Note 24 Employee benefit expense

The staff costs relating to pensions, reorganisations and other long-term employee benefits were as follows:

Employee benefit expense for pensions, reorganisation and other long-term employee benefits

A note on the reorganisation costs is included in note [15] on provisions for employee benefits.

For further details of the other long-term employee benefits, reference is made to the disclosures in note [15]. The external staff costs amounted to €151 million (2016: €123 million) and related to contract staff for specific projects and to fill vacancies.

The number of staff employed by Alliander, based on a 38-hour working week (FTEs), is shown in the table below:

Number of permanent staff (FTEs)

WNT

On 1 January 2013, the Public and Semi-Public Sector Executives’ Pay (Standards) Act (Wet normering bezoldiging topfunctionarissen publieke en semipublieke sector / WNT) entered into force. This act contains rules for the maximum remuneration for senior executives in the public and semi-public sectors. The WNT limit is set annually by ministerial order.

WNT reporting

The WNT is applicable to network operator Liander N.V., which is required to report on the remuneration of senior executives. In addition, transparency is requested on the remuneration of other internal employees exceeding a set limit in the reporting year. The separate annual report of the network operator, which is to be published in the second quarter of 2018, will contain disclosures on the WNT requirements applicable to the network operator.

Remuneration of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board

The Remuneration Report sets out the remuneration policy, its implementation and the remuneration of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board (key management). These three sections can be found in article ‘Corporate governance’ of the 2017 Annual Report. The remuneration of the members of the Management Board is disclosed in the following table.

Total gross annual remuneration chargeable to the financial year

• 1 This includes the difference between the accrued entitlement as at year-end 2015 and the actual payment in 2016. For Mr Molengraaf, this is an amount of€7,000 and for Mr Van Lieshout €6,000.
• 2 Retired 31 August 2017.

The fixed salary concerns the actual payment per annum, without amounts accrued for other remuneration elements. The short-term variable remuneration element was discontinued at the end of 2015. The long-term variable remuneration concerns a payment that has been earned over a period of three years. As at year-end 2016, the long-term variable remuneration figure concerns the period 2014-2016. The award of a long-term variable remuneration element has now also been discontinued, with the long-term variable remuneration for the period 2014-2016 being the last award and payment to be made.

The partial incorporation of the short-term variable remuneration into the salary will start on 1 January 2017 for Messrs Molengraaf and Van Lieshout. The variable remuneration system was not applicable to Ms Thijssen.

For Ms Thijssen, the contractual increase in her salary in 2016 was overlooked in error. This situation was corrected in 2017 with retroactive effect on her salary.

Settlement of contract obligations

On the departure of Mr Molengraaf on 31 August 2017, the Supervisory Board acted in accordance with the contractually agreed arrangements with Mr Molengraaf. As a consequence, Mr Molengraaf received a payment of €517,000.

Pension contributions

• 1 Retired 31 August 2017.

Social security charges and other remuneration elements

• 1 Retired 31 August 2017.

In addition to the normal social security charges and contributions applicable to the company, the members of the Management Board have a right to an employer’s contribution towards the group health insurance premium, premiums connected with the personalised package of secondary conditions of employment (Dutch acronym: PBA), an expense allowance and the use of a company car.

Remuneration of the Supervisory Board

• 1 Ms Jorritsma was appointed with effect from 1 July 2016.
• 2 Mr Hamers was appointed with effect from 7 April 2016.
• 3 Mr d’Hondt retired on 30 June 2016.
• 4 Mr Van Winkelen retired on 7 April 2016.

The differences in remuneration are connected with i) positions held, ii) tenure in those positions, iii) transitional entitlements under the WNT or a combination of these things. Transitional entitlements under the WNT ceased to be applicable in the course of 2016 on the reappointment of a Supervisory Board member.