As a company operating in Europe and worldwide, it’s a matter of course for us to pay attention to the observance of minimum social standards as well as fair, responsible and ethical principles of action not only in our company but in our business relations with suppliers as well. In order to achieve this goal, we have drawn up the following Code of Conduct, to which all our partners must commit:
Human rights are to be respected as an elementary prerequisite of human coexistence.
The applicable national laws and regulations must be complied with. Of all applicable regulations, the strictest shall always prevail.
Bribery and corruption in any form are prohibited.
In dealings with business partners (customers, suppliers) and government institutions, the interests of the company and the private interests of employees on both sides are strictly separated. Actions and (purchasing) decisions are made free of extraneous considerations and personal interests. The applicable criminal law on corruption is to be complied with.
hadra® respect fair competition and complies with the applicable laws which protect and promote competition. In dealing with competitors, these regulations prohibit in particular agreements and other activities that influence prices or conditions, share sales territories or customers, or hinder free and open competition in an impermissible manner. Furthermore, these regulations prohibit agreements between customers and suppliers aimed at restricting customers freedom to autonomously determine their prices and other conditions when reselling (price and condition fixing).
Child labor is prohibited in the production of goods or the provision of services to hadra®. The supplier must not use child labor in accordance with ILO standards 138 + 182. In particular, the supplier shall not employ children below the minimum permissible age. The minimum permissible age corresponds to the age at which compulsory schooling ends according to the applicable national law and is at least 15 years. Also prohibited are the worst forms of child labor, such as all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale of children and child trafficking, debt bondage and servitude, as well as forced or compulsory labor, including the forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, the bringing in, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, the production of pornography or pornographic performances, the use, procurement or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, and work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to be harmful to the health, safety or morals of children.
All forms of forced labor are prohibited.
The use of corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion, and verbal abuse is prohibited.
Reductions in wages are not permitted as a disciplinary measure.
The nationally applicable labor laws must be complied with. Wages and other benefits, without exception, must comply with local pay scales and legal regulations and the general principle of fair and honest dealings. They must be clearly defined and paid regularly.
Social benefits prescribed by law must be granted to all employees. The regular maximum working hours shall be in accordance with the statutory regulations.
Discrimination on the basis of gender, age, religion, social background, disability, ethnic or national origin or any other personal characteristic or belief of employees is prohibited.
The rights of employees to establish and join organizations of their choice and to conduct collective actions shall not be restricted in any way.
Safe and healthy conditions in the workplace shall be ensured.
Environmental and safety regulations concerning waste treatment, handling of chemicals or other hazardous materials or substances, must be observed.
The supplier informs us regularly about any violations and risks it has identified, as well as the measures taken.
We reserve the right to check compliance with the standards of this Supplier Code of Conduct. We are entitled to carry out or have carried out an audit of compliance with the standards from this Supplier Code of Conduct at reasonable intervals, irrespective of the occasion. We will announce the audit at least 10 working days before it’s carried out. For this purpose, the supplier shall grant us and the auditor access to its premises during its normal business hours (but at least from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and comprehensive inspection of and access to all documents, data and systems related to the performance of the concluded contracts. The Supplier shall be entitled to take appropriate measures to protect its trade and business secrets and to protect confidentiality with respect to its customer data.
The supplier itself also works exclusively with suppliers who undertake to comply with the standards of this Supplier Code of Conduct. Should a violation of the standards of this Supplier Code of Conduct occur through indirect suppliers, the supplier will work closely with us to remedy the violation.
The provisions of this Code of Conduct to be complied with by the supplier may be adapted at any time depending on the results of the risk analysis regularly carried out by us. The supplier will be informed by us one (1) month prior to the entry into force of any amendment and has the possibility to object to such amendment within two (2) weeks from the date of such notification, which will be pointed out to the supplier separately in each individual case.
If the supplier violates his obligations specified in these clauses, he shall owe a contractual penalty for each case of contractual penalty for each case of infringement, unless he is not responsible for the infringement. The amount of the contractual penalty shall depend on the severity and consequences of the breach. The exact amount of the contractual penalty shall be determined by us on a case-by-case basis at our reasonable discretion and, in the event of a dispute, shall be reviewed by the competent court as to its appropriateness. The contractual penalty shall be offset against claims for damages on our part due to the infringement. Payment of the contractual penalty shall not affect the obligation to comply with the other provisions of this agreement.
Should a violation of the regulations of this Code of Conduct be identified, we will notify the supplier of this in writing within one (1) month and set a reasonable grace period for the supplier to bring its conduct into compliance with these regulations. If such a breach has occurred culpably and makes it unreasonable for us to continue the contract until its proper termination, we may terminate the contract after the fruitless expiry of the set period of grace if we have threatened to do so when setting the period of grace. The right to extraordinary termination without granting a grace period in accordance with §314 Section 2 sentence 3 of the German Civil Code (BGB) shall remain unaffected, as shall the right to claim damages.
