Our Business Ethics: Code Of Conduct For Partners
This Code of Conduct for business partners (the “Code”) provides the foundation for our continuous engagement with business partners and dialogue in good faith on their ethical, social and environmental performance. It outlines our expectations regarding basic compliance with applicable law, respect for labour and human rights, environmental management and anti-corruption. This code is an integral part of our relationships and part of all contracts with business partners. In Fischer & Kerrn, we fully commit ourselves to the principles of the Code.
For the purpose of this Code, ‘business partners’ means Suppliers, Partner, resellers and joint-venture partners. The Code shall cover all employees of our business partners, including permanent, temporary and agency-provided.
General expectations
We expect our business partners to maintain awareness and comply with all applicable national laws, rules and regulations. If these are in contradiction with the specific expectations of this Code, the highest standards should be applied.
In addition, we expect business partners to embed international principles (e.g. UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights), conventions (e.g. ILO conventions), and guidance (e.g. OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct) into their own operations by introducing policies, procedures, and safe and confidential grievance mechanisms appropriate to their sector and size. Employees and interested stakeholders shall have access to the grievance mechanisms.
Business partners are responsible for ensuring compliance with this Code. In addition, business partners are expected to apply appropriate due diligence measures to ensure that high-risk sub-suppliers to Fischer & Kerrn comply with this Code or a similar framework.
We are aware that improving ethical, social and environmental performance requires time and resources. However, if a business partner, by intention or repeated negligence, fails to live up to this Code in an explicit and severe manner, or if the business partner continually refuses to engage in due diligence activities or lacks commitment to make progress on issues identified during an assessment, Fischer & Kerrn reserves the right to pursue a termination of the business relationship
Human rights including labour rights
We expect our business partners to avoid and address adverse impacts on human and labour rights as listed in International Bill of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation’s declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
The following highlights specific examples of minimum expectations of business partner performance (in alphabetical order).
Child labour
We expect our business partners to prohibit the use of child labour and to ensure that no person is employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where the law of the country permits) or younger than the age for completing compulsory education in the country of production, if such age is higher than 15.
Business partners shall protect young workers of legal working age, up to the age of 18, from any type of employment or work which, by its nature or circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardise their health, safety or morals, or interfere with their schooling needs.
If a child is found working, the business partner must act in the best interest of the child, and any measures taken should aim at improving the child’s well-being.
Community relations
Fischer & Kerrn business partners shall engage and consult with potentially affected local communities, including indigenous peoples, and avoid causing or contributing to negative impacts on their human rights. This may include impacts on culture, the environment, natural resources, land, infrastructure or other factors that are important to the fulfilment of human rights for local communities, including their health and livelihoods.
Conflict-affected areas and conflict minerals
If our business partners operate in or source from conflict-affected areas, we expect them to conduct due diligence aimed at ensuring they are not linked to providing funding or support to armed actors.
In addition, we expect our business partners to ensure that their products do not contain conflict minerals sourced from mines that support or fund conflict in conflict-affected areas.
Discrimination
We expect our business partners to treat employees fairly and provide a workplace which supports diversity and is free from discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination, retirement, working conditions, job assignments, benefits and discipline based on personal characteristics. This includes ethnic background, race, religion, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, outlook or social status.
Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining
Our business partners shall respect employees’ and other workers’ rights to join or refrain from joining any lawful workers’ association or collective bargaining association of their choice, or, when restricted, alternative forms of independent and free workers representation.
Business partners shall not discriminate against worker representatives and employees who choose to affiliate or not affiliate. We expect our business partners to engage in bargaining with employee representatives in good faith.
Harassment, abuse and disciplinary measures
Employees shall be treated with dignity and respect.
We expect our business partners to prohibit the use of corporal punishment and physical, sexual, psychological, verbal or any other form of harassment, abuse or coercion.
Business partners may perform disciplinary actions that have been duly communicated to all employees and any disciplinary action shall be recorded and acknowledged by the affected employee in writing. Business partners shall prohibit the use of monetary fines.
Health and safety
We expect our business partners to provide safe and healthy working conditions and take appropriate precautionary measures to protect employees from work related hazards and anticipated dangers in the workplace.
Business partners shall abide with all applicable local laws and regulations to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with, or occurring in the course of, work or as a result of the operation of employer facilities.
We expect business partners to continuously improve working conditions and reduce workplace related risks and hazards by for example, introducing a written safety programme, ensuring management responsibility for health and safety matters, setting targets, and conducting appropriate training.
Hiring practices and forced labour
We expect our business partners to provide all employees with written employment contracts outlining the conditions of employment in a language understood by the employee.
We expect our business partners to conduct due diligence aimed at eliminating direct and/or indirect involvement in human trafficking and prohibiting all forms of forced, bonded or indentured labour, involuntary prison labour. This applies to all workers, whether hired directly, by a contractor or recruited through a labour broker.
Employees shall enjoy the freedom of movement during their employment. Employees shall be permitted to terminate employment after reasonable notice and business partners shall not retain original identification documents, deposits or financial guarantees or withhold wages outside of a legal contractual agreement.
Remuneration
Our business partners shall abide with all wage and benefit laws and regulations, including those pertaining to minimum wages, overtime wages, sick leave, piece rates
and other elements of compensation. Business partners shall also abide by lawful collective agreements on wages and benefits. At time of wage payment, business partners shall issue each employee a wage statement specifying at minimum all hours worked during that pay period and the rate of compensation.
Security arrangements
We expect our business partners to safeguard personnel and property in accordance with relevant human rights principles and in a manner that avoids or minimises risk of harm to workers and communities.
Working hours
We expect our business partners to prevent employees from working more than 40 hours per week including overtime, or the applicable limits on regular and overtime hours set by law, industry standards or collective agreements.
Workers shall be entitled to rest breaks and rest days in accordance with the law, industry standards or collective agreements. Workers shall not be requested to work overtime on a regular basis.
Environment
We expect our business partners to carry out operations with care for the environment, comply with all relevant local and national environmental regulations and maintain all applicable licenses, registrations or permits.
Environmental Impact
Business partners shall strive to minimise adverse impacts on the environment, human health and livelihoods of their products or services throughout their life cycle by:
- taking a precautionary approach to climate change related to their activities, products and services,
- having a precautionary approach to the use of resources and materials (incl. hazardous materials) and finding an environmentally friendly substitution whenever possible,
- disclosing usage of hazardous materials to facilitate safe management of their product during use, recycling and disposal,
- protecting biodiversity and promoting the sustainable and efficient use of land, natural resources and energy,
- establishing control mechanisms for the prevention of pollution from hazardous substances, waste and effluents and air emissions,
- providing access to emergency response, including environmental, fire, and conditions of abnormal emission and dispersion, exceeding air quality criteria,
- providing access to immediate measures to protect human health and the environment, and
- respecting polluter pays principle.
Anti-corruption
Fischer & Kerrn promotes integrity and ethics in all aspects of its activities and maintains a zero-tolerance policy on corruption. We expect that our partners do not engage in any form of corrupt practices, including extortion, fraud, bribery, facilitation payment, or money laundry whether direct or indirect.
We expect our business partners to maintain adequate procedures for preventing any of its employees, suppliers, agents or other business partners from undertaking any conduct that in any way would give rise to an offense under applicable anti-corruption laws, rules and regulations.
We expect our business partners to ensure that business is conducted in a manner that does not violate UN, EU, UK or US trade sanctions and to inform Fischer & Kerrn should they ever become subject to international sanctions.