Cooperation with Our Business Partners

  • GRI 308-1
  • GRI 414-1

We aim to ensure our business partners also take responsibility and make this the basis of our cooperation, so as to be able to build reliable, long-term relationships and assume responsibility together. In addition to our existing close cooperation and personal contacts with our business partners, especially in the wholesale area, the contracts we have agreed with major suppliers of smartphones and other ICT devices in particular specify that ethical principles and working standards must be observed. Partner Management is in close contact with our major wholesalers here.

Responsibility for Human Rights Due Diligence

  • GRI 414
  • GRI 414-2

The National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights (NAP) expects large enterprises to take responsibility throughout their value chain, to perform a risk analysis, and then on this basis to introduce an appropriate corporate due diligence process to ensure respect for human rights. The five core elements of the NAP are:

  • A human rights policy statement (public commitment plus expectations to be met by employees and business partners)

  • Procedures for identifying actual or potential adverse impacts on human rights (relating to the organization’s own activities, supply chains, business relationships, etc.)

  • Measures to ward off potential adverse impacts and to review the effectiveness of these measures

  • Reporting (on the approach to due diligence and the effectiveness of the measures taken)

  • A grievance mechanism (provision of and participation in appropriate channels for making complaints, so as to give affected individuals access to remedies)

Policy Statement

For United Internet, respect for human rights is an integral component of its corporate culture. The Company has committed itself to observing the United Nations’ Universal Declaration on Human Rights. It has taken measures to prevent, mitigate, and redress any potential adverse human rights impacts. In the process, United Internet bases its activities on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We have included principles designed to ensure respect for human rights in our corporate values and our Code of Conduct.

Procedures for Identifying Adverse Impacts, and Grievance Mechanism

We have established confidential reporting channels to enable adverse impacts to be identified at an early stage. By appointing central and local compliance managers and designated persons of trust, the organization has created confidential points of contact for employees outside their immediate working environments. These grievance mechanisms ensure that United Internet can effectively meet its human rights due diligence requirements. United Internet takes all perceived injustices extremely seriously. Our overarching goal is to become aware of any incidents at an early stage and to get to the bottom of all complaints regarding human rights violations. There were no indications in fiscal year 2020 of any violations suggesting actually or potentially adverse human rights impacts.

As regards our business partners, we consider appropriate working conditions – from the remuneration paid through working times down to occupational safety – to be a key relevant topic. With respect to these issues and other topics affecting the supply chain and value chain, United Internet has introduced a Code of Conduct for Business Partners that formulates the expectations it has of business partners regarding human rights topics, among other things.

Measures to Ward off Adverse Impacts, Effectiveness Reviews, and Reporting

The risk of human rights violations within the United Internet Group is very small: As of the 2020 year-end, United Internet employed 7,929 (2019: 7,761; 2018: 7,567) members of staff in Germany; no human rights risks were established for these employees. In addition, United Internet employed 1,709 (2019; 1,613; 2018: 1,526) members of staff outside Germany, mostly in the EU or OECD countries with strict labor law standards; no human rights risks were established for these employees either.

Formal reporting on human rights due diligence is mainly performed in connection with the Sustainability Report. This external communication is flanked by our readiness to enter into an open dialog with customers, interested stakeholders, and (potentially) affected individuals, and to provide information if requested.

Code of Conduct for Business Partners

  • GRI 308
  • GRI 414

Our Code of Conduct for Business Partners (German only) builds on our corporate values to define minimum social and environmental standards in the areas of business integrity and compliance, human rights and labor rights, health and safety, and the environment. The Code specifies how the requirements are to be met and provides information on suitable channels for reporting any indications of problems. For example, United Internet provides employees at its business partners who want to notify it of potential violations of the law or of the Code of Conduct for Business Partners with a confidential reporting channel. At the same time, its business partners must ensure that employees are aware of this confidential reporting channel and that they can use it without any fear of reprisals.

Business Integrity and Compliance

The Code of Conduct for Business Partners requires business partners to take appropriate measures to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and requirements (compliance). No undue benefits may be requested or offered; anti-corruption laws and regulations, and competition law and antitrust regulations must be observed; and sanctions and embargoes that have been imposed must be complied with (fair competition). In addition, suitable technical and organizational measures must be taken to protect the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of all information transmitted by United Internet, and in particular of sensitive corporate data and personal data (information security and data protection).

Human Rights and Labor Rights

  • GRI 308-1
  • GRI 408
  • GRI 408-1
  • GRI 409
  • GRI 409-1
  • GRI 414-2

With respect to human rights, the Code is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Code of Conduct for Business Partners stipulates that appropriate measures must be taken to prevent, mitigate and, if necessary, redress adverse human rights impacts, and that it also expects business partners to do this.

In concrete terms, the Code contains requirements to comply with the rules governing working times, wages, and social security benefits (wages and working times). In addition, business partners may not use any form of forced, prison, slave, or compulsory labor, and the use of conflict minerals must be examined and prevented, especially during the procurement and manufacture of goods (voluntary labor). Business partners may not employ children under the minimum age specified by the International Labour Organization (ILO) or national legislation (no child labor). Above and beyond this, business partners must ensure working environments are free from psychological, physical, sexual, or verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, or harassment, and must undertake to ensure equal opportunities in their human resources decisions. Discrimination on the basis of nationality and national origin, ethnicity, political affiliation, gender, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual identity is prohibited (prohibition on discrimination).

See the ILO Conventions and Recommendations.

Health and Safety

Business partners must ensure safe, healthy working environments in order to prevent accidents and sickness. Among other things, this includes holding regular training courses and providing suitable protective clothing.

Environment

Business partners undertake to comply with all applicable environmental legislation and to ensure the conservation of natural resources. Business partners whose activities have significant impacts on the environment should have effective environmental management policies in place to reduce the adverse impacts of their products and services on the environment.

Implementation

  • GRI 414-1

The Code of Conduct for Business Partners has been incorporated into the contracts entered into with business partners by including it in the General Terms and Conditions for Procurement (German only).

Measures and Tools Relating to Call Center Service Providers

In 2018, United Internet expanded its reporting channels. As in the past, these provided a basis during the reporting period for external call center staff to draw attention to any cases of fraud of which they became aware in the course of their support and sales activities.

In 2016, United Internet’s Consumer Access Segment introduced a systematic review of the outsourcing service providers with which it interfaces (due diligence outsourcing or DDO). This due diligence is built around self-reporting by the service provider using lists of questions on specific topics, plus a subsequent analysis and assessment by United Internet. The standardized review focuses on the organizational, financial, and legal position of the outsourcing service providers with whom contracts have been signed. This allows information about compliance and the internal control system (ICS), among other things, to be captured. Since 2019, the review includes all segments with outsourcing activities, and is performed in close cooperation with the departments performing the outsourcing (in addition to Consumer Access(1) these are Consumer Applications and Business Applications).

(1) To date, this comprises 1&1 Telecommunication SE and its subsidiaries. The entire 1&1 Drillisch Group already performs a thorough review of its service providers.

We have established binding rules to prevent fraud in the support and sales functions at our outsourcing service providers and have agreed them with our partners. We have implemented an internal control function to review conspicuous behavior by both external and internal call center employees.

The results are documented in a review report and addressed, in the form of concrete recommendations for measures, to Compliance, Legal, and the management of the operating segments responsible for implementing the measures, among other instances. In fiscal year 2020, a total of eight outsourcing service providers were reviewed. This means that, four years after the DDO process was introduced, a large proportion of integrated call centers have now been reviewed. There were no material indications of adverse impacts in relation to the social aspects of working practices, human rights, and compliance.