Health and Safety Issues at Unilever: Code of Conduct and Role of Professional Bodies

This report discusses health and safety issues at Unilever, the code of conduct that resolves the issue, the role of professional bodies in ethical issues, and the impact of the code of conduct and professional bodies. It also includes a CPD plan and the importance of a code of conduct.

Preparing for a
Professional Career

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Part A...............................................................................................................................................3
1. Introduction and definition of health and safety issues at Unilever.........................................3
2. Code of conduct that resolves the issue...................................................................................3
3. Role of professional bodies in the ethical issues.....................................................................4
4. Impact of code of conduct and professional bodies.................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
Part B...............................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
The employers need to take the responsibility for the purpose of ensuring the safety and
health of the employees at the workplace. For this purpose, they set the protocols or the
regulations which make sure that the working environment adheres with the standards. This
report will discuss about the issue or the contemporary challenge which is faced by the global
business environment in the prevailing times. It will also discuss the codes of conduct that helps
in solving or addressing those issues, the support and the guidance which is available from the
related professional bodies and an assessment of the effect at Unilever(Fang and McDonald,
2018).
MAIN BODY
Part A
1. Introduction and definition of health and safety issues at Unilever
The concept of the health and safety at the workplace is not that complicated and is much
simplified aspect. Any accident proof or the injury work related environment is what the most
suitable for every employee at the workplace. A secure and a safe environment helps to maintain
the productivity level at the workplace and also it is the right of every employee at the workplace
to have the safety and the health rights. Also, it is appropriate for the employers as well as the
employees. As an employer, it is the responsibility of him or her to provide the workers with the
hazard free and safety environment. The health and the safety at the workplace is necessary for
every type of the company no matter what the size it has. One such example of the organisation
is Unilever. All the small and the big companies are required to inculcate the security in their
business environment. If the safety of the work environment is not taken in account or seriously
then it can create adverse effect or complications for the workers. So for this purpose, the health
and the safety laws are needed to be implemented at all the business level. Although just
adopting the policies is not enough but making sure that the guidelines related to the safety and
health are followed is the most important aspect (Narayan and Nair, 2021).
2. Code of conduct that resolves the issue
The code of conduct defines the core values, global commitments, promises and the
shared responsibilities. It also offers the general guidelines about the expectations of the
company, outlines the main circumstances which may also need some specific attention and
emphasize and also references the extra resources along with the communication channels that

are being made available to the company. It is also the initial and the primary step to get the
clarity on any particular queries which are related to the ethical conduct or behaviour at Unilever.
Although the code can not solve each and every problem or issue that is being addressed at the
workplace that is why, the code of conduct is not the only thing on which the company depends
or relies. The employees of the company remembers that they are accountable for their own
actions and that the alternatives related to the ethics are the best alternatives or choices. When it
comes to the health and the safety matters, any kind of the drugs and alcohol is strictly prohibited
at the workplace. Along with that the use of the weapons, firearms, ammunition and any kind of
the possession is also restricted. If any employee feels or observe any unsafe circumstances at the
workplace then they are required to reach to the helpline and follow the emergency procedures
and the safety manuals which are applicable to the specific location (Caxaj and Cohen, 2019).
3. Role of professional bodies in the ethical issues
A specific professional body is generally a group of people in an educated occupation
that are accountable and entrusted for the control management or supervising of the legal
practice of the occupation at Unilever. It represents a particular profession at the time when it is
made for this purpose in a formal way and constitutes the considerable numbers of the
practitioners in a specified field. These professional bodies assists in resolving the ethical issues
of the company by safeguarding the interest of the general public that offers them with their
legitimacy. These professional bodies also specifies the interest of the professional practitioners
and here they perform as the trade union which contributes their part to the professional
development. The professional bodies also specifies the their own self interest and performs in
order to maintain the powerful position or status as a kind of controlling body. The main function
of the professional bodies is that they help in setting the ethical and the technical standards which
must be fulfilled in ensuring that are properly maintained and improved with the help of the
professional career that encourages the trust of the public at Unilever. Along with this they also
increase the standards of the profession enhance the understanding and preserve the interest of
the public. Such professional bodies are the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
(ACCA) and the British Medical Association (BMA) (Dumas, 2018).
4. Impact of code of conduct and professional bodies
The code of conduct assist the organisations to set the right type of the culture, develops a
good reputation, assist in remaining in terms of the laws and regulations, draws or attracts the

extra ordinary employees, helps in the promotion of the social change. The disadvantage of
implementing a code of conduct is that it involves a lot of time, it also includes the cultural and
the legal challenges. The benefits of the professional bodies in solving the ethical issues of the
company includes the professional appearance, they are reliable, uses the ethical behaviour along
with that they are also organizes, accountable, uses the professional language, maintain a positive
attitude, poised, respectful to others, is strong at communicating and uses the soft skills. The
disadvantage of the professional bodies is that they interpret the rules very strictly, interpret the
rules without paying any emphasize or focus on the overarching values, create low standards for
the professional behaviour, developing harm or adverse effect by giving unequal emphasize or
focus on certain rules (Pickering, 2020).
If the code of conduct is not being followed then it could lead in the breaking the laws
and the regulations and also it will spoil the reputation of the company. For the people in the
company it could also mean the dismissal or the disciplinary action. It is that is why important
that the employees follow the code and are familiar with it at the Unilever.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been discussed about the issues or the contemporary
challenge which is faced by the global business environment in the prevailing times. It will also

discuss the codes of conduct that helps in solving or addressing those issues, the support and the
guidance which is available from the related professional bodies and an assessment of the effect.
The main objective of the health and the safety programs is to avoid the injuries, illnesses and the
number of accidents at the workplace along with the financial problems that these can effect the
workers and their families.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Caxaj, C.S. and Cohen, A., 2019. “I will not leave my body here”: Migrant farmworkers’ health
and safety amidst a climate of coercion. International journal of environmental research
and public health.16(15). p.2643.
Dumas, A., 2018. From Health Actors' Information‐Communication Issues in the Workplace to
Obstacles when Establishing a Relationship of Trust. Confidence and Legitimacy in
Health Information and Communication.1. pp.177-193.
Fang, Y. and McDonald, T., 2018. Management capacity to promote nurse workplace health and
safety. Journal of Nursing Management.26(3). pp.288-294.
Narayan, R. and Nair, V.K., 2021. The Roles of Communicative Language Mechanisms in
Occupational Health and Safety Milieu in Reducing Workplace Hazards. Journal of
Language Teaching and Research.12(2). pp.264-274.
Pickering, M., 2020. The supernatural and sensitive Indigenous materials: a workplace health
and safety issue?. Museum Management and Curatorship.35(5). pp.532-550.

Part B
CPD PLAN
What do I want to learn? What will I do to achieve
this?
What resources of will I
need?
Health and safety issues at
workplace
 The occupational health
and the safety issues
emphasizes on the
maintenance and the
promotion of the
increased amount of the
social, mental and the
physical health of the
employees at the
organisations.
 It avoids the absence of
the worker because of
the poor health caused
by the conditions at the
work environment.
 The protection of the
employees at the job
environment from the
health related risks.
 Examination of the
occupational
environment of the
employee and adjusting
according to their
 Specialist advice
 Leadership and
management
 Process safety

psychological and the
physiological
capabilities.
Code of conduct  It is a kind of a legal
document which
highlights the set of
appropriate behaviours
that the people are
required to implement
towards the
organisation and others.
 The code of conduct is
a set of regulations,
responsibilities and the
standard social norms
of every individual in
the organisation. It is
also necessary that a
particular code of
conduct of a company
is comprehensive and
clear which also covers
all the necessary areas
for the firm. The code
of conduct becomes a
kind of a legal
agreement between the
employee and the
company.
 The ultimate purpose of
a code of conduct is for
 Legal compliance
 Employee rights

the maintenance of the
standard for the specific
justifiable behaviour.
Role of professional bodies  The professional bodies
are the members of the
organisations that
contributes their
interests in its members
as well as the general
public by specifying
some standards and the
supervising the conduct
or behaviour of the
members. These
professional bodies
assists in resolving the
ethical issues of the
company by
safeguarding the
interest of the general
public that offers them
with their legitimacy.
 These professional
bodies also specifies
the interest of the
professional
practitioners and here
they perform as the
trade union which
contributes their part to
the professional
Guidelines by the professional
bodies.

development. The
professional bodies also
specifies the their own
self interest and
performs in order to
maintain the powerful
position or status as a
kind of controlling
body.
 The main function of
the professional bodies
is that they help in
setting the ethical and
the technical standards
which must be fulfilled
in ensuring that are
properly maintained
and improved with the
help of the professional
career that encourages
the trust of the public.
Importance of code of conduct  The code of conduct
supervises the
individuals by teaching
them the ways in which
they should behave at
the workplace which
will not affect their
health, it also helps in
ensuring a proper
growth of the career
On the job training guidelines

and also provide the
advantage to the
organisation in the long
run, the ethics also
make sure that the
employees respect their
superiors and it also
makes the value system
of the employees
strong.
 If the code of conduct
is not being followed
then it could lead in the
breaking the laws and
the regulations and also
it will spoil the
reputation of the
company. For the
people in the company
it could also mean the
dismissal or the
disciplinary action. It is
that is why important
that the employees
follow the code and are
familiar with it.