policy 
 

In response to changes in workplace work styles brought about by COVID-19, the demand for computer hardware has increased significantly. In 2022, employees worldwide received an average salary increase of 4% compared to the difference between internal and market, and to encourage internal morale. The current ratios of women’s base salaries and wages to those of men at each major work location are shown in the table below. Acer's compensation for employees is based on comparative market salary surveys, with no gender/race/age distinctions.    
 

2022 Basic Salary and Remuneration (Female:Male)

 Management StaffTechnical StaffSpecialist StaffAdministrative Staff
Work LocationBasic SalaryCompensationBasic SalaryCompensationBasic SalaryCompensationBasic SalaryCompensation
Taiwan0.910.910.820.820.890.890.910.91
EMEA0.760.420.920.681.000.500.810.43
Pan Asia Pacific0.750.620.480.610.920.801.060.98
Pan America0.810.631.091.080.840.560.910.78
China0.770.550.821.010.830.710.730.64

Maternity Benefits

When Acer staff are faced with the needs of parenthood, they can apply to take unpaid parental leave and, upon the completion of the leave period, return to their position. In this way, they are able to take care of their personal and familial needs. Since the 2022 law relaxed the application period of less than 6 months for baby-sitting, 7.6 percent of the employees (13) applied for less than 6 months in 2022.

Parental Leave Applications in 2022 (Acer Taiwan)

 MaleFemaleTotal
Number of Employees Entitled to Parental Leave in 202262104166
Number of Employees Who Took Parental Leave in 202212113
Applicants for Parental Leave (%)29.3%1.92%12.05%
Number of Employees Expected to Return to Work After Parental Leave in 202216117
Number of Employees Who Returned to Work After Parental Leave in 202216218
Post Parental Leave Return-to-Work Rate (%)100%200%105.88%
Number of Employees That  Returned to Work After Parental Leave in 2022617
Number of Employees Still Employeed in 2021 12 Months After Rerurn415
Post Parental Leave Retention Rate (%)66.67%100%71.43%

Employee Benefits

In addition to the benefits as stipulated by law, Acer also provides group life insurance, accident insurance, cancer insurance, hospital room and board insurance, and a range of outstanding employee benefits.

Practices superior to statutory standards

Self-managed work hours

Regular employees may adopt self-managed working hours as appropriate, provided that the quality of their services to customers is not affected.

Sick leave with full pay

Full pay is given to those who do not exceed 15 days of sick leave in a year.

Annual leave for new staff

If an employee has not completed his or her probationary period after three months of employment, his or her annual leave for the current year shall be granted in accordance with the law; and if the employee has completed his or her probationary period, he or she shall be granted seven days of annual leave until the date of completion of one year of employment.

Advance special leave

If an employee does not have any special leave in the current year, or if he/she has already taken all the special leave in the current year, he/she can advance the special leave in the next year, and the maximum number of days can be advanced to all the special leave days in the next year.

Paid volunteer leave

Staff can apply for two days of paid volunteer leave per year, with the minimum leave unit being a half-day.

Maternity Benefits

Acer offers employee maternity benefits, child scholarships and cooperative childcare facilities. When Acer staff are faced with the needs of parenthood, they can apply to take unpaid parental leave and, upon the completion of the leave period, return to their position. In this way, they are able to take care of their personal and familial needs.

Employee Stock Ownership Trust

Starting from 2022, Acer has established an Employee Stock Ownership Trust. Under the Employee Stock Ownership Trust, each employee can contribute funds from his or her salary to purchase Acer stock each month. For example, if an employee contributes NT$1, the Company will contribute NT$1, which is equivalent to a 50% company subsidy. Acer employees are entitled to annual dividends from the stock ownership trust while they are still employed, and their trust holdings are not disposed of until they retire. This helps employees save for retirement and retains talent. Acer expects employees to grow with the company.

Employee Benefits offered by Taiwan Headquarters

  • Recreation and Entertainment Benefits
  • Fellowship Activities and Facilities
  • Cash Benefits and Childcare Support Measures
 

Employee Welfare at Working Locations Worldwide

  • Promoting Physical and Mental Health
  • Providing Self-Development Courses
  • Environmental Conservation
  • Gender Equality Care
  • Team Cohesion

Employee Support Program

Flexible working hours

In Sweden, the start of working time is between 08:00 and 09:00 and the time of leaving the office can be between 16:30 and 18:00, depending on the individual's work or family needs; in Thailand, all full-time employees have flexible working hours.Employees can choose between two shifts: 08:30-7:30 or 09:00-18:00; in Australia, the government requires that employees with family care responsibilities, aged 55 years old or older, with disabilities, or experiencing domestic violence are eligible for flexible working hours; in Japan, employees can choose to start work between 6:00 am and 10:00 am; in Hong Kong, employees can choose to start work between 08:00 and 10:00 am; and can finish work between 17:00 and 19:00.

Work from Home

At Acer headquarters, we have activated work from home during the 2021-2022 epidemic to ensure the health of our employees while maintaining smooth day-to-day operations; globally, we have adopted work from home initiatives at each of our regional operations. For example, in the U.S., 2 days of work from home from 2021 through April 2022; in Brazil, 2 days of work from home per week; and in Mexico, 1 day of work from home.

Part-time Work

Acer employees are allowed to work part-time, which can be flexibly adjusted by local offices depending on operational conditions. For example, at our European operations headquarters, employees are allowed to spend part of their working hours on campus to improve their academic or professional skills. In addition, we have also incorporated a campus internship system, which allows them to spend a few days on campus and a few days working in the company to enhance their workplace experience.

Childcare Facilities

The Company often contracts with kindergartens near its offices so that employees' children can attend school close to the office. For example, at Acer's headquarters, we work with a kindergarten located in the Shih Chi building, allowing employees to work upstairs and children to attend school downstairs. In addition, children are eligible for tuition discounts and receive free school bags, stationery, indoor shoes, etc. This allows employees to take care of their work and children at the same time, and reduces their financial burden.

Nursing Facilities

Nursing spaces are available in all Acer offices. For example, at Acer headquarters, we have four nursing rooms for employees. Each nursing room is equipped with a refrigerator for breastmilk, a bottle dryer and an electric breast pump for nursing mothers to use. For safety and security, all nursing rooms are equipped with an access control system and curtains in the rooms to maintain privacy. This nursing room has been awarded as an excellent nursing space by the New Taipei City Government. In addition, in California and Texas, local operating centers have set up government-regulated private spaces for breastfeeding mothers to use and provide the necessary equipment for electric breast pumps.

Paid Parental/Paternal Leave

Regarding paid parental / paternal leave for primary caregivers (such as parents), at Acer headquarters, women are entitled to eight weeks of paid maternity leave, which is in line with the Labor Standards Act. However, regardless of their length of service at Acer, the company gives full salary to the employee, which exceeds the Labor Standards Act, which only gives 50% salary for employees with less than six months of service.    

Acer also provides paid parental leave for non-primary caregivers and the policy at its U.S. headquarters exceeds the legal requirements. Under California law, to be eligible for Paid Family Leave (PFL), an employee must be a caregiver for a seriously ill family member, have a parent-child relationship with a newborn child, or be unable to provide effective family care due to military service. However, at our Pan American headquarters in San Jose, Acer'schildcare policy is more flexible than the law. Under Acer's Paid Family Care Leave, the definition of a parent-child relationship for a newborn is based on psychological and emotional attachment, without limitations related to military service. As a result, Acer employees have a higher chance of becoming a "non-primary caregiver" and receiving PFL benefit subsidies. The subsidy is 70% of weekly earnings for a total of 8 weeks of PFL during any 12-month period, making the eligibility criteria more lenient than the legal requirements.

Relative Care Leave

In addition to parental leave, relative care leave is often implemented in local office districts. In France, to facilitate family care responsibilities, employees can apply for up to five days of family care leave in the event of a major or urgent family need (e.g., serious illness or death of a child, adopted child, parent, foster parent, grandparent, spouse/life partner, grandchild or sibling); in Australia, family care leave can be flexibly integrated into the workday. This flexible working arrangement can be requested if a relative or family member needs care or support due to domestic violence; in Singapore, employees have up to 6 days of care leave for their relatives. In addition to meeting the minimum requirements, our Pan American headquarters in San Jose, CA offers a paid family care leave policy that slightly exceeds the minimum statutory requirements. In California, state law requires that the Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA) for Paid Family Leave (PFL) be approximately 60 to 70 percent of income (depending on income) for the 5 to 18 months prior to the date of the incident. However, at Acer, the weekly benefit payment is never less than 70% of weekly earnings, which exceeds the regulatory requirement.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Taiwan offers the “Acer Family Care Line,” Employee Assistance Program, which is available to all employees and their dependents (including spouses and their direct relativess). Employees can choose to consult with counselors by phone, face-to-face, or video, and each consultation service is 60 minutes in length. Each employee is entitled to three free consultations per year. In 2022, the "Acer Family Care Line" employee assistance program served 605 colleagues and dependents by phone/e-mail and 77 colleagues and dependents through face-to-face professional counseling, helping them to have professional counselors when they encounter problems in life/emotional/spiritual/work. The employee care area in Acer Family app provides monthly care information such as anti-epileptic skits, workplace emotion management, and self-stress awareness, providing a support system to help employees and their dependents.