At Legal & General we conduct business with honesty and integrity, not just with our own people, but also with our customers, shareholders, suppliers, business partners and other communities. It is important for Legal & General to do the right thing, from both our own perspective and from the perspective of all of the groups that we affect, including our suppliers.
We aim to establish mutually beneficial relationships with our suppliers, based on the same high ethical standards that apply to all our dealings: open, professional and honest. We expect suppliers to compete on the same basis with regard to the price and quality of their products and services.
The practical application of our standards is detailed as follows:
Policy
We expect our suppliers to have developed an Ethical Purchasing policy, which includes expectations of its suppliers.
Bribery and corruption
Legal & General will not tolerate bribery or corruption within its supply chain, in any form. Gifts of money or vouchers should be neither offered nor accepted under any circumstances.
Gifts and hospitality
Gifts should not be offered to Legal & General employees.
If a supplier does not adhere to this restriction, Legal & General requires its employees to donate any gifts received to charity. This policy does not apply to promotional gifts, e.g. items such as stationery, diaries, mugs, calendars, mouse mats or pens that bear a company or organisation name, provided that these have no significant value.
A company that is negotiating with Legal & General in circumstances where the employee has any influence over the outcome of those negotiations should not offer hospitality, such as the attendance of social events organised by the supplier.
Hospitality will only be accepted if it is appropriate and is not greater than that which Legal & General could offer in return.
Interest and Confidentiality
If a supplier has a material interest in Legal & General, this should be disclosed including details of any family or close social relationships or if Legal & General shares are held.
Legal & General and its suppliers must maintain commercial confidentiality at all time. Any external publicity of a relationship must be initially agreed with Legal & General’s Brand Manager. Use of Legal & General’s logo is forbidden without the express permission of Legal & General’s Brand Manager.
Neither party should deliberately withhold relevant information, nor should any misleading information be given.
