Listed below are the Carbon Reduction Plan, and the Ethical Trading,
Privacy and Whistleblowing policies currently in force at GSMH.
Achieving Net-Zero – GSMH Carbon Reduction Plan
GS Medical Healthcare is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2045 when we plan to have reduced our emissions by 90%.
Please download our Carbon Reduction Plan here:
Ethical Trading Policy Statement GS Medical Healthcare
This statement is based upon the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Base Code which is founded on the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and is an internationally recognised code of labour practice.
GS Medical Healthcare recognises that as a socially responsible company, our commercial activities have the potential to impact upon all areas of business that it conducts. As a socially responsible business, our actions affect our staff, customers, and suppliers, and it is with this in mind that GS Medical Healthcare applies the following principles of ethical trading:
GS Medical Healthcare acts in an ethical manner above and beyond basic legal requirements.
All workers involved in the delivery of services provided by GS Medical Healthcare are treated with full consideration to their basic human rights. Staff are offered employment in a manner that is freely chosen by them, and no forced or involuntary labour shall be used. Working hours, excluding overtime, shall be defined by contract, and shall not exceed 40 hours per week. Staff are given clearly understandable written terms and conditions of employment that details the employment relationship and the respective obligations of the employee and employer. Staff are given information about their employment conditions in respect to wages. Staff pay rates are equal to or above the national legal minimum standards, and pay slips detailing lawful deductions are provided for each pay period. There is no discrimination in pay, hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, and termination of employment or retirement on the grounds of race, nationality, religion, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership or political affiliation. No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed; Physical, verbal and sexual threats, abuse, harassment or intimidation is expressly prohibited and grounds for disciplinary procedures up to an including summary dismissal, if proved. Opportunities for personal and career development are equally available to all employees. Staff are free to leave GS Medical Healthcare on provision of reasonable notice.
- There shall be no recruitment of child labour – GS Medical Healthcare’s policy is not to employ young persons under the age of 18 years
- GS Medical Healthcare ensures that working conditions are safe and hygienic. Adequate steps shall be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, associated with, or occurring in the course of work by minimizing, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment. Staff receive health and safety information relating to their working environment. Staff have full, uncontrolled access to toilet facilities and drinking water. GSMH provides a safe and healthy workplace environment and shall take effective steps to prevent potential accidents and injuries to employee’s health by minimising, so far as is reasonably practicable, and in cooperation with its employees, workers and other members of staff, the causes of hazards inherent in the workplace.
- Employees shall have access to clean sanitary facilities and drinking water.
- GS Medical Healthcare is committed to ensuring transparency and adherence to ethical codes of practice in its total supply chain and is committed to carrying out audits of all suppliers. In order to ensure that all suppliers adhere to internationally recognised standards, GS Medical requires that all suppliers that it deal with maintain at a minimum ISO 9001 certification, which has requirements of corporate responsibility towards workforce and its environment and is regularly audited by internationally recognised bodies to ensure compliance with all areas of requirement.
Responsibilities and raising concerns
The implementation and monitoring of this policy is the responsibility of Quality & Regulatory manager and also the company directors.
Employees and associated persons are required to notify GSMH as soon as possible if it is believed or suspected that a conflict with this policy has occurred, or may occur in the future, or that they are a victim of another form of unlawful activity.
This policy is relevant to the company itself, our contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, freelancers, members of the public and other parties engaged with GSMH. We reserve our right to terminate our contractual relationship with any third-party supplier should they breach this policy.
Privacy Policy Statement GS Medical Healthcare
This Privacy Policy covers any personal information this website obtains from you when you buy from us or subscribe to our services. GS Medical Healthcare reserves the right at its discretion to amend this Privacy Policy at any time. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using this website and any services or products we offer through the website, you are agreeing to abide by the terms of this policy. Should you have any concerns about your privacy or any of the issues covered in this statement, please contact us info@gsmh.co.uk
Disclosure of Personal Information
GS Medical Healthcare will not disclose a customer’s / subscriber’s personal information to any other party, unless it is required to do so by law, or it is necessary in order to complete the customer’s transaction or answer the customer’s query.
GS Medical Healthcare will never ask you for any personal details via email. If you should receive an unsolicited email asking for information on your transactions via our website, please contact us immediately by emailing gsm@gsmedical.ie.
Sale of Business
GS Medical Healthcare reserves the right to transfer information (including your personal information) to a third party in the event of a sale, merger, liquidation, receivership, or transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of our company, provided that the third party agrees to adhere to the terms set out in this Privacy Policy, and provided that the third party only uses your personal information for the purposes that you provided it to us.
Data Retention
GS Medical Healthcare must comply with a number of statutory and regulatory requirements in relation to the retention of data. All data relating to our commercial transactions on our website must be retained by law for a period of no less than 8 years from the date of the transaction. All Data is retained for the purpose of what it was collected for. We have a firewall in place to secure our network. We also have all profiles password protected and multiple security levels on Data within the company. We have encrypted cloud backups along with Local password-protected backups.
Request, change, or deletion of information that is retained by GS Medical Healthcare can be obtained by submitting a request by post or email to the following:
GS Medical Healthcare
Manchester Business Park
3000 Aviator Way
Manchester
M22 5TG
or
info@gsmh.co.uk
Cookie Policy
Cookies are small text files sent from a website and stored in the user’s web browser while the user is viewing a website. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide statistical information called ‘log files’ to the owners of the site about the volume and characteristics of their website traffic such as IP addresses, numbers of pages viewed, and length of time spent on site. GS Medical Healthcare’s website, like all websites, uses cookies to create log files. This information is used to help us understand how our website is used, which in turn helps us to monitor and improve our service. Your preferred web browser will have the option to prevent websites from using cookies, but should you decide to disable cookies on your browser it may reduce the functionality of the website you are viewing. Please be assured that we cannot identify you from your log files.
Privacy Statement on Third-Party Websites
Where the GS Medical Healthcare website provides links to third-party websites, these links are provided for information purposes only and GS Medical Healthcare is not responsible for the content, copyright or privacy policies of these websites.
GS Medical Healthcare “Whistleblowing” Policy
Introduction
1. GS Medical Healthcare is committed to the highest standards of openness, probity, and accountability.
An important aspect of accountability and transparency is a mechanism to enable staff and other members of the Company to voice concerns in a responsible and effective manner. It is a fundamental term of every contract of employment that an employee will faithfully serve his or her employer and not disclose confidential information about the employer’s affairs. Nevertheless, where an individual discovers information which they believe shows serious malpractice or wrongdoing within the organisation then this information should be disclosed internally without fear of reprisal, and there should be arrangements to enable this to be done independently of line management (although in relatively minor instances the line manager would be the appropriate person to be told).
2. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 gives legal protection to employees against being dismissed or penalised by their employers as a result of publicly disclosing certain serious concerns. The Company has endorsed the provisions set out below to ensure that no members of staff should feel at a disadvantage in raising legitimate concerns.
3. It should be emphasised that this policy is intended to assist individuals who believe they have discovered malpractice or impropriety. It is not designed to question financial or business decisions taken by the Company nor should it be used to reconsider any matters which have already been addressed under harassment, complaint, disciplinary or other procedures.
Scope of Policy
4. This policy is designed to enable employees of the Company to raise concerns internally and at a high level and to disclose information which the individual believes shows malpractice or impropriety. This policy is intended to cover concerns which are in the public interest and may at least initially be investigated separately but might then lead to the invocation of other procedures e.g., disciplinary. These concerns could include:
• Financial malpractice or impropriety or fraud
• Failure to comply with a legal obligation or Statutes.
• Dangers to Health & Safety or the environment
• Criminal activity
• Improper conduct or unethical behaviour
• Attempts to conceal any of these
Safeguards
5. Protection – this policy is designed to offer protection to those employees of GS Medical Healthcare who disclose such concerns provided the disclosure is made:
• in good faith
• in the reasonable belief of the individual making the disclosure that it tends to show malpractice or impropriety and if they make the disclosure to an appropriate person (see below). It is important to note that no protection from internal disciplinary procedures is offered to those who choose not to use the procedure. In an extreme case, malicious or wild allegations could give rise to legal action on the part of the persons complained about.
Confidentiality
6. GS Medical Healthcare will treat all such disclosures in a confidential and sensitive manner. The identity of the individual making the allegation may be kept confidential so long as it does not hinder or frustrate any investigation. However, the investigation process may reveal the source of the information and the individual making the disclosure may need to provide a statement as part of the evidence required.
Anonymous Allegations
7. This policy encourages individuals to put their name to any disclosures they make. Concerns expressed anonymously are much less credible, but they may be considered at the discretion of the Company. In exercising this discretion, the factors to be taken into account will include:
• The seriousness of the issues raised.
• The credibility of the concern
• The likelihood of confirming the allegation from attributable sources
Untrue Allegations
8. If an individual makes an allegation in good faith, which is not confirmed by subsequent investigation, no action will be taken against that individual. In making a disclosure the individual should exercise due care to ensure the accuracy of the information. If, however, an individual makes malicious or vexatious allegations, and particularly if he or she persists with making them, disciplinary action may be taken against that individual.
Procedures for Making a Disclosure
9. On receipt of a complaint of malpractice, the member of staff who receives and takes note of the complaint, must pass this information as soon as is reasonably possible, to the appropriate designated investigating officer as follows:
• Complaints of malpractice will be investigated by the appropriate Director unless the complaint is against the Director or is in any way related to the actions of the Director. In such cases, the complaint should be passed to the Chief Executive / Business Owner for referral.
• In the case of a complaint, which is any way connected with but not against the Director, the Chief Executive / Business Owner will nominate a Senior Manager or external party to act as the alternative investigating officer.
• Complaints against the Chief Executive / Business Owner should be passed to the Chairman who will nominate an appropriate internal / external investigating officer.
• The complainant has the right to bypass the line management structure and take their complaint direct to the Chairman (or Business Owner). The Chairman (or Business Owner) has the right to refer the complaint back to management if he/she feels that the management without any conflict of interest can more appropriately investigate the complaint.
10. Should none of the above routes be suitable or acceptable to the complainant, then the complainant may approach one of the following individuals who have been designated and trained as independent points of contact under this procedure. They can advise the complainant on the implications of the legislation and the possible internal and external avenues of complaint open to them:
1 _______________________________________________
2________________________________________________
11. If there is evidence of criminal activity then the investigating officer should inform the police. The Company will ensure that any internal investigation does not hinder a formal police investigation.
Timescales
12. Due to the varied nature of these sorts of complaints, which may involve internal / external investigators and / or the police, it is not possible to lay down precise timescales for such investigations. The investigating officer should ensure that the investigations are undertaken as quickly as possible without affecting the quality and depth of those investigations.
13. The investigating officer, should as soon as practically possible, send a written acknowledgement of the concern to the complainant and thereafter report back to them in writing the outcome of the investigation and on the action that is proposed. If the investigation is a prolonged one, the investigating officer should keep the complainant informed, in writing, as to the progress of the investigation and as to when it is likely to be concluded.
14. All responses to the complainant should be in writing and sent to their home address marked “confidential”.
Investigating Procedure
15. The investigating officer should follow these steps:
• Full details and clarifications of the complaint should be obtained.
• The investigating officer should inform the member of staff against whom the complaint is made as soon as is practically possible. The member of staff will be informed of their right to be accompanied by a trade union or work colleague at any future interview or hearing held under the provision of these procedures. At the discretion of the investigating officer and dependant on the circumstances of the complaint an alternative representative may be allowed e.g., the individual’s legal representative.
• The investigating officer should consider the involvement of the Company auditors and the Police at this stage and should consult with the Chairman / Chief Executive / Business Owner if appropriate.
• The allegations should be fully investigated by the investigating officer with the assistance where appropriate, of other individuals / bodies.
• A judgement concerning the complaint and validity of the complaint will be made by the investigating officer. This judgement will be detailed in a written report containing the findings of the investigations and reasons for the judgement. The report will be passed to the Chief Executive, Chairman or Business Owner as appropriate.
• The Chief Executive / Chairman / Business Owner will decide what action to take. If the complaint is shown to be justified, then they will invoke the disciplinary or other appropriate Company procedures.
• The complainant should be kept informed of the progress of the investigations and, if appropriate, of the final outcome.
• If appropriate, a copy of the outcomes will be used to enable a review of Company procedures.
16. If the complainant is not satisfied that their concern is being properly dealt with by the investigating officer, they have the right to raise it in confidence with the Chief Executive / Business Owner / Chairman, or one of the designated persons described above.
17. If the investigation finds the allegations unsubstantiated and all internal procedures have been exhausted, but the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, GS Medical Healthcare recognises the lawful rights of employees and ex-employees to make disclosures to prescribed persons or body (e.g. the Health and Safety Executive). A full list of prescribed people and bodies can be found on the Government Website (www.gov.uk).
