Vanquis Banking Group's sustainability programme is underpinned by a range of corporate policies. These policies set the codes of conduct, controls, processes, and requirements for all colleagues, suppliers, and contractors within and working with our Group and can be found here.
These policies cover a wide range of issues that are relevant to our sustainability programme and focus on making sure we comply with relevant legislation and regulatory requirements. They help us to operate in a responsible and ethical manner, in line with our values and commitment to sound business practices. Our policies include, but are not restricted to:
HR
We’re committed to supporting diversity and to creating an inclusive culture for our employees and other stakeholders, including customers, suppliers and contractors. This means understanding the potential that all people bring to the workplace and recognising their differences regardless of: age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marital and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief or absence of religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We also have a policy which states that all fundamental human rights should be respected and, in the conduct of the group’s business, should be guided by the provisions of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNUDHR) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) core standards.
Governance
Our procurement processes must involve due consideration of the corporate responsibility practices of the supplier to ensure that there are no conflicts with group culture, relevant policies and the group’s core values. The group’s corporate responsibility assessment questionnaire should be used to support procurement decisions and areas of non-compliance should be referred to the Corporate Responsibility team for approval.
This policy states that our trading activities shall be conducted with honesty, integrity and in accordance with current laws and regulations.
This requires developing and implementing a health and safety policy and manual that complies with health and safety legislation. It also states that we shall ensure that the health and safety policy and manual are reviewed annually and any changes approved by the boards of our operating businesses.
Risk
Alongside the Corporate policies, Vanquis Banking Group has a robust Enterprise Risk Management Framework in place. This includes a detailed suite of supporting risk polices aligned to each of our Principle Risk Categories. Further detail is included under the Risk Management section which is published in the Annual Report and Accounts. Examples of our risk policies include:
- Data Protection
- Business Continuity
- Fraud and Financial Crime
- Responsible Lending
We evaluate the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) risks associated with our business activities and create policies and procedures commensurate with the risks. We must also:
- Appoint a responsible person as the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) who will create, update and ensure compliance with policies and procedures.
- Train all relevant employees in respect of AML, with refresher training carried out and documented annually.
- Request a report from their MLRO annually which sets out the procedures in place and reports on compliance with these procedures, highlighting any areas of concern.
This policy states that colleagues, contractors and directors must not directly or indirectly either offer, promise or give a bribe (active bribery) or request, agree to receive or accept a bribe (passive bribery). It also states that it is not acceptable to threaten or retaliate against another individual who has refused to commit a bribery offence or who has raised concerns under this policy or to otherwise engage in any other activity that might lead to a breach of this policy.
We have a formal whistleblowing policy, which incorporates an external third party helpline facility. The Audit Committee of the Vanquis Banking Group Board has responsibility for reviewing the arrangements by which colleagues might, in confidence, raise concerns about possible improprieties in matters of financial reporting and other matters. The Company Secretary and General Counsel report annually to the Audit Committee on any concerns raised through the whistleblowing framework.
Corporate Affairs
This policy requires us to:
- Comply with, and where possible, exceed the requirements of all relevant environmental legislation, regulations and/or approved codes of practice in each country in which we operate.
- Have an ongoing continuous improvement programme which aims to reduce the group’s consumption of resources (eg energy, fuel, paper and water) and increase the efficiency of the use of these resources. This will include establishing objectives and targets to measure environmental performance and to subsequently evaluate, on at least a bi-annual basis, whether such objectives and targets have been met and how further improvements in environmental performance could be achieved.
- Where practicable, avoid or minimise the use of hazardous or toxic material or products, and prevent pollution from our operations and facilities.
- Integrate environmental considerations into our processes to procure goods and services.
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