Global
Code of Conduct

In line with our respect for human rights approach, all employees within Arçelik are recognized as equals regardless of ethnic origin, race, language, religion, age, gender, nationality, disability or cultural difference.

Based on this approach, all human resources processes are carried out according to the principles of right person for the right job, equal pay for equal work, success based merit and equal opportunities for all. Principles of respect in the human rights and employee rights are at the core of all our human resources processes. In this direction, we provide nondiscriminatory and fair work environment, practices based on merit are conducted regarding compensation, fringe benefits and promotion, look out for unionization and collective agreement rights of our employees.

We commit to comply with all the laws and regulations regarding equal rights and prevention of discrimination in all the value chain, ensure that the working environment is devoid of discrimination and prevents child and forced labor in line with labor legislation and policies developed in this manner. Along with these, in case of collective and/or individual dismissals or reassignments, labor regulations of the related countries and provisions stated in collective bargaining agreements are applied. It is very critical for us to embrace this approach in every stage of our value chain.

Arçelik acknowledges and endeavours to ensure its vision of “Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide” is practiced in all spheres of its operations. We are committed to complying with all the laws and regulations regarding equal rights and prevention of discrimination in all our value chain. It is among our objectives to provide a working environment that is compatible with human dignity and without discrimination or injustice. We undertake the responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy working environment. We never tolerate slavery and human trafficking and we expect all our business partners to act accordingly. We ensure that the working environment is devoid of discrimination and prevents child and forced labour in line with labour legislation and policies developed in this manner. We are committed to meeting our obligations under the Modern Slavery Act (2015) across the whole of our business.

In 2019 we published our revised Global Code of Conduct with the motto of “Regenerated for All” which explains how we should behave, what we should pay attention to and what behaviors we should avoid in business, in order to adapt it to Arçelik’s ever-growing and expanding structure. We started the implementation of our revised Global Code of Conduct in Turkey, Europe, South Africa and Thailand. In 2020 we communicated the Global Code of Conduct and related Policies in 18 languages and completed the launch in all the countries that Arçelik operates. All our employees and Business Partners are expected to adopt these rules, act in line with them. Our leaders are responsible from setting examples with their attitudes by leading our employees and making business decisions in accordance with the Global Code of Conduct and related Code Policies. Revised members of the Global Ethics Committee is currently led by the CEO of the company to ensure hands on involvement of leaders and proper tone at the top.

All employees are also provided with a comprehensive face-to-face or online interactive training covering the Global Code of Conduct and Related Policies, which is predominantly about compliance risks such as anti-bribery and corruption, sanctions and export controls, personal data protection, competition law and anti-money laundering as well as the prevention of human rights violations and the prevention of discrimination and harassment, responsible purchasing, and conflicts of interest. In 2023, we trained 2,673 employees on the Global Code of Conduct.

We also provide training to our CEO and all our Assistant General Managers on the Global Code of Conduct and Related Policies.

With our revised Global Code of Conduct we introduced new channels such as Ethics hotline numbers for some countries, and web tool for all of our employees to inform our Legal and Compliance Department, to handle the issues of violations of our policies and values. We assure that all our whistleblowers will be protected from retaliation and all investigations will be handled in complete confidentiality. The following reporting channels can be used to report violations or suspicious behaviour contrary to Global Code of Conduct and related Policies:

Website

Telephone:

Our revised Global Code of Conduct commits to comply with UN Global Compact, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Universal Declaration of Human Rights under all circumstances whether or not the relevant documents are accepted in countries of operation.

In 2023, 243 cases were reported through ethics hotline channels. We closed all the cases and have no ongoing investigations related to the cases reported in 2023. Among the reported cases, a total of 27 were substantiated. The total number of grievances reported and resolved on anti-corruption and bribery topics, or money laundering or insider trading was zero during 2023. Due to the substantiated cases in 2023, 8 employees’ contracts were terminated.

Info for the cases about the previous years

Within the scope industrial relations policy,  ARÇELİK A.Ş. respects the rights of employees to join industrial associations and unions.

Our company pays careful attention to protect the peaceful environment in the workplace by the way of conforming to the requirements of legislation and collective bargaining agreement within the framework of trust formed with employees and unions. 

BSCI, SEDEX Social Accountability Audits

We are subject to regular audits due to our membership of the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) and the Suppliers Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX). Through BSCI, our operations are regularly audited in topics such as social management systems, employee engagement, freedom of association and collective bargaining, prevention of discrimination, fair remuneration, OHS, prevention of precarious employment, prevention of forced and child labor, environmental protection, and ethical behavior. Customer-specific audits also may be performed per request. Our supply chain department also follows an audit plan to monitor the social compliance conditions of suppliers. We plan corrective actions for nonconformities that arise as a result of the audits and check the actions taken regarding these plans in the following audits. We fulfill all requirements in each country in which we operate, in line with the local and national laws and regulations. Signed contracts comply with legislation in the countries where Arçelik operates and fully comply with local GDPR rules. We strictly follow, pay attention to, and commit to compliance. According to the results of BSCI and SEDEX audits, there was no finding for incidents of child labor, forced or compulsory labor in our own operations. In line with our zero-tolerance policy, we terminate our relationships with suppliers who may be involved in human rights violations.

In 2023, all our factories, including joint ventures (31/31), were subject to human rights assessments internally of by third-party audits. 31 manufacturing facilities have been internally audited, and 23 have been third-party audited. We have mitigation plans for the identified risks in 31 manufacturing facilities, including joint ventures. No major human rights issues were identified in our operations and joint ventures. The results of internal and external audit findings are discussed in the Human Rights Committee, and corrective action plans follow the mitigation actions.

Please see the 2023 Sustainability Report for further details information on the audits findings.

Documents

English

Turkish

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