Ethics management
The main document governing the issue of ethics at PKO Bank Polski SA is the Bank’s Code of Ethics. Apart from it, the Bank also applies “The Code of Banking Ethics (Principles of Good Banking Practice)” by the Polish Bank Association. The subject matter of the two documents is in principle the same.
The Bank’s Code of Ethics supports the binding organizational culture of the Bank. It is also a tool supporting popularization and implementation of values which should be followed by all employees of the Bank, regardless of their position or function.
2018
The Bank’s Code of Ethics covers four areas:
- the Bank’s relations with Customers;
- relations between the Bank’s employees;
- the Bank’s approach to cooperation with Business Partners;
- the Bank’s activities outside the business area.
The Bank’s Code of Ethics and the Bank’s Employment Regulations contain provisions, inter alia, regarding the prevention of discrimination by gender, age, disability, religion and creed, race, ethnic origin, nationality, political convictions, union membership, sexual orientation, employment for a definite or indefinite term and full-time or part-time employment.
Other than these issues, the Bank’s Code of Ethics and the Bank’s Employment Regulations address such issues as not using confidential information for private purpose, not taking steps that would be in conflict with their employment duties, the prohibition to conduct lobbying activities and the prevention of corrupt practices.
Each employee is obliged to comply with the Bank’s Code of Ethics and participate in the development and promotion of the organization’s culture and the related values. A new employee undergoes online training the purpose of which it to present to him/her the basic information about the organization. The training contains a module devoted to ethics.
In 2018, the majority of stationary management trainings contained elements related to value and ethics at the Bank.
The Bank’s Group pays great attention to promoting solutions in the area of ethics. The remaining entities in the Bank’s Group adopt solutions similar to those implemented at the Bank:
- some subsidiaries use a formal set of standards and principles of ethical conduct in the form of the code of ethics as part of their ethics management policy;
- violations in the area of ethics in the subsidiaries are reported to a special anonymous box or by telephone;
- the behaviour that is not in compliance with the regulations and provisions of the law is subject to sanctions arising from the provisions of the Labour Code and the Employment Regulations;
- the responsibility for managing the ethical issues lies in principle with the Management Boards of the subsidiaries who are supported by the HR structures.