Annex C: Good Business Charter requirements

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.

Diversity and inclusion

The GBC requires businesses to evidence how they monitor the diversity of their workforce and their commitment to close the gender, disability and ethnicity pay gaps.

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.

Fair payment to suppliers

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