VakıfBank Equal Opportunity Policy defines the Bank’s responsibilities and principles applicable to the
equal opportunity and it is applicable to all employees and operations in VakıfBank Head Office and
Branches.
VakıfBank respects employee rights in recruitments and related processes performance measurement
and evaluations, career management, promotion systems, training and development programs offered
to employees, and it adopts it as a principle to provide equal opportunities in recruitment thanks to
equal opportunity. VakıfBank treats individuals equally without any discrimination among them in
terms of language, religion, race, faith, ethnic origin, philosophical belief, socio-economic status, age,
gender, marital status, political thought, disability, parenthood, military service status and similar
factors in line with the attention it pays to equal opportunity and diversity and pursuant to its Ethical
Principles. It adopts measures against actions that may constitute a breach of them and it make
decisions regardless of individual differences. Physical amenities that are necessary to help the
handicapped employees to work efficiently are provided and they are checked to keep the sustainable.
Employees are spared the malicious and systematic humiliation, disparaging, ostracism, damage to
their personality and personal integrity, abuse and intimidation by their superiors, co-workers or
juniors. VakıfBank pushes hierarchical and bureaucratic positioning aside, and targets to create a
culture where its staff members may speak up their opinions and suggestions and go over and revise
their words. Employees may report all their complaints by means of Ethics Hotline posted at the
company web site as well as Audit Report Line. Employee complaints are heard with dedication and
on the basis of in-house confidentiality rules, and necessary measures are taken into account.
Employees may report their opinions and suggestions via the Suggestion Platform if they think that
these would add value to the Bank. Actions are taken to give effect to these recommendations.
In its human resource policies that treasure humans in light of equal opportunity, VakıfBank adopts in
principle United Nations Human Rights Universal Declaration and International Labour Organization in
addition to the Labour Law and it tries its best efforts to meet the requirements of United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the international treaties to which our country is a party. It
is the first state agency that is a party to United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles – (WEPs)
which target social gender equality and women empowerment since 2019, and also adopts as a
principle to treasure genre equality as we are one of the two banks in Türkiye listed in Bloomberg
Gender Equality Index (Bloomberg GEI) by means of the survey that it replied for the first time in 2020
to make a showcase of its approach towards gender equality.
A gender equality poll was carried out in 2020 in order to hear opinions and expectations of all its
employees, including senior management, and to identify areas in need of self-development regarding
gender equality, which is among the Sustainable Development Goals and which has a critical place in
the entire global agenda. Moreover, it is a signatory to Empower Women drafted under the leadership
of Turkish Republic Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services and in cooperation with World
Economic Forum and it supports the active involvement of women in all socio-economic areas with
equal rights.
HR practices and recruitments that are currently built on gender equality support the women
employees of the Bank and the labour force participation of women. Necessary measures are taken in
order to secure health, safety and welfare of all its employees without any gender discrimination so as
to ensure a sustainable work environment dominated by equality and office peace. The Bank’s
remuneration policy is designed in line with all risks undertaken and responsibilities assumed at every
level. Equal waging and fringe benefits are offered without comprising basic rights of employees.
VakıfBank hereby warrants that gender-based wage different is not among the Bank’s practices.
VakıfBank offers certain options for its women employees in addition to maternity leave, including free
leave up to one year and part-time working until such time when children turn 5 at their discretion.
Moreover, in provinces where 150 women employees and more work, all staff members with a child
are paid kindergarten benefit if they use kindergarten. These practices are intended to allow
employees who are also mothers to resume their career after the employee’s parental leave.
VakıfBank puts a distance between itself and forced labour and child labour banned under
international contracts to which Türkiye is a party and under the statutory regulation in the course of
its operations. In addition, it runs its operations in line with ILO Conventions to which Türkiye is a party
(Forced Labour Convention no. 29 and the Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. In this respect, the bottom age limit is
set to 18 under the Personnel Regulation in order to support the prohibition of child labour.
VakıfBank endeavours to ensure that Equal Opportunity Policy articles are adopted by all its affiliates
and business partners.