Our ten components

To receive Good Business Charter accreditation, organisations must meet the requirements for all 10 components (9 for public or third sector) which collectively cover care for employees, suppliers, customers and the environment whilst paying your fair share of tax.

Our aim is to inspire as many organisations as possible to change their behaviour, where required, in order to sign up, which should in turn encourage wider good business practice.

Our ten components

To receive Good Business Charter accreditation, organisations must meet the requirements for all 10 components (9 for public or third sector) which collectively cover care for employees, suppliers, customers and the environment whilst paying your fair share of tax.

Our aim is to inspire as many organisations as possible to change their behaviour, where required, in order to sign up, which should in turn encourage wider good business practice.

The Good Business Charter commits organisations to:

Real Living Wage

The GBC requires all employers to pay directly employed staff and regularly contracted staff the real living wage as set out by the Living Wage Foundation and for those with over 50 employees, commit to becoming an accredited Living Wage Employer within a mutually agreed time frame.

Fairer Hours and Contracts

The GBC requires a fair approach to zero hours contracts, including fair shift scheduling and cancellation policy, and proper consideration given to contracts with guaranteed hours.

Employee Well-being

The GBC requires clear, fair and transparent policies that support and encourage employee well-being and ban unreasonable penalties for legitimate sickness.

Employee Representation

The GBC requires all employers to engage with worker representatives and to ensure there is a voice that represents employees around the boardroom table.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The GBC requires organisations to evidence how they analyse and monitor their EDI data against a baseline, using it to address disadvantage and discrimination.

Environmental Responsibility

The GBC requires businesses to commit to an environmental policy to demonstrate they are committed to reducing their environmental impact and continually improving their environmental performance.

Pay Fair Tax

The GBC requires businesses to commit to paying their taxes, not engage in tax avoidance and commit to be transparent in their relationship with HMRC.

Commitment to Customers

The GBC requires businesses to publish their commitment to their customers on their website. Businesses will be expected to gather and monitor customer feedback and report the results to their board.

Ethical Sourcing

The GBC requires businesses to commit to the standards set out in the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code for sourcing through a process of continuous due diligence.

Prompt Payment to Suppliers

The GBC requires businesses to sign the government’s Prompt Payment Code.

How/why did we select these 10 components?

The 10 components cover employee conditions, tax, the environment, and the treatment of suppliers and customers. Whilst we could have had more elements we consider that these 10 are all achievable for most organisations and will make the most significant difference in the shortest period of time. We will canvass feedback from members and evolve the criteria going forwards.

We have also developed an accreditation for the public sector, charities and other organisations in the third sector, which covers nine components because the tax component is not relevant for them. We want to recognise public sector and third sector organisations that have responsible practices towards the environment, their employees, stakeholders and suppliers alongside the valuable public service/charitable work they do.

The Good Business Charter measures behaviour over ten important components but we believe responsible behaviour by organisations shouldn’t be limited to these. Members are expected to adhere to the spirit of the Good Business Charter in their dealings with all stakeholders (workers, customers, subcontractors, suppliers, and the community), in their approach to the environment and in their legal and financial compliance. In the event of a material issue occurring which could question their right to membership then the Trustees’ decision is final in deciding whether it should be rescinded.

All organisations are eligible for GBC accreditation irrespective of their line of business, as long as they are operating within UK law. In exceptional circumstances, the GBC’s Ethics Committee will review applications which meet the 10 Charter criteria but may nonetheless not warrant accreditation.