Protecting O2’s good name is part of everyone’s job

We ask all employees to comply with our Business Principles, the ethical code that governs the way we work with each other and in the marketplace.

We take our ethics very seriously. The number of Telefónica O2 UK dismissals as a result of a breach of our Business Principles (i.e. dismissals for misconduct/disciplinary reasons) was 259 during 2007.

Our Principles commit us to provide fairly priced and dependable products and services for our customers. They also actively encourage us to build strong and sustainable relationships with the communities in which we operate.

We expect compliance with our ethics and encourage others who work with us to embrace them too. We highlight our Business Principles in commercial contracts with suppliers.

During the year we continued to provide employees with a mandatory online training course on our Business Principles.

89 per cent of our permanent employees in the UK received a formal accreditation to our Business Principles in 2007 compared to 71 per cent in 2006.

We are members of the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE). 

Confidential helpline

We give employees, suppliers and those who represent us confidential facilities to report conduct they believe is suspect or questionable.

Our confidential helpline enables them to phone, email, or post their concerns without fear of reprisal. We have a detailed investigation procedure and keep a register of all complaints.

We investigated 10 corruption-related incidents reported through the Confidential Help Facility and the Telefónica O2 UK Legal/Fraud and Security teams in 2007. This includes all reports regardless of whether a case was substantiated or not.