An employer of choice

Regular interaction with union organisations, incentive schemes and a range of programmes to support employee well-being help our 65,192 employees to engage with the company.
 

A long tradition of interaction

Thales has a long tradition of constructive dialogue with employee representatives. Milestone agreements at Group and company level have marked real progress in gender equality, age diversity, access to training and other areas.
The principle of constructive dialogue reaches well beyond France’s borders. In fact, 99% of Thales employees in Europe now benefit from two key agreements:
  • IDEA for professional development*
  • TALK for annual appraisals**.
Worldwide, more than 87% of our employees are covered by at least one collective agreement.
 

The need for transparency

Everybody needs the right information to make this dialogue productive and sustainable, and transparency is the key to our ability to anticipate tomorrow's needs. For example, "anticipation committees" at national and European level systematically share their findings with employees and employee representatives about major changes that will affect the Group and its businesses in the years to come. Employees can then get the right training to meet future needs and maintain or improve their employability.
 

Sharing the rewards

Our employees are the most important reason behind our global leadership in our markets. Our pay policy reflects that fact, rewarding employees on both individual and collective performance.
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Thales employees in France also benefit from incentive and profit-sharing schemes which help to boost cohesion and build a sense of unity among the Group’s French companies. In 2013, for example, a total of 22.56 million euros was distributed under the profit-sharing scheme, and 30 of the Group’s French companies paid incentive bonuses totalling €42.38 million.
 

Why Thales attracts the best talent

  • A passion for innovation and high technology
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Meaningful missions and programmes
  • The power of teamwork
  • A multicultural environment
     

Engaged with local communities

Our policy is to be well integrated with the social and economic fabric of all our 56 countries of operation. All over the world, Thales companies play an active role in their local communities and are committed to supporting local and regional economies.
 
Our employees share this commitment. Many Thales sites have built long-term partnerships with local community organisations. More generally, through the Thales Foundation, Thales aims to help improve human well-being and harness the potential of innovation to meet the challenges we face as a society into the two broad areas of focus it has chosen: education and humanitarian crises.
 

Engaged through the Thales Foundation

Our policy is to integrate as closely as possible with each of our 56 countries of operation. All over the world, Thales companies play an active role in the community and are committed to supporting economic and social development at local and regional level. Our employees share this commitment on a daily basis, and many Thales sites have forged long-term partnerships with local community organisations.
 
Through the Thales Foundation, we are committed to innovating for people. In practical terms,  we are committed to stepping up to society’s day-to-day challenges, with a particular focus on education and emergency preparedness. As well as providing financial assistance to community organisations, the Foundation relies on Thales employees who volunteer their skills and devote their time and energy to helping these local organisations directly.
 
The year 2015 marked the completion of the Thales Foundation's first projects. Nearly 40,000 children and young adults benefitted from the Foundation's programmes, and more than 100 Thales volunteers in seven countries played an active role in the 17 projects supported.
  • Thales employee projects brought 10,000 children in six countries a chance to rekindle their interest in science at school and gain access to the latest digital learning tools.
  • In the 2015-16 school year, more than 30,000 children and adults in France, mainly in underserved areas, will be taking part in innovative programmes that promote equal learning opportunities for all.
  • During the international Pro Bono operation, 30 Thales volunteers in New Delhi, Johannesburg and Paris dedicated a day to helping local charities overcome one of the practical challenges they face.
  • After the earthquake in Nepal in April 2015, the Foundation also provided financial support to Télécoms Sans Frontières, an NGO that works to restore telecom services as quickly as possible in emergency situations.

Thales job statistics (end-2013)  

  • 97.4% of personnel are on permanent contracts  
  • 93.5% of jobs are full-time  
  • 75% of employees are engineers, specialists or managers (or equivalent)  
  • 46% of jobs are outside France  
  • 22% of employees are women  

*  IDEA (Improving professional Development through Effective Anticipation) was signed in 2009 with the European Metalworkers' Federation (now industriAll).
** TALK (Transparent annual Activity discussion for mutual Listening and developing professional Knowledge) was signed  in 2010 with the European Metalworkers' Federation.