Business conduct
Acting with trust, integrity and honesty are integral to the way we do business and we expect all our employees, contractors and suppliers to uphold the same high ethical and professional standards at all times. We have clear guidance and policies in place to help people understand their responsibilities and embrace these values.
These include:
The Anglo American Good Citizenship principles
Tarmac is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anglo American plc, so we are committed to upholding the Anglo American Good Citizenship principles. Across all levels of our business, they set out the values that guide the way we act, including our firm commitment to uphold the law and oppose corruption, bribery, insider dealing and any other anti-competitive practices.
Through the Anglo American Good Citizenship principles, we are committed to fair and lawful employment practices. We will not tolerate unlawful and unfair discrimination of any kind in our workplaces, including abusive behaviour, physical punishment and the use of child or forced labour. As a responsible employer, we acknowledge our duty to protect the health and safety of anyone who comes into contact with our sites, to be a good environmental steward, and to develop our business sustainably.
We respect the rights of our employees to associate freely and bargain collectively. We formally recognise independent trade unions for collective bargaining purposes in addition to other consultative mechanisms. During 2011, 1,012 Tarmac employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements (approximately 16% of our total workforce).
We seek to ensure that selection for employment, promotion, training or any other benefit is made fairly and purely on the basis of aptitude and ability. Our terms and conditions of employment are established fairly through appropriate procedures that safeguard workplace rights and our employees’ interests. We respect the legislative employment requirements in the countries where we operate and our rewards and benefits scheme treats part-time and full-time employees equally.
The Tarmac Rules of Business
The Tarmac Rules of Business enable our operations to reinforce compliance with company standards governing external relations, taxation, expenditure, employment matters, legal and regulatory conformity and statutory duties. They clearly set out the roles and responsibilities of Tarmac’s senior management, promoting consistent decision making.
Integrity Policy
Our Integrity Policy provides clear guidance on how we conduct our business activities and internal and external relationships with fairness, honesty, consistency and reliability.
This includes a detailed description of the ethical standards we expect employees to meet when dealing with a range of issues, including conflicts of interest, political donations, bribery, gifts and entertainment, fraud and theft. Our employees must take personal responsibility for complying with our Integrity Policy and we also actively promote these to our business partners.
We provide employees with a confidential mechanism for reporting any suspected non-compliance with our principles and policies. We are also fully committed to ensuring that there are no negative repercussions for any person who, in good faith, reports their concerns regarding our compliance with the Integrity Policy or any legal or ethical issues.
In 2011, we provided specialist training for our workforce on the new UK Bribery Act, with an initial focus on senior management. We are continuing to roll out these training sessions across other levels of our business in 2012, to reinforce our commitment to business integrity and compliance with the Act.
Competition law compliance
We work to ensure that we comply with laws on anti-competitive behaviour.
Tarmac has comprehensive training and reporting systems in place to ensure that employees are fully aware of their responsibilities in this area. In 2011, we introduced and rolled out an updated approach for all relevant employees.
When our employees have dealings with competitors (for example at trade associations or at industry social events), they are required to report the occurrence under the company’s Competition Law Compliance Programme. The programme helps to make our employees aware of competition law requirements through training and is supported by Tarmac’s Competition Law Compliance Handbook.
Employees who complete the programme give a Competition Law Compliance Undertaking to Tarmac, which includes requirements to:
- update their knowledge with annual online refresher training
- report all contacts with competitors
- complete an annual review to ensure they have a current Competition Law Compliance Handbook
- report all non-written contacts with competitors.
Our Internal Audit team carries out regular reviews of the compliance programme and its operation.
Tarmac Talk Back
Tarmac Talk Back is a confidential telephone service that enables employees to voice concerns (anonymously if they wish), and ask questions about any aspect of the way our business is run, or about any company-related issues that they feel uncomfortable addressing directly with their line managers.
