Fair and ethical work

Thousands of colleagues working together every day. Colleagues who serve millions of our customers and who purchase products and services from a long list of suppliers. All of this not only requires clear rules of conduct, but requires every single colleague to be aware of those rules themselves. So that all of us are able to work fairly and ethically. In this way, we protect our employees and the world around us. 

CODE OF CONDUCT: THE POWER OF REPETITION

Our Code of Conduct sets out in black and white what we expect of every person within VodafoneZiggo: formally, informally and ethically. Taking that code as its starting point, our Privacy, Risk & Compliance department is working constantly to raise awareness amongst all colleagues. By means of its integrity programme, it sets out to promote an ethical and open culture. 

One of the examples of this is the all-year-round campaign entitled ‘We Do / We Don’t’, which aims to instil ethical conduct. The campaign itself highlights a different topic each month. To provide a firm foundation, all new employees are required to complete an e-learning course in ethical conduct. As part of that training, they learn about topics such as privacy, security, anti-corruption and bribery, competition law and health and wellbeing. From 2022 onwards, all colleagues will also be required to undergo an annual refresher course. Precisely: the power of repetition. Colleagues and teams to whom these topics are of particular relevance are given separate, additional training.  

SPEAK OUT: AN OPEN CULTURE

Is it actually possible to prevent abuses, breaches and unethical conduct entirely? Unfortunately not. That is why a safe and open company culture is so important. A culture in which any employee feels empowered to report something and can be fully confident that we will protect them effectively. Reports can be made in a variety of ways, which we refer to collectively as ‘Speak Out’. Within the company itself, reports can be made to managers and to the Security, Compliance or HR departments. To submit a report anonymously, an external reporting tool is available. We introduced a new application for this in 2021: Whispli. This makes it possible for contact to take place between the person reporting something and the person dealing with that report in a completely anonymous way. In addition, we also have an external confidential adviser and a complaints committee. 

And while we’re talking about openness and reports – all of our employees are required to declare any gifts, invitations and possible conflicts of interest. This enables us to ensure full transparency and protect our colleagues, our organisation and our contacts. 

In 2021, a total of 29 reports were received by our external confidential adviser. The external reporting tool was used six times and the Security department received 20 reports of possible breaches of our code of conduct. All of those reports were followed up by initiating an investigation in accordance with our protocols. It also goes without saying that those who submit a report are kept up to date regarding its progress.   

A FAIR VALUE CHAIN

In 2021, we published our Human Rights Statement. In that document, we set out our promises with regard to how we interact with employees, suppliers and society as a whole. We also underline our commitment to act in the most ethical and sustainable away within the entire chain. From child labour to bribery, our aim is to ensure that our value chain remains free of any possible abuses. This is also in keeping with our Code of Sustainable and Ethical Purchasing. We therefore screen all of our suppliers using a variety of processes, including questionnaires and tools. We also ensure that any risks applicable to suppliers are discovered and that suitable measures are implemented jointly. If no effective solution is forthcoming, we cease doing business with the supplier concerned.