Supplier Code of Conduct

North West IT is committed to high standards of, amongst others, environmental sustainability, human rights, anti-bribery and corruption, integrity and business security. We anticipate that our suppliers will abide by similar standards and ethically conduct their business. As a supplier, you must comply with all applicable local, national and international legislation and agree to observe the following code.

• Comply with all relevant legislation, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010;
• respect the personal dignity, privacy and rights of all individuals, including your employees and those in your supply chain;
• not tolerate discrimination based on gender, age, disability, race, religion, sexuality, social class or in any other way;
• ensure equal opportunities are available to all; and
• understand diversity by including all people, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial origin, religion, belief, sexual orientation, language, union activity etc.

• Respect the rights of employees to associate and bargain collectively freely;
• not use any forced labour or involuntary prison labour and allow all employees the choice to leave their employment freely upon reasonable notice;
• not force the relocation or movement of any workers;
• not use or promote forced or child labour in any way; and
• understand that all staff are entitled to work in an environment which respects their dignity and take steps to ensure that the working environment is free from harassment, bullying or any other type of intimidation.

• Ensure that all operational locations meet, as a minimum, all local health and safety regulations;
• ensure all employees are appropriately trained and aware of all health and safety risks and procedures within their working environment; and
• record all accidents and/ or near misses and investigate these to determine if preventative action is required to prevent further accidents.

• minimise the environmental effects of existing operations and ensure that the environmental impact of new processes is assessed;
• minimise waste and maximise recycling through the reuse and reconditioning of devices and other
• materials;
• make a responsible effort to minimise the use of packaging, reuse it where practicable and avoid, where possible, the use of packaging which consumes a disproportionate amount of energy or resources during the manufacturing process;
• introduce programmes which aim to minimise waste;
• promote the ownership and control of environmental issues at the business level;
• conserve energy and minimise carbon emissions, where practicable; and
• reduce your energy expenditure and increase energy efficiency as much as reasonably possible, especially concerning lighting, heating, air conditioning and kitchen appliances (including water conservation).

• Refrain from and prevent any forms of corruption, extortion and bribery following the Bribery Act 2010;
• ensure that appropriate prevention procedures are in place to mitigate the risk of tax evasion and to comply with the provisions of the Criminal Finance Act 2017;
• apply this policy to all employees and directors and to temporary workers, consultants, contractors, agents and subsidiaries acting for and on behalf of our suppliers;
• understand that it is the responsibility of all employees and associated persons to assist in the prevention, detection and reporting of bribery, corruption and/or fraud;
• ensure all employees are aware of who to report and any concerns they may have, and encourage them to do so;
• ensure new business is procured responsibly;
• ensure employees make the relevant person aware of any conflict of interest they may or suspect they may
• have; and
• not partake in any anti-competitive practices, including conspiring with peers, suppliers or any other parties
• to influence pricing, bid rigging, participating in or being involved with a cartel, or any other practice intended to or which reduces free competition in any marketplace.

• Implement reasonable measures for minimising exposure to physical security threats such as terrorism, crime, pandemics and natural disasters;
• implement reasonable measures for minimising exposure to cyber security threats such as terrorism, crime, viruses (and other malicious code) and hacking;
• comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, including ensuring that appropriate technological and organisational security procedures are in place and that any security concerns are reported promptly to the right person; and
• protect all confidential information and intellectual property of others.

• Abide by the Employment Relations 1999 Act (Blacklists) Regulations 2010, section 137 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and any similar legislation;
• For example, do not commit any breach of the Data Protection Act 2018 by the unlawful processing of personal data in connection with any blacklisting activities.