Corporate Social Responsibility Policy

We acknowledge that running our business has an effect on society. In particular, we have a responsibility to our clients, our employees and contractors as well as the broader community in which we operate.

Therefore, we are committed to taking responsibility for our actions and encourage a positive contribution towards improving standards for our clients and employees, minimising our impact on the environment and improving the quality of the local community.

By putting corporate social responsibility into practice, we are committed, wherever possible, to:

• conduct ourselves responsibly and in an ethical manner
• create a positive and supportive working environment
• support local communities
• improve service levels to clients
• act fairly in our dealings with suppliers and other third parties
• minimise the impact on our environment.

We communicate this Policy to our staff members, clients and other stakeholders by means of our induction process, ongoing staff training, our website and other newsletters and updates. We provide our staff members with training on this Policy and seek to raise awareness of the impacts of our business and methods to reduce them.

Our Working Environment

We recognise that our staff members are our most important resource. We actively seek to offer our staff members a positive and healthy working environment and to ensure that they have rewarding careers and job satisfaction.

We do this by:

• maintaining a staff handbook setting out the rights and expectations of all staff members
• seeking to ensure that all staff have access to the training they need both for their own development and to enable them to deliver a high-quality service.
• We consider all staff members to be equal and we aim to create a working environment which is free from unlawful discrimination. In this regard, we operate an open and fair recruitment process as part of our Equality & Diversity Policy.

Our Community

In considering our impact on the community, we have resolved:

• to sponsor or otherwise support charities like Ignite & Firm Foundation
• allow members of staff time off work to enable them to carry out work in support of their chosen charity.

We have also resolved to:

• continue our links with (particular advice agency or other organisation) and to offer assistance to them by permitting staff members to provide volunteer services and financial support
• provide pro bono services when possible

Our Clients

In accordance with our Commitment to Quality and Client Care Policy, we are committed to delivering a high level of service to all our clients. We understand that our business exists in a very competitive market and in order to retain our clients we need to deliver a professional and courteous service.

Wherever possible, we take steps to promote equal opportunity in relation to access to the legal services that we provide, taking account of the diversity of the communities that we serve, in order to ensure that, subject to funding constraints, our services are accessible to all clients.

Suppliers

We are committed to eliminating unlawful discrimination and to promoting equality and diversity in our professional dealings with suppliers and other third parties.

We endeavour to enter into clear and fair contracts with our suppliers. We commit to the timely settlement of suppliers’ invoices.

Wherever possible, we aim to support the local economy by contracting with local suppliers

Environment

We are committed to behaving responsibly and to minimising our impact on the environment.

In considering the environment, we have resolved:

• to encourage environmental responsibility amongst our staff members and include environmental consideration when making purchases and when travelling for business
• to minimise our consumption of natural resources and manage waste through responsible disposal and reuse and recycling, including of paper and ink cartridges
• where appropriate, staff are encouraged not to print documents or to print documents double sided
• to minimise our use of electricity by ensuring all electrical equipment is turned off when not in use.

We are committed to ensuring that our Policy remains effective. All members of staff are encouraged to make further suggestions in relation to initiatives we could undertake. If a member of staff has a suggestion, they should contact Adarsh Girijadevi who is responsible for this Policy.
Adarsh Girijadevi reviews this Policy at least annually to verify it is in effective operation.