Pay at De Nora: meritocracy and transparency

At De Nora, pay is more than a monthly salary: it reflects a philosophy built on transparency, meritocracy, respect for people’s contribution and a commitment to reducing inequality.

In this article, we look at the factors that shape pay at De Nora and the practices that support a transparent and merit-based environment.

1. De Nora’s philosophy behind pay

De Nora’s pay policy is based on two fundamental pillars.

The first is transparency, which, first and foremost, enables people to understand how pay decisions are made and how their contribution is assessed. Adopting a transparent approach also helps ensure fairness and increase people’s satisfaction, while recognising the different expectations and realities of the countries where De Nora operates.

This first pillar is joined by meritocracy, ensured through an annual salary review process that takes into account both individual effort and results, and external factors such as the positioning of each role in the relevant pay market.

2. De Nora’s pay structure

At De Nora, when defining the fixed pay of each person, internal and external indicators are taken into account.

Internally, the responsibilities and impact of each role on the organisation are assessed through a job grading (or job weighting) system. Externally, on the other hand, the market benchmark is assessed: the median pay for each role compared to the relevant market.

Together these two elements help determine a pay level that reflects both market conditions and the strategic importance of the role within the organisation.

Fixed pay is only one component of De Nora’s broader rewars strategy. The company also offersseveral short- and long-term incentive schemes for specific employee groups.

Some examples are:

• MBO (Management by Objectives): a system of annual incentives based on a set of individual goals and collective goals;
• LTI ( Long Term Incentive): a long-term cash incentive system over three-year cycles;
• PSP (Performance Shared Plan): long-term incentive system over three-year cycles which provides for the award of shares to certain senior executives based on long-term results

Benefits are another important part of the overall reward package, complementing both fixed pay and incentive schemes.

At De Nora, the benefits system is designed to support people’s different needs at the various stages of their professional and personal lives. It includes, for example, agreements dedicated to wellbeing and sport, initiatives supporting parenthood, insurance cover, welfare programmes and flexible working arrangements available at local level. These elements help improve people’s quality of life and increase the overall value of the company’s offer.

The Total Reward strategy, which integrates fixed pay, incentives systems and benefits, makes it possible to value people’s contribution through a broader perspective, focused not only on performance but also on their overall wellbeing.

3. Meritocracy: salary review and the role of Performance 360

The second pillar guiding De Nora’s philosophy, as mentioned before, is meritocracy. To recognise individual contribution and performance, De Nora carries out an annual salary review.

Salary review starts with the Performance Assessment, an evaluation of performance, goal achievement and collaboration and leadership skills, carried out annually across the whole company.

This assessment is then fed into a matrix that also considers the role’s pay positioning relative to the relevant market.

The combination of performance results and market positioning helps determine salary increases in a way that reflects both merit and fairness. At the same time, the process contributes to maintaining pay aligned with the market benchmarks, ensuring competitiveness over time.

4. Fair pay in every location

As De Nora is a global company, with locations spread across different parts of the world, its pay policies must take into account the specific features of the local markets and countries where people work. Only with this approach is it possible to guarantee fairness, competitiveness and consistency with the needs of the different workforces.

For this reason, the salary review process is not limited to considering the positioning of pay levels relative to the relevant market, but also takes into account local factors such as inflation, currency and each country’s regulations.

In the same way, defining benefits reflects expectations and needs of the different cultural contexts. In India, for example, specific allowance for food is particularly relevant, while in the UAE the benefit package often included accommodation.

This approach allows De Nora to offer reward packages that remain relevant to local conditions while reflecting a common philosophy based on fairness, transparency and recognition of individual contribution.

5. Salary transparency and the gender pay gap

At De Nora, ensuring transparency also means tackling any form of inequality, including the gender pay gap and the barriers to understanding how pay decisions are made.

To monitor and reduce any gender pay differences, De Nora carries out periodic analyses, looking at both the average pay gap between men and women and pay for equivalent roles and organisational impact.

The results confirm the effectiveness of this approach: in 2025, the Average Pay Gap recorded at Group level was 1%.

On top of this, there is the process of aligning with the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which has already entered into force. The legislation introduces new transparency and reporting obligations, with the aim of making it easier to identify and correct any pay disparities.

In line with these principles, De Nora continues to invest in processes and tools that foster greater awareness of the criteria used to determine pay and promote an increasingly transparent, fair and merit-based approach.