Legal Areas
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No place for discrimination or sexual harassment
We offer equal opportunities for all employees. We have a strict zero-tolerance attitude to discrimination and sexual harassment in the work environment: We do not tolerate any kind of discrimination against employees or applicants in connection with their ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, age, disability, pregnancy status and similar.
In the workplace, sexual harassment describes any sexualized behavior that is not wanted by the affected person. This includes not only verbal and physical harassment and sexualized statements or unwanted physical contact, but also non-verbal forms such as suggestive gestures and looks or showing of pornographic images.
We define sexual harassment based on the objective perception of its occurrence and not according to the intention of the person committing harassment. The decisive element is whether particular behavior is objectively sexual in nature and if the affected person felt harassed by it.
Misconduct is not tolerated
It is not possible for regulation to cover every conceivable eventuality of an ethical issue. We are guided by the principle of being committed to fair and honest conduct. In ethical matters, we allow healthy common sense to prevail.
Breaches of rules of conduct, legal requirements, internal guidelines and regulations can have serious consequences not only for the individual, but also for BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT. As such, deliberate reproachable misconduct is not tolerated.
Misconduct and breaches are consistently penalized by BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT as legal frameworks permit, and without taking into account the rank or position of the acting and affected person.
Where to report complaints
BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT nurtures a climate and corporate culture in which no one needs to fear negative consequences from reporting suspicion of misconduct or breaches.
For questions concerning the application of this Code of Conduct in day-to-day work, the manager – generally the partner – is the first person to report complaints to; the same applies for compliance-relevant doubts about behavior. In addition, all employees of BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT have the option of contacting the partner committee set up for this purpose. This Compliance Committee is the complaints office as set out in Section 13, German General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG), to which breaches of the Code of Conduct or suspected cases can be reported.
The Compliance Committee offers confidential support and advises affected persons about options for protection and action. The right to anonymity is maintained during such advisory discussions. All information and personal data as well as the content of the discussion will be treated confidentially, to the extent that this is possible within the scope of inquiries.
Employees who provide reports honestly and in good faith must not fear any disciplinary procedures or retribution measures.
BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT expects all partners, lawyers and employees to behave in the spirit of the Code of Conduct.
Each and every one of us is personally responsible for upholding and complying with the provisions and guidelines described here.
