Labour and Human Rights Policy
INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE
Signwaves Ltd employees are of great value and the key to our success. The company will strive to provide a workplace where employees can fulfil their potential in an open working environment. We will maintain a strong commitment to high standards that deliver a fair, respectable and safe workplace for all employees in the business.
The purpose of this policy is to define the labour and human rights standards to which all employees at Signwaves are entitled. The requirements of this policy are rooted in the guiding principles of the ETI Base Code and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
SCOPE
This policy applies to all employees within Signwaves Ltd and its subsidiary company, Blooming Artificial.
REQUIREMENTS
1. NON-DISCRIMINATION
1.1. Signwaves Ltd does not tolerate any form of discrimination against our employees based on race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, caste, national or social origin, property, birth, union affiliation, sexual orientation, age, disability, or other distinguishing characteristics.
1.2. Any employment-related decisions, from hiring to termination and retirement, will be based solely on relevant and objective criteria.
2. FORCED LABOUR
2.1. Signwaves Ltd does not tolerate any form of forced labour, including bonded labour, indentured labour and slave labour, or human trafficking. Workers are allowed to move around freely and leave their place of work when their shift ends.
3. CHILD LABOUR
3.1. Signwaves Ltd does not tolerate the hiring of child labour under any circumstances. The minimum age for full-time employment must be 15 or the legal minimum age for employment, whichever is greater. Signwaves Ltd will refrain from hiring workers under the age of 18 for positions requiring hazardous work that could jeopardise health, safety or morals.
3.2. If any instances of child labour are found within Signwaves Ltd, management commits to engaging fully with the child and all appropriately qualified organisations to enact a remediation plan specific to each individual child
4. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
4.1. Signwaves Ltd will respect employees’ rights to form, join or not join a labour union, or other organisation of their choice, and to bargain collectively in support of their mutual interests without fear of punitive actions such as intimidation, harassment or termination of employment.
5. HARASSMENT
5.1. Signwaves Ltd will protect workers from any acts of physical, verbal, sexual or psychological harassment, bullying, abuse or threats in the workplace by either their fellow workers or their managers.
6. WORKING HOURS, BENEFITS AND WAGES
6.1. Signwaves Ltd will adhere to all applicable laws or industry standards, whichever may be more stringent, relating to wages, working hours, overtime and benefits.
6.2. Employees will not be required to work more than 60 hours a week, including overtime, on a regular basis (or more than the limits on regular hours and overtime allowed by local laws and regulations). Wages for overtime will be paid in legal tender on a regular basis.
6.3. Wage deductions as a disciplinary measure will not be permitted unless provided for by national law. Employees will be entitled to at least one day off in seven, and will be given reasonable breaks while working and sufficient rest periods between shifts.
6.4. Signwaves Ltd will remain committed to continuously developing employee skills and capabilities, and to providing opportunities for career advancement.
6.5. In the event of major layoffs, Signwaves Ltd will, as a minimum, satisfy applicable laws and industry standards.
7. DUTY TO PROTECT
7.1. Signwaves Ltd is committed to ensuring that no staff member suffers abuse by any third party, including businesses. Where appropriate, Signwaves Ltd will act upon relevant policies, procedures and regulations to prevent any human rights abuses.
8. RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPECT
8.1. Signwaves Ltd will, at all times, act with due diligence to avoid infringing, causing or contributing to any human rights abuses.
9. ACCESS TO REMEDY
9.1. When any abuse occurs, Signwaves Ltd will ensure that staff have access to any and all grievance mechanisms and that they will be supported in achieving remediation.
9.2. All grievance mechanisms will be legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent, rights-compatible, a source of continuous learning, and where appropriate, based on dialogue and engagement.
9.3. Remediation may take a range of forms including but not exclusively limited to: apologies, rehabilitation, financial or non-financial compensation, fines (criminal or administrative), as well as the prevention of harm through, for example, guarantees of non-repetition.
10. LEAVE
10.1. Signwaves Ltd will ensure that all employees have the right to sick leave and annual holiday, as well as parental leave for employees who have to care for a new-born or newly adopted child as provided by national legislation. Employees who take such leave will not face dismissal or threat of dismissal.
11. EMPLOYEE CONTRACTS/LETTERS
11.1. All employees will be provided with a written, understandable and legally binding employment contract/letter.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Managing Director Responsible for ensuring that this policy and related standards are implemented and adhered to, and that all relevant employees are made aware of the policy and its requirements. Ensure local compliance with the policy including adequate control measures to eliminate or reduce risks to express behaviours in breach with the policy
HR Director Drives the implementation of the policy, provides specific advice on labour and human rights issues and dilemmas, and ensures that labour and human rights issues are identified and addressed. Audits, reviews, measures and reports on labour and human rights performance
Deputy Management Representative Advises policy owners on policy content, and ensures relevant and correct communication of policy efforts to all stakeholders.
Management and all Employees Comply with the letter and spirit of the policy. Engage and take responsibility for ensuring that all initiatives are developed in line with the policy.
DEVIATIONS
No exemptions from this policy can be granted unless there are exceptional circumstances or the policy is obviously not applicable. All requests for exemptions must be made in writing to the policy owners. The policy owners will assess and decide on each request individually. Exemptions will be duly logged and documented.
POLICY REVISION
This policy will be regularly reviewed in order to ensure its continued adequacy and relevance. It may be amended at any time in accordance with national laws or industry standards. In the event of any discrepancies between the English version of this policy and a translated version, the English version will be binding.
POLICY OWNERS:
Lynn Ford, HR Director Robert Brown, Managing Director
lynnford@signwaves.co.uk bobbrown@signwaves.co.uk
