Labor and Human Rights Policy
Introduction and Purpose
eGain’s employees are key and critically important to our success. We strive to provide a workplace where our employees can fulfil their potential in an open and inclusive working environment. We aim to maintain high standards that deliver a fair and safe workplace for our employees.
The purpose of this Policy is to define the labor and human rights standards to which all employees at eGain and its subsidiaries are entitled, irrespective of the country in which they work.
Scope
This Policy applies to eGain and all its subsidiaries, including employees, suppliers, vendors, partners as well as service providers, contractors and consultants and all of their products and services.
This Policy complements the human rights-related statements in other eGain policies, such as eGain’s Code of Ethics and Business Conduct for Employees, Officers, Directors, Contractors and Consultants (“Code of Ethics”).
Our commitment to international human rights standards and local laws are rooted in our core values and reinforced through this Policy, our Code of Ethics and other company policies.
Our Commitment
Our commitment to respecting human rights means that we are continuously preventing, identifying, mitigating, and remediating human rights risks caused by, contributed or linked to our business activities. We expect our suppliers and vendors to have the same commitment and to implement human rights due diligence processes to prevent, mitigate, and remediate any negative impacts they might cause, contribute to, or are linked to by their business activities and partners.
1. Health, Safety, Wellbeing, and Security
We strive to make the health, safety, and well-being of our people central to everything that we do. We assess the safety and security of our employees within each project and in each office, define necessary measures and controls to ensure that our employees are working in safe and secure conditions. We expect our suppliers and vendors to follow similar high standards on health, safety, and well-being of their employees and to provide us with clear information on how they achieve such high standards.
2. Forced Labor
eGain and its subsidiaries do not tolerate any form of modern slavery, including forced labor, bonded labor, indentured labor and slave labor, or human trafficking. Workers must be allowed to move around freely and leave their place of work when their working hours end. This is particularly important for employees of our suppliers and vendors on sites where physical and manual labor is undertaken. We expect our suppliers and vendors to provide clear information on how they prevent situations of modern slavery.
3. Children’s Rights
We respect the rights of the child as stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the right to education, the right to rest and play and the right to have basic needs met. eGain and its subsidiaries do not tolerate the hiring of child labor under any circumstances. The minimum age for full-time employment must be the legal minimum age for employment under applicable laws, whichever is higher. We support the use of legitimate apprenticeship programs that comply with local laws, regulations, and norms. We expect our suppliers and vendors to provide clear information on how they respect children’s rights.
4. Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
eGain and its subsidiaries respect employees’ rights to form, join or not join a labor union, or other organization of their choice, and to bargain collectively in support of their mutual interests without fear of punitive actions such as intimidation, harassment or termination of employment. Employment by eGain is not made subject to the condition that the employee will not join a union or must relinquish their union membership. We also respect the right of employees to be represented by labor unions or other employee organizations, where it is allowed by national law. We expect our suppliers and vendors to provide clear information on how they respect the right of freedom of association.
5. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respectful Treatment
eGain and its subsidiaries do not tolerate any form of discrimination against our employees based on race, color, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, caste, national or social origin, property, birth, union affiliation, sexual orientation, age, disability, or other distinguishing characteristics. All our employment-related decisions, from hiring to termination, are based solely on lawful, non-discriminatory criteria. We expect the same from our suppliers and vendors.
We are dedicated to fostering workplaces that are free from discrimination or harassment based on race, sex, national or social origin, religion, age, physical health and/ or neurodivergent conditions, sexual orientation, political opinion, or any other status protected by applicable law. We strive to protect our employees from any acts of physical, verbal, sexual or psychological harassment, bullying, abuse or threats in the workplace by either their fellow employees or managers. We expect our suppliers and vendors to follow similar high standards as well as to provide information on how they prevent situations of, among others, unequal treatment and harassment.
6. Working Hours, Benefits and Wages
We provide our workforce with a fair remuneration that is consistent with applicable wage laws. Our principle is to provide a living wage, which means wages should at a minimum meet the basic needs of employees and their dependents. Working weeks should not exceed the maximum set by local laws. In addition to their compensation for regular hours of work, our employees are compensated for overtime hours at no less than the rate required by applicable laws and regulations. We expect our suppliers and vendors to provide similar working conditions and provide clear information on how they ensure fair wages, working hours, and benefits.
7. Bribery and Corruption
Bribery and corruption undermine respect for human rights and hurt the very communities we are committed to helping grow and thrive. We are committed to winning business only on the merits and integrity of our products and solutions. We do not tolerate bribery or corruption in any form, regardless of where we are located or where we do business.
8. Privacy
eGain considers upholding individuals’ privacy to be a fundamental right. We are committed to being transparent about our privacy practices as reflected in our Privacy Policy. We are also committed to respecting our customers’ personal data preferences and actively working to ensure our customers have the latest privacy resources.
Governance
Our Board, all managers, employees, contractors, and suppliers and vendors bear a responsibility to act in a way that respects labor and human rights. We want to ensure human rights is integrated when providing services and solutions. We will continuously review and adapt, where needed, indicators to monitor performance. Our Human Resources team are primarily responsible for our human rights approach, with the ultimate accountability resting with the Chief Executive Officer and our Board of Directors.
Grievance Mechanism
We have a reporting procedure for our employees to report suspected misconduct or irregularities that relate to our Code of Conduct or applicable laws and regulations. This reporting procedure includes an anonymous phone line managed by a third party, in the event our people are uncomfortable reporting to their immediate supervisor or further in the line, or to our Board of Directors. Our Code of Conduct describes this procedure. External stakeholders can raise a concern or report suspected misconduct or irregularities directly with their contact person in the business. We will investigate, address, and respond to the concerns of employees and external stakeholders and will take appropriate corrective action in response to any violation. We will monitor the effectiveness of our grievance mechanism, including for human rights-related topics and adapt, where appropriate. We expect our suppliers and vendors to also have such grievance mechanisms in place for human rights, including processes to handle complaints from external stakeholders.
Policy Revision
This Policy will be regularly reviewed to ensure its continued adequacy and relevance. It may be amended at any time.
