Code of Conduct – OSP Spain
Updated: April 2024
Respect for human rights, environmental protection and cooperation in the spirit of fairness are the pillars upon which a live-able society is built. It is the declared goal of the Otto Group to reconcile economic, ecological, and social responsibility within a sustainable framework.
We perceive due diligence in the area of human rights not merely as the basis for our actions, but also as the starting point for cooperation with our business partners. In doing so, we see ourselves as equal partners in our business relationships. Our cooperation with business partners builds on partnership and mutual respect.
These requirements apply to all business partners for Otto Group Solution Provider Spain (also referred to in the following as “OSP Spain”). Each business partner undertakes to adequately address and contractually agree to the requirements enshrined in this Code of Conduct, also with their upstream supply chain actors. The following requirements are based largely on internationally applicable standards such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and applicable conventions of the ILO (International Labour Organization) as well as the respective national legislation, similar as the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) in Germany or in Spain Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Real Decreto Legislativo 02/2015 de 23 de octubre) and Constitución Española.
1. Compliance with Laws
OSP Spain demands from all business partners compliance with all applicable legal requirements, both at its corporate location and in the countries in which its services and products are manufactured, provided, used and/or sold. The requirements enshrined by OSP Spain in this Code of Conduct may exceed the provisions set out in the laws of the respective countries. Business partners must notify OSP Spain if any requirement imposed by OSP violates the legal provisions in the respective country.
2. Child labor/Young Workers
The direct or indirect employment of persons under the age of 15 (unless the exceptions recognized by the ILO (International Labour Organization apply) is not permitted. Furthermore, OSP Spain does not permit the employment of persons below the age at which compulsory schooling ends or below the legal working age which is 16 years in Spain (The protection of the work of minors is established in Estatuto de los Trabajadores (art. 6): Admission to work of minors under sixteen years of age is prohibited.)
The business partners of OSP Spain are obliged to take the necessary measures to prevent the recruitment of persons below the legal minimum age. Children/young persons must be protected from economic exploitation, the performance of work that is hazardous, that may interfere with the child’s education and that may endanger the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development, and immediate measures shall be taken to eliminate circumstances and situations that place children at risk.
3. No Bonded, Forced Labor or Human Trafficking
OSP Spain shall in no way tolerate any form of slavery, forced, bonded, indentured, trafficked or non-voluntary labor, including state-imposed forced labor. No workers shall be forced directly or indirectly into employment through violence and/or intimidation. Persons may only be hired if they have made themselves available for employment on a voluntary basis. It is prohibited to order or force workers to perform involuntary work, in particular because of debt bondage or human trafficking. To avoid debt bondage, employees who are sourced from agencies or intermediaries must not be charged any recruitment fee. All employees shall be treated with dignity and respect. No employee shall be subjected to verbal, psychological, physical, sexual and/or physical violence, coercion, or harassment. OSP Spain business partners shall be responsible furthermore for those employees who are sourced from agencies or other intermediaries and must also ensure in their dealings with these persons that forced or compulsory labor does not take place.
4. Health and Safety
Business partners shall ensure a safe and healthy working environment in accordance with the occupational health and safety obligations that are enshrined in law at the place of employment. Business partners shall take the necessary measures to avoid accidents and work-related damage to health that may arise in connection with the occupation. Business partners must, for this purpose, establish and implement safety standards and protective measures that shall be suitable to identify, avoid and/or rectify potential hazards to the health and safety of their employees. All appropriate protective measures must be put into practice to ensure the safety of the place of work, the workstation and the work equipment and to avoid exposure to chemical, physical or biological substances. They must guarantee furthermore that employees receive regular information and training about the health and safety standards and measures in place. Business partners must document the measures set out above. Business partners that always or sometimes place their employees in collective accommodation inside or outside their business premises must ensure that the accommodation is suitable to protect the health and safety of the employees. Furthermore, business partners must regularly inspect the accommodation to ensure that it is suitable.
5. Working Hours
Working hours, including overtime, shall comply with the applicable law at the place of employment, industrial standards or relevant ILO conventions, whichever is stricter. The Article 37 of the Spanish labor statute establishes that: "Workers will have the right to a minimum weekly rest, cumulative for periods of up to fourteen days, half a day and a half uninterrupted", or what is the same, 36 hours. Care must be taken in this context to prevent excessive physical or mental fatigue, due to unsuitable work organization regarding the working hours and breaks. Overtime worked shall be remunerated separately in accordance with national standards.
6. Freedom of Association
Business partners shall take care to safeguard freedom of association, under which employees may freely become organized in or join trades unions and the trades unions are free to act as they choose under the framework conditions that apply at the place of employment, which shall extend to the right to take industrial action or engage in collective bargaining. Business partners shall ensure in their dealings with employees that joining and being a member of a trade union is not used as grounds for discrimination or retaliation.
7. Unequal Treatment
All forms of discrimination regarding recruitment and employment are prohibited. Any form of unequal treatment on the grounds of national and ethnic origin, social origin, health status, disability, sexual orientation, age, gender, political opinion, religion or belief, skin color, membership of a workers’ organization or other personal attributes is prohibited, except where it is justified by the requirements of employment. Unequal treatment shall include the payment of different remuneration for the same work. OSP Spain business partners shall also be responsible for those employees who are sourced from agencies or other intermediaries.
8. Remuneration and Social Benefits
Business partners must guarantee payment of a reasonable wage to their employees that is at least equal to the minimum wage that applies by law or collective agreement or the minimum wage that is customary in the industry. Where neither statutory/collective nor industry-standard minimum wages apply at the place of employment, business partners must ensure that the wage paid is essentially sufficient to cover the basic needs of the employees, considering any individual circumstances that apply additionally (such as exclusively secondary income activities, part-time employment or similar). All business partners are obliged to work towards the payment of living wages to their employees. Included in this is the first step of calculating the living wage according to the Anker Methodology and, in a second step of developing a plan to implement payment of living wages. The overarching goal is to ensure consistent payment of living wages. Furthermore, OSP Spain expects its business partners to pay their employees social benefits that are at least equivalent to the applicable statutory/collective minimum benefits.
9. Environmental Protection
Business partners must comply with the environmental laws that apply in each case. OSP Spain expects furthermore that business partners work continuously towards avoiding or reducing their environmental impact. Business partners are instructed to manage natural resources efficiently and to convert to the use of renewable energy sources where possible. In regard to environmental risks caused by the unlawful production, use, collection, storage and disposal of mercury and mercury products, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and hazardous waste, business partners shall be required to comply with the prohibitions of the Minamata Convention, the POPs Convention and the Basel Convention as amended from time to time, as well as with any applicable EU regulation or national legislation. The protection and conservation of the natural foundations of life through the avoidance of harmful soil changes, air or water pollution, harmful noise emissions or excessive water consumption must be ensured. All activities are prohibited that damage human health, deny persons access to safe drinking water and sanitary facilities and significantly impair the natural basis for the preservation and production of food.
10. Eviction
Business partners must comply with the prohibition of unlawful eviction and the prohibition of unlawful deprivation of land, forests and waters in the construction or other exploitation of these resources that are used to secure the livelihood of a person or group of persons.
11. Use of Security Personnel
When contracting or using private or public security personnel, all forms of violence, inhuman or degrading treatment, injury to life or limb and interference with the freedom of association and union shall be prevented by ensuring that the security personnel is adequately trained and monitored by the business partners.
12. Bribery and Corruption
OSP Spain perceives corruption as a cross-cutting issue, as it may undermine efforts to protect human rights and the environment. OSP Spain therefore does not tolerate any form of bribery or corruption. All business partners and their employees must conduct themselves in such a way that personal dependence, obligation or influence cannot arise. They are all expected to conduct themselves in a manner that ensures fairness and compliance with the national and international standards that apply in each case. Furthermore, business partners should introduce mandatory anti-bribery and anticorruption policies for all their operations. Where gifts are customary and polite in a particular country, care must be taken to ensure that this practice does not create any binding dependencies and that the applicable national legal standards are observed. Indications of corrupt behavior should be reported to OSP Spain using the whistleblower system (refer to the description in Number 16).
13. Data Privacy
Where the Otto Group entrusts business partners with personal data, they must ensure that this data is protected against misuse in accordance with the applicable laws, particularly the Ley Orgánica 3/2018, de 5 de diciembre, de Protección de Datos Personales y garantía de los derechos digitales and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
14. Management Systems
Business partners undertake to introduce suitable and effective management systems in their organizational structures and workflows that enable monitoring and assurance of compliance with all elements of this Code of Conduct.
15. Verification of Compliance with the Code of Conduct by OSP Spain
Business partners are obliged, at the request of OSP Spain, to permit, enable or participate in inspections such as self-assessments or audits which are performed at their work and production sites, which are announced with reasonable advance notice, with regard to compliance with this Code of Conduct. Where violations of this Code of Conduct are established, business partners shall be obliged without delay to initiate appropriate remedial measures as documented by the auditor in a remedial action plan and to complete such actions within a period that is appropriate for the individual remedial measure in each case. Upon request, business partners shall be obliged furthermore to share with OSP Spain documentary evidence confirming their implementation of remedial measures. In the event of a critical violation of the Code of Conduct that necessitates the performance of a follow-up audit, business partners shall undertake to bear the costs of this follow-up audit. The contractually agreed extraordinary right of termination shall apply irrespective of whether the business partner or one of its business partners (supplier or service provider, including subcontractors) violates the principles established under this Code of Conduct and/or fails to take appropriate remedial action.
16. Dealing with Reports and Infringements
Complaints or reports of infringements of the OSP Spain Code of Conduct for Services and Non Merchandise can be submitted to OSP at any time – including anonymously – using the SpeakUp whistleblower system and also contacting OSP Spain Compliance Department.
All complaints that we receive (regardless of the channel) will be thoroughly investigated by OSP Spain. We will take appropriate remedial action, depending on the outcome of these investigations. Whistleblowers are encouraged to report indications or violations only if they believe in good faith that the report is accurate. All business partners must guarantee to refrain from discriminatory measures or disciplinary actions against whistleblowers who report potential violations.
