With an increasingly complex legal context in the business environment, organizations have the need to establish increasingly detailed guidelines for action regarding the behaviors they expect from their staff. This is especially true in the field of preventing criminal liability of legal persons. These guidelines for action are incorporated into the company’s code and policy system.
The code of ethics is the main rule of the company’s internal rules system. Establishes the organization’s commitment to compliance with the law and ethical values and principles. It will be aligned with the objectives and identity of the organization, transmitting information on what the company’s way of acting is.
For its part, the code of conductAlthough it can also establish the values of the company, its main objective is to establish the behaviors that are expected of the workers, as well as those that are expressly prohibited. Likewise, the code of conduct includes who to turn to and how to act in the event of a situation of risk of regulatory compliance, be it with the laws, or with the internal regulations of the organization.
The content of both is mandatory for all staff, and non-compliance may lead to staff responsibilities.