Discount Retail Chain Lidl's owner the German Schwarz Gruppe has published a code of ethics for business partners.
The Code describes the related basic principles of cooperation. They define the minimum standards required by the company in business relationships and are based on the following international guidelines and principles:
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
- United Nations Global Compact (UNGC),
- UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,
- UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
- UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
- OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises,
- Standards the work of the International Labor Organization (ILO),
- the Paris Climate Agreement.
One of the points of the code concerns the termination of the contract. It says: "In the event of a breach of the obligations contained in this Code, the business partner may be given a reasonable time to take remedial action, or if this is not possible due to the nature of the breach, he or she will receive a warning. If there are repeated breaches, the contractual relationship may be terminated with immediate effect without the notice period In the event of repeated or serious breaches, the contractual relationship may be terminated without notice, even without setting a time limit for remedial action or a reminder. This does not affect the rights to other claims, in particular damages. "
The following points are regulated: - Work (prohibition of discrimination, fair treatment, remuneration and working time, freedom of association, OHS, order penalties and prohibition of employing children) - Environment (environmental protection regulations and environmental and climate protection) - Code validity and control of its compliance (audits, obligations and subcontractors)
See here for the Code of conduct document: https://schwarz-produktion.com/app/uploads/Code-of-Conduct.pdf
