This professional Code of Conduct applies to every employee (full or part-time) and every consultant or contractor who performs services for Convergent.
In all instances of its business, Convergent respects local laws and any other laws with an international reach, such as the Anti-corruption & Anti-bribery Act, the Corrupt Practices Act and the Modern Slavery Act, where relevant and as per the industry code of conduct.
We will continue to positively contribute to the environment and society by ensuring human rights and marketing ethics in our work and business.
We expect our employees and vendors to comply with our policies to the extent they are applicable, especially in the areas of ethics, human rights, and environmental protection.
Employee(s) needing guidance on the Professional Code of Conduct may consult your Supervisor and HR representative.
We are committed to acting ethically in all aspects of our business and maintaining the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
Convergent puts ethical behaviors at the core of what we do. It follows the various policies and procedures that are in place to ensure compliance as per local laws and the highest industry standards.
The Code of Conduct must be read in conjunction with other relevant policies, which all our employees and managers must respect, namely: Convergent Data Protection Policy, Convergent Anti-Bribery Policy, and other policies as appropriate and applicable.
Every employee is responsible for enforcing ethics and protecting Convergent and its client’s reputation, including administering this Professional Code of Conduct in a manner consistent with Convergent policies.
Employees will treat all information relating to the business or clients as confidential. Confidential information shall be stored securely and used by only those who have a business need to know and are officially authorized to do so.
Employees should not discuss Confidential Information outside work and are not authorized to keep or share any information or findings of their work without written authorization. They should not access or discuss confidential Information with Convergent employees who are not working on relevant or related matters.
A non-disclosure agreement is mandatory for any disclosure of Confidential Information to a third party (client or vendor, etcetera.). When a third party provides their agreement template, the legal team must review it before the signing process.
We are dedicated to providing a healthy and ethical work environment for all our employees. We aim to provide and maintain safe working environments. All employees must take reasonable care for their health and safety and others who may be affected by their acts at work.
We aim to treat all employees equally and expect our employees to treat each other professionally and with mutual respect.
We select and promote our people based on their qualifications and merit, without discrimination or concern for age, colour, expression, gender, identity, nationality, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or disability. The same shall apply while interacting with clients, contractors, and the broader society affected by our work.
We have zero tolerance for sexual harassment, discrimination, or offensive behavior, which includes the persistent demeaning of individuals through words or actions, use or possession of weapons in Convergent or client(s) premises to ensure a safe and civilized workplace for our employees and clients.
We do not tolerate using, possessing, or distributing unauthorised alcohol or illegal drugs. At the same time, it is strictly prohibited to use them while in the Convergent property at work.
We strictly prohibit any corrupt practice and do not tolerate any violation of local laws and regulations relating to anti-corruption and bribery. All Employees and whomsoever it may concern should refer to Convergent’s Anti-Bribery Policy.
We neither accept nor give bribes, whether in cash or otherwise, from clients, third parties, officials, and representatives. All employees must ensure that they understand this policy and speak with the manager if they need any clarifications.
Anti-trust laws and regulations are issued by a national or local government or agency. They define acceptable behavior for competing in a given territory and promote fair competition. All Employees, consultants, partners, and agencies should abide by them.
We also have a duty of fair treatment to our clients, suppliers, competitors, and other stakeholders.
We will not have any personal or private interest within our business or with our clients or suppliers, or other third parties with whom we do business. All business decisions and relationships shall be solely based on business and ethical considerations. Such conflict of interest applies to awarding contracts/POs, assessment & selection of employees, human rights, or social and environmental rights issues.
Fraud involves the misuse of assets for an improper benefit or to steal financial, data, or other property that belongs to Convergent and its clients. To avoid external fraud, do not click on any links or open any attachments that come from strange email addresses and immediately send such emails as attachments (do not forward these emails) to the IT team. For avoiding internal fraud, employees should keep their login credentials safe, must ensure the security of Convergent assets within their area of work and responsibility, and should be alert about any warning sign such as missing data or documents, unusual behavior, a cozy relationship with vendors/ contractors, etcetera.
When an employee suspects fraud the same shall be intimated to the reporting manager, who must ensure its escalation to the CEO within 12 hours.
We aim to follow and require fair, timely, complete, and accurate reporting and recording of the project or service-related information, including financial information. All supporting documents must be maintained and presented as per applicable local laws and generally accepted accounting principles. Due to the nature of work, employees must always maintain a neutral non -partisan position.
Each employee and entity(s) working should abide by applicable regulations in their jurisdiction and follow fair procedures in dealing with disciplinary and grievance issues if any arise.
All employees should make sure that Convergent Intellectual Property is protected and not disclosed to third parties without appropriate confidentiality agreements in place. Intellectual property includes but is not limited to Convergent’s all present and future proprietary rights, licenses, title, and interest in any intellectual property rights, including industrial property rights, trademarks, proposals to clients, APIs, copyrights, design rights, databases, diagrams, database rights (registered or non-registered), designs, ownership in the invention, patents, formulae, inventions (whether or not patentable), processes and workflows, protocols, software code programs languages and codes rights (in any form, including source code), URLs, instruction manuals, prototypes, notebooks, samples, studies and summaries, products, questionnaires, lay-out and design of reports and portals.
Convergent owns all intellectual property rights developed by its employees and vendors related to the business of Convergent, whether developed at any premises or during or after usual working hours.