We recognise that our social, economic and environmental responsibilities to these stakeholders are essential to our business. We aim to demonstrate these responsibilities through our coordinated activities and within our corporate policies. We aspire to balance the interests of all our stakeholders so that our reputation is associated with positive, enlightened and innovative ideas and actions. We are open and honest in communicating our strategies, targets, performance and governance to our stakeholders in our continual commitment to sustainable development.

Certsure LLP maintains relevant policies and procedures in addition to its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, and generally in accordance with good business practice to demonstrate that Certsure LLP operates its business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business. The Managing Director is responsible for the implementation of this policy and will make the necessary resources available to realise our corporate responsibilities. The responsibility for our performance on this policy rests with all employees throughout the business.

This policy will be monitored periodically by Certsure LLP to judge its effectiveness and will also be updated in accordance with changes in the law. This policy is non-contractual and therefore may be amended at any time.

We focus our corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in the following key areas:

Employees

• • We operate an equal opportunities policy for all our existing and potential future employees.
  • We offer our employees clear and fair terms of employment and provide training and resources to enable their continual development. All employees are given 30 hours per annum to support their continued professional development (CPD). This initiative has the full support of Certsure’s owners.
  • We maintain a clear and fair employee remuneration policy and maintain forums for employee consultation and business involvement. We are proud to be a Real Living Wage employer. We also offer a number of competitive employee benefits, as well as support for our employees’ overall wellbeing.
    We have a number of communication channels with our employees that enable clear, frequent, honest communication of Certsure’s performance and priorities. We also encourage two-way communication to ensure people have opportunities to provide feedback.
  • We are committed to undertaking surveys that measure employee engagement on at least an annual basis, and we seek to enhance engagement for our employees to provide the best experience possible for them.
  • We respect the right of our employees to choose whether to join our recognised trade union, Prospect, without influence or interference. We work in collaboration with Prospect to negotiate pay annually and have a Collective Bargaining Agreement in place.
  • We provide safeguards to ensure that all our employees, regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), sexual orientation, religion or belief, or because someone is married or in a civil partnership, are treated with dignity and respect, and without sexual, physical or mental harassment. We operate policies that recognise the rewards to be gained from the employment of a diverse workforce.
  • We adhere to our modern slavery policy. Furthermore, our suppliers are required to take the appropriate measures to ensure that no modern slavery occurs at the suppliers’ and their sub-contractors’ places of production.
  • We recognise the right to freedom of movement and will respond appropriately and within current legislative requirements to people who exercise their right to free movement for work purposes.
  • We recognise that human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that every person should be entitled to and have policies in place to help protect employees in the workplace in accordance with employment legislation. These policies include but are not limited to the Dignity at Work Policy, Grievance Policy and Equal Opportunities Policy.

Business Ethics and Anti-Bribery

• • Our employees are required to comply with all laws governing Certsure’s operations and conduct business in accordance with the highest ethical standards. We have a Business Ethics and Anti-Bribery Policy in place to ensure compliance.
  • We have a Fraud Policy that includes how we prevent the facilitation of tax evasion.
  • Certsure’s ownerssupport the philosophy that technical integrity is more important than profit, hence our purpose remains much more than generating profit and satisfying commercial goals.
  • We are proud to support The Electrical Industries Charity (EIC). The charity supports our industry, which includes our employees and customers. We work in partnership with the EIC to raise funds and awareness of their cause. Our employees benefit from an Employee Assistance programme via the EIC.
  • Employees dealing with contractors, consultants, suppliers, customers and other persons having business with Certsure LLP, are required to conduct such activities in the best interests of the company without favour or preference.
  • We prohibit the offering, the giving, the solicitation or the acceptance of any bribe whether cash or other inducement to or from any person or company wherever they are situated.

Customers

• • We strive to deliver an excellent service to our customers by providing high-quality products and services and the best possible customer experience.
  • We will register and resolve customer complaints in accordance with our Complaint

Procedures

• • We support our customers by providing access to a technical helpline, and offer opportunities for them to enhance their CPD. This extends beyond the provision of technical guidance and information provision.

Suppliers

• • We aim to work proactively with our suppliers who commit to our values, especially in reference to fair employment and good environmental practice.
  • We shall encourage suppliers and contractors to adopt responsible business policies and practices.
  • Our contracts will clearly set out the agreed terms, conditions and the basis of our relationship and will operate in a way that safeguards against unfair business practices.
  • We support our suppliers by ensuring that all invoices are paid within 30 days.
  • The Modern Slavery Act 2015 states that any commercial organisation who meets specific criteria must produce an annual slavery and human trafficking statement, outlining the measures taken to prevent slavery and human trafficking within their supply chain. Whilst Certsure LLP does not meet the criterion which necessitates the production of an annual slavery and human trafficking statement, we share the same ethos as that outlined within the Act and are committed to ethical procurement and transparency within our supply chain. We take our responsibilities seriously and will work closely with our UK based suppliers to ensure our supply chain remains free of slavery and human trafficking.

Environment

• • We recognise the importance of understanding the environmental impact of our business activities and are committed to reducing these through effective environmental management.
  • We will ensure compliance with all applicable environmental law and regulations, and continuous improvement of our environmental management, within our business and on our clients’ sites.
  • We will work to minimise waste and to recycle wherever possible, in conjunction with local authorities and our approved waste carriers to achieve this.
  • We are committed to minimizing the impact we have on the environment and proactively seek opportunities to decrease our carbon footprint as an organization, such as making hybrid/electric vehicles available for our employees who drive for work, and by having solar panels on our buildings.

Community

• • We support and encourage our employees to help local community organisations and activities, and particularly with our employee chosen charities.
  • We work with schools, colleges and educational bodies to assist young people in choosing their future careers, being an advocate for our industry.
  • Representatives across the business are encouraged to take part in a range of activities with young people in the community, including encouraging our engineers to become involved in educational initiatives with young people in schools and colleges.

GDPR and Data Protection

• • We are committed to conducting our business in accordance with all relevant GDPR and Data Protection laws and regulations and in line with the highest standards of ethical conduct.
  • We will comply with the relevant principles governing data protection as listed in our GDPR and Data Protection Policy. This policy sets out the expectations of our employees and third parties who we have business relationships with, in relation to the collection, use, retention, transfer, disclosure and destruction of any Personal Data belonging to Certsure LLP.