Download Compliance Rules (E) - Rhomberg Bau

compliance -
code of conduct
rules
of the rhomberg group
RHOMBERG GROUP

Table of contents
1. Preface 1
2. General principles 2
2.1. Area of application 2
2.2. Responsibilities of all employees of the Rhomberg Group 2
2.3. Possible consequences 3
2.4. Gender-neutral wording 3
3. Social responsibility and environmental protection 4
3.1. Alcohol and drug abuse 4
3.2. Sexual harassment 4
3.3. Discrimination 4
3.4. Environment, health and safety 4
4. Communication 5
4.1. Communicating with the media 5
4.2. Communication within the Rhomberg Group 5
5. Corruption 6
5.1. Bribery 6
5.2. Gifts, hospitality, business leads 6
5.3. Charitable contributions 7
5.4. Sponsoring 7
5.5. Political contributions 7
5.6. Money laundering 7
6. Competition rules 8
6.1. Company information 8
6.2. Protection of intellectual property 8
6.3. E-Mail, LAN and Internet 8
7. Competition rules 9
7.1. Unfair competition 9
7.2. Behaviour towards customers and suppliers 9
7.3. Behaviour towards competitors 9
8. Conflicts of interest 10
9. Reporting inappropriate behaviour 11
Compliance Rules of the Rhomberg Group
Status 2011
10. Compliance Organisation, Contact 12
Contact
Rhomberg Gruppe
Mariahilfstraße 29
6900 Bregenz/Austria
T +43 5574 403-0
F +43 5574 403-309
info@rhombergbau.at
www.rhombergbau.at
www.rhombergrail.com

1. Preface
Since being founded in 1892, the Rhomberg Group has achieved the
reputation of a reliable and fair partner. These values, which are also the
foundation of its company philosophy, are making the Rhomberg Group a
renowned international family enterprise in the industries of construction
and railroad technology.
These Compliance Guidelines shall be our ethical and legal roadmap to
ensure the implementation of this goal. They contain basic rules for our fair,
open and ethical behaviour within the Rhomberg Group as well as towards
our business partners, suppliers and competitors. The competitiveness
and market position of the Rhomberg Group shall be fostered significantly
through ethical standards and a loyal company and management structure in
harmony with the company philosophy.
Bregenz, dated January 2011
Hubert Rhomberg
Ernst Thurnher
CEO Rhomberg Holding
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2. general principles
2.1. Area of application
The actions of each employee of the Rhomberg Group have an influence on
the reputation of the company – positively or negatively.
The Rhomberg Group include all holding and subsidiary companies, of which
the Rhomberg Holding GmbH directly or indirectly owns more than 50% of
the share capital or otherwise controls the business activities.
It is expected of all employees that they follow the rules of these
Compliance Guidelines. It may be possible that applicable local laws and
specific operating regulations are setting stricter standards than those
contained in these guidelines. In such cases the stricter standards are to be
applied.
2.3. Possible consequences
Violations of current laws and ethical principles could have far-reaching
consequences for the Rhomberg Group. There could be monetary fines,
damage claims, order cancellations, loss of business relationships, and damage
to reputation, among others.
2.4. Gender-neutral wording
For reason of simplified reading, gender-specific differentiation (e.g. he/she)
is omitted. Based on equal gender treatment all appropriate terms apply to
both sexes as a rule.
It is expected that the business partners of the Rhomberg Group are also
adhering to these Compliance Guidelines.
These guidelines can be accessed on the internet at www.rhombergbau.at,
www.rhombergrail.com and www.rhombergrail.com.au abgerufen werden.
2.2. Responsibilities of all employees of the Rhomberg Group
Employees are obligated to inform their superiors or the Compliance Officer
about any violations of the law which they have become aware of. In order
to be able to meet this responsibility, employees will be instructed
accordingly.
Each employee is obligated
• to observe the laws, regulations and company-internal instructions
applicable to their areas of responsibility
• to be fair, respectful and trustworthy in all activities and business
relationships
• to respect and foster the reputation of the Rhomberg Group
• to avoid conflicts of interest between business and private matters
• not to obtain unlawful advantages for himself or others.
Each manager is furthermore obligated
• to observe the management principles of the Rhomberg Group
• to judge employees only based on their performance
• to ensure compliance with these guidelines for his area of responsibility.
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3. social responsibilty and
environmental protection
4. communication
We place the highest possible value on the equal and fair treatment of
employees, customers and network partners. The Rhomberg Group is offering
equal opportunity employment chances to all its employees.
To us, performance and qualifications are forming the foundation for decisions.
The Rhomberg Group does not tolerate any working conditions which violate
international laws and regulations. The same applies for business partners.
The positioning of the brand name and the image of Rhomberg are
strengthened and formed through uniform and professional communication
with third parties and the media.
Employees shall be transparent, honest, open and fair in their dealings with
third parties and they shall reflect the values held by the Rhomberg Group.
3.1. Alcohol and drug abuse
As a rule, employees are prohibited from consuming alcohol and/or drugs.
Furthermore, employees are prohibited to consume alcohol during working
hours; the exception is the moderate consumption of alcohol at businessrelated
parties.
3.2. Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment can appear in a variety of ways – for example through
jokes, suggestive gestures and expressions or also obvious advances. The
Rhomberg Group does not permit this in any form.
4.1. Communication with the media
Media inquiries shall be directed to the group service Marketing to ensure
the coordinated and uniform relation with the media.
4.2. Communication within the Rhomberg Group
The fair and friendly treatment of employees among each other is an integral
part of the Rhomberg company culture. Employees shall direct their critique
to the colleague affected by their critique and they shall put a stop to false
reports and erroneous allegations. It is expected that employees are
contributing useful and important information to the company in a proactive
manner.
3.3. Discrimination
For Rhomberg Group, human rights are the most fundamental values which
must be respected and observed by everyone. Each human being is unique
and precious to Rhomberg. Each person is respected for his unique abilities.
No discrimination is tolerated based on age, gender, religion, national or
ethnic origin, marital status, disability, culture, political opinion, sexual
orientation or social grouping.
3.4. Environment, health and safety
The lasting and resource-saving treatment of our environment is a
significant part of our company strategy. Information regarding the existing
guidelines for the environment, health and safety can be accessed in the
Integrated Management System (IMS). Each employee is obligated to
observe these guidelines for his own protection and that of the environment.
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5. corruption
The many forms of corruption are causing large distortions of competition
throughout the world as well as other damages to be taken seriously.
In order to avoid such scenarios it is important to the Rhomberg Group to
carefully observe the applicable legal provisions and thus fight corruption in
business dealings. Employees or third parties acting on their behalf shall
observe the following provisions.
5.1. Bribery
Bribery is the offering, promise or provision of financial or other advantages
to office-holders or employees or authorized parties of a company in order
to do business. The term bribery also includes preferential treatment
payments. These are payments to public office holders in order to carry out
legal and customary activities faster. Employees are prohibited to make any
kind of bribery, regardless of its value, including preferential treatment
payments.
5.2. Gifts, hospitality, business leads
The use of gifts and contributions is subject to the principle of
appropriateness. Gifts and contributions shall only be accepted if they are not
considered to be influencing or obligating.
The offering or acceptance of gifts or other contributions is prohibited if it
could (should) result in the undue and unethical influencing of business
transactions or if it could merely give the impression of undue influencing.
As part of the effort to maintain good relationships with business partners,
employees may from time to time accept or offer minor gifts or hospitality
treatments.
5.3. Charitable contributions
Minor monetary or non-monetary contributions for charitable or general
purposes are permissible.
5.4. Sponsoring
The Rhomberg Group supports social, sports, cultural and environmental
protection activities within the framework of the company strategy. During all
such sponsoring activities care must be taken that there are no conflicts of
interest.
5.5. Political contributions
Contributions to political parties are prohibited. Personal political activities of
individual employees must not be carried out within the company and they
also must not have any negative influence of any kind on the Rhomberg
Group.
5.6. Money laundering
Each employee has to observe the laws against money laundering and
shall report any suspicions of money laundering to the Compliance Officer
immediately. Business shall only be conducted with reputable business
partners, whose means derive from legal sources. If there are any doubts
regarding the reputation of a business partner, then due diligence shall be
carried out on the business partner.
However, contributions in form of cash or equivalent may never be accepted
or offered, even if these are only minor amounts.
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6. confidentiality
7. Competition rules
6.1. Company information
Employees shall treat any and all company information confidentially and
carefully. Company information is considered to be all financial data,
technical data, correspondence, contracts, agreements, plans, strategy
documents, etc., regardless of their format or the media, for what purpose
they are used or on which they are stored. If company information is
expressly marked “confidential”, then they shall be handled with particular
care and shall not be stored freely accessible at the workplace.
6.2. Protection of intellectual property
Intellectual property includes inventions, scientific or technical research,
product development, development of new technologies and self-created
computer software, etc.
All employees shall protect the intellectual property of the Rhomberg Group
with particular care by not disseminating any information thereof or by not
forwarding it to competitors. If such information is forwarded to a business
partner with the approval of a superior, then he must execute a
confidentiality agreement (accessible in the IMS).
6.3. E-Mail, LAN and Internet
The most important principles for the achievement of the best possible
exclusion of risk when using IT-systems shall be observed by all
employees:
• The company-owned IT-systems shall be used exclusively for business
purposes.
• Only those equipments may be used within the company which are
provided by the Rhomberg Group.
• Contents which are unlawful, slanderous, discriminatory or pornographic
may be neither downloaded nor sent or copied.
• All company information has to be stored on our servers only.
• Care must be taken of the safety of all data, particularly when handling
mobile data media. Even careless behaviour can result in damage claims
and disciplinary measures.
A professional business relationship is strived for with all those participating
in the business process in order to maintain a matter-of-fact and transparent
business relationship.
Violations of international and national competition rules shall result in
serious legal consequences both for the Rhomberg Group as well as for the
affected employees.
7.1. Unfair competition
The Rhomberg Group observes all appropriate legal provisions. There shall
be neither misleading statements regarding business conditions nor shall
business practices be applied which would considerably influence the
freedom of competitors in the market to make decisions or act.
7.2. Behaviour towards customers and suppliers
Honest and sincere contacts to customers are an essential responsibility of
the Rhomberg Group. The interaction with customers shall be transparent
and fair. Business transactions with customers shall always be based on
correct and truthful statements regarding the quality, availability and
characteristics of products and services.
Rhomberg is a fair partner to suppliers and subcontractors. The purchasing
system and the decisions resulting thereof can always be traced back on the
criteria price, quality, and service. The supplier shall be informed about
mutual expectations at the beginning of the purchasing process.
7.3. Behaviour towards competitors
Competitors shall be treated fairly and respectfully, disrespectful remarks
about a competitor shall be refrained from. The Rhomberg Group does not
enter into agreements which stifle competition and which could damage
customers or suppliers.
The acquisition and forwarding of information regarding competitors must
be carried out in compliance with current international and national laws.
In order to avoid damages to the Rhomberg Group, all e-mails and internet
activities may be recorded within the guidelines provided by law and
examined by automatically operating computer programs for inappropriate
contents.
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8. Conflicts of interest
9. Reporting inappropriate
behaviour
Each employee must strictly separate private interests and interests of the
Rhomberg Group.
This must be observed in particular for
• orders to close persons (spouses, relatives or other people living in the
same household, friends and private business partners)
• orders to companies, where close persons are working in decision-making
positions
• orders to companies, where close persons have ownership interests
(except companies listed on a stock exchange)
• supplementary employment at competing companies or for business
partners.
All employees are obligated to disclose any existing or potential conflicts of
interest.
If employees
• suspect or determine violations against the provisions of these Compliance
Guidelines, against other internal guidelines and regulations or against
legal provisions,
• are unsure how they should react to certain business situations,
• believe that these guidelines are in conflict with local laws or internal
guidelines and regulations,
then they are obligated to report this immediately.
There are several possibilities at their disposal:
• Reporting to their immediate superior
• Reporting to the Compliance Officer/ Deputy Compliance Officer
The Rhomberg Group undertakes that all reports received shall be treated
confidentially and shall be examined very carefully and that employees, who
report proven or suspected violations against laws, the Compliance
Guidelines or other internal guidelines and regulations shall not suffer any
negative consequences of any kind, provided it is not caused by their own
behaviour.
However, the Rhomberg Group reserves the right to take disciplinary
measures against employees who knowingly make false accusations.
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10. compliance organisation
contact
10.1. Compliance Officer
The Compliance Officer shall assume the following tasks:
• Maintaining the guidelines
• Examining of compliance cases
• Legal consultation and action standards for all compliance-related
subjects, disciplinary cases and lawsuits
• Recommendation of disciplinary measures with consideration of local
labour law regulations
• Reporting to management
10.2. Contact details of the Compliance Officer
The following persons are responsible for compliance at the Rhomberg
Group:
Compliance Officer
Mag. Markus Eder
Tel: +43 5574 403-219
E-Mail: markus.eder@rhombergbau.at
Deputy Compliance Officer
Dr. Angelika Rhomberg
Tel: +43 5574 403-186
E-Mail: angelika.rhomberg@rhombergbau.at
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Rhomberg Group
Mariahilfstraße 29
6900 Bregenz/Austria
Tel. +43 5574 403-0
Fax. +43 5574 403-309
info@rhombergbau.at
www.rhombergbau.at
www.rhombergrail.com