COMMITMENT TO ETHICAL BUSINESS

Relations with customers

1. Team Discovery believes that integrity in dealings with customers is essential for a successful and sustained, business relationship. This principle governs all aspects of the company s approach to its customers.
2. The company aims to provide products and services giving good value, timely delivery, consistent quality, reliability and safety, by:
• Marketing products made to accredited national and international standards or, in their absence stringent quality tests.
• Never deliberately give inadequate or misleading descriptions of products or services.
• Never knowingly sell products which are not fit for purpose.
3. The company will provide a high standard of after-sales service.
4. No employee may give money or any inducement to a customer which could be interpreted as being a bribe.
5. The company will avoid practices which seek to increase sales by any means other than legitimate efforts.
6. The company will always maintain the confidentiality of customer information. 

Relations with employees

1. Relations with employees are based on respect for the dignity of the individual.
2. The company will always recruit and promote disabled and non-disabled employees on the basis of their suitability for the job without discrimination in terms of race, religion, national origin, colour, gender, age, marital status or disability.
3. The company aims to provide secure jobs and will therefore plan recruitment responsibly and inform employees, as far as it is able, on employment prospects.
4. The company will seek to provide a clean, healthy and safe working environment in line with the best industrial practice.
• Employees for their part have a duty to take every reasonable precaution to avoid personal injury to themselves and injury to their colleagues and members of the public.
5. In recognition of the efforts of the individual in helping to create the success of the company, it will maintain a framework of fair remuneration policies and structures.
6. The company will encourage and help employees at all levels to develop relevant skills and progress their careers within the company, and through Interwork, promote integration into outside industry.
7. The company aims to operate a policy of openness, explain the purpose of its activities, foster effective communication and involve employees in improving their work and that of Team Discovery as a whole.
8. Information received by employees in the course of business dealings must not be used for personal gain or any purpose except that for which it is given.
9. Employees must disclose any interest or that of a member of the employees immediate family in relation to Team Discovery’s business.
10. The company will not tolerate any sexual, physical or mental harassment of its employees.
11. The company has a dispute resolution procedure and will make every effort to resolve issues quickly and effectively.
12. The company shall endeavor to maintain the fullest communication with each employee as an individual and it recognises the need to develop effective processes for communication and consultation with all employees

Relations with suppliers

1. The company will aim to develop relationships with its suppliers based on mutual trust.
2. The company undertakes to pay its suppliers in accordance with agreed terms of trade.
3. The purchasing power of the company will never be used unscrupulously.
4. The receipt of gifts or favours can give rise to embarrassing situations and may be seen as an improper inducement to grant some concession in return to the donor.
   Employees must not:
   1. accept gifts or favours save that small tokens and hospitality may be accepted provided they do not place the recipient under any obligation, are not capable of being misconstrued and can be reciprocated at the same level;
   2. gifts of money must never be accepted;
      Any offer of gifts or favours of unusual value or questionable purpose should be reported immediately to the employee’s superior and the Company Secretary.
5. All confidential information concerning the relationship between the company and a supplier will be treated as such.

Relations with the local community

1. The company recognises the need to be a good corporate citizen. It will serve the community by providing goods and services efficiently and by providing good employment opportunities and conditions.
2. The company will try to take into account the concerns of the wider community including both national and local interests.
3. Employees are encouraged to participate in community and civic affairs.

 The environment

1. Team Discovery is concerned with the conservation of the environment in its broadest sense and recognises that certain resources are finite and must be used responsibly. It will:

1. work with others toward a consensus on environmental quality standards which are desirable and attainable.
2. assess in advance the environment effects of any significant new development.
3. review regularly the environmental performance of existing operations.
4. have particular regard for the preservation of important wildlife habitats.
5. keep the communities in which the company operates informed of its environmental programme.

Relations with competitors

1. The company will compete vigorously, but honestly.
2. The company will not damage the reputation of competitors either directly or by implications or innuendo.
3. In any contacts with competitors, employees will avoid discussing proprietary or confidential information.
4. The company will not attempt to acquire information regarding a competitor’s business by illegal means.
5. The company will not engage in any unreasonable trade practices or abuse any position of market dominance.

Issues relating to international business

1. The company will respect the traditions and cultures of each country in which it operates.
2. The company commits itself to obey the law and to contribute to the economic well-being and social development of countries and communities where it conducts business.
3. It is the company policy to comply with competition laws throughout the world. It will not take part in unlawful cartels.

 Taxation

1. The company will not evade tax obligations.
2. The company will record and report all transactions, including those where payment is made in cash.
3. All taxable perquisites to which employees are entitled will be listed and declared for tax purposes.

Compliance and verification

1. Adherence to the provisions of the Code is a condition of employment in Team Discovery.
2. The company aims to create the climate and opportunities for employees to voice genuinely held concerns about behaviour or decisions that they perceive to be unethical.
3. The Company Secretary is responsible for initiating and supervising the investigation of all the reports of breaches of this code and ensuring that appropriate disciplinary action is taken when required.
4. The company’s auditors will be asked to report on any practice they discover in the course of their work which appears to breach this code