UK National Contact Point for OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

This area of the site provides more information about the Guidelines and UK National Contact Point

What are the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises?

The Guidelines are recommendations on responsible business conduct addressed by Governments to multinational enterprises operating in or from their territories. Although many businesses have developed their own codes of conduct in recent years, the OECD Guidelines are the only multilaterally endorsed and comprehensive code that Governments are committed to promoting.

Although endorsed by Governments, the Guidelines are voluntary and not intended to override local laws and regulations. They are perhaps best described as supplementary principles and standards of corporate behavior of a non-legal character.

The Guidelines are divided into eight chapters that contain advice for business in areas such as employment and industrial relations, combating bribery, consumer interests and taxation. Also included in the Guidelines are implementation procedures. You can download the full text of the Guidelines using the following link:

The OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises

(1566KB)

The National Contact Point is also responsible for promoting the OECD Risk Awareness Tool for Multinational Enterprises in Weak Governance Zones, which aims to help companies that invest in countries where governments are unwilling or unable to assume their responsibilities. It addresses risks and ethical dilemmas that companies are likely to face in such weak governance zones. The Risk Awareness Tool raises a number of questions useful for companies facing such difficult operating environments. We strongly encourage companies considering working in weak governance zones to use the Risk Awareness Tool and other advice in their decision making:

OECD risk awareness tool for multinational enterprises in weak goverance zones

(636KB)

National Contact Points

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines) were first agreed in 1976. They were most recently revised in June 2000 to establish a specific instance procedure which allows for complaints to be brought that companies are not following the Guidelines. The revision in 2000 also committed adhering countries to establishing a National Contact Point to promote the Guidelines and manage the complaints relating to companies registered in or operating from their countries. NCPs do this by facilitating dialogue and mediating between the two parties. If they consider that the company has breached the Guidelines the NCP will issue a statement saying how and making recommendations to the company on how it could bring its practices into line with the Guidelines in the future.

UK National Contact Points:

Margaret Sutherland, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Bay 4133, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H OET, Tel: 020 7215 5756, Fax: 020 7215 2234, e-mail: Margaret.Sutherland@berr.gsi.gov.uk

Dalbinder Dio, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Bay 4133, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H OET ; Tel: 020 7215 6344, Fax: 020 7215 2234, e-mail: Dalbinder.Dio@berr.gsi.gov.uk

Countries Adhering to the OECD Guidelines

A. OECD Members

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

B. Non-OECD members that have also adhered

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Estonia, Egypt, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Peru, Romania & Slovenia.

The UK’s National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

Raising a Complaint

To raise a complaint that a company registered in or operating from the UK has breached the Guidelines as a basic requirement we will need to know:
• your identity and your interest in the matter;
• name of the company;
• the location of the activity;
• which part of the Guidelines is considered relevant;
• description of the activity with any supporting evidence;
• what can be revealed to the company e.g. identity of originator, documentary evidence etc.

All this will help us to determine whether to pursue the issue further. Clearly the more information we have, the easier it will be for the NCP to follow up on the complaint. Please send your complaint to uk.ncp@berr.gsi.gov.uk. When submitting a complaint you may wish to consider using the following complaints form:

Bringing a complaint under the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises [complaint form]

(32KB)

How the complaints process works

For full guidance on how the complaints process works, please download the following document:

UK NCP procedures for dealing with complaints brought under the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises

(109KB)

This includes a flow chart showing what happens at each stage of the process.If the NCP decides to accept a complaint and take it further then we aim to complete the whole process within one year.

Retrospective Guidance on the OECD Guidelines

The following document provides guidance on how the UK NCP will handle any new complaint it receives after 18 June 2008 that alleges breaches of the OECD Guidelines in relation to activities prior to June 2000, when the latest revision of the Guidelines was published:

Approach of the NCP to any new complaint that alleges a breach of the OECD guidelines taking place before June 2000

(33KB)

Opportunity to review

If you consider that the NCP, in coming to a final decision, has not followed the correct procedure or failed to treat you with appropriate fairness, you may request a review. Details of the review process are explained in the following document:

Review procedure for dealing with complaints brought under the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises by the UK NCP

(64KB)

Further Guidance

If you would like further guidance then please do contact us using the contact details in the National Contact Point information leaflet:

The UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises

(1879KB)

In addition if you think that members of your organisation would find it useful to be given a presentation on the OECD Guidelines and the UK’s National Contact Point then we can try and arrange this depending on the availability of the NCP officials. Alternatively you can download our UK NCP Powerpoint presentation:

OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: UK NCP powerpoint presentation

(498KB)

Who oversees the National Contact Point?

A Steering Board oversees the NCP. The Board ensures that the NCP is following the complaints procedure correctly and will, when appropriate, provide advice to the OECD on how the Guidelines could be improved. The Steering Board's Terms of Refererence are avialble by downloading the following document:

Terms of reference and explanation of the role of the NCP Steering Board

(33KB)

If a party involved in a complaint believes that the NCP is not following the complaints process correctly they can raise this with the Steering Board Secretariat at the following address:

Andy Weller, UK NCP Steering Board Secretariat, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Bay 4134, 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET, Tel: 020 7215 2321,e-mail: Andy.Weller@berr.gsi.gov.uk

Officials from across Government sit on the Steering Board. The following departments are represented on it: the Attorney General’s Office, Export Credit Guarantees Department, Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development, the Scottish Government, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (including the BERR's legal department and the Directorate with overall responsibility for Corporate Responsibility issues).

In addition there are four external members. They are Gary Campkin nominated by International Chambers of Commerce and CBI, Lord Jordan nominated by TUC, Richard Hermer nominated by NGOs, Jeremy Carver nominated by the All party Parliamentary Working Group on the Great Lakes Region. Nominated deputies may attend should external members be unavailable.

Minutes of the NCP Steering Board

Note of first NCP steering board meeting 22 May 2007

(57KB)

NCP second meeting 19 September 2007

(73KB)

Note of the third meeting of the UK national contact point (NCP) steering board held on 17 December 2007

(58KB)

Note of the fourth meeting of the UK national contact point (NCP) steering board held on 11 March 2008

(81KB)

Note of the Fifth meeting of the National Contact Point (NCP) steering board held on 18 June 2008

(121KB)

Gareth Thomas, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Trade and Consumer Affairs takes ministerial responsibility for the UK's implementation of the Guidelines. Malcolm Wicks is the Minister with responsibilities for wider CR issues.

NCP statement of complaints brought under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

Final Statements

Final statement by the UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: Afrimex (UK) Ltd

(174KB)

Statement by the United Kingdom national contact point (NCP) for OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises (NCP): DAS Air

(108KB)

Statement by United Kingdom national contact point for OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises (NCP): Anglo American

(102KB)

Final assessment by the UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: PSA Peugeot Citroen

(136KB)

Initial Assessments

Initial assessment by the UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: British American Tobacco Malaysia (BATM) and British American Tobacco Employers Union (BATEU)

(43KB)

Initial assessment by the UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: Afrimex

(52KB)

Initial assessment by the UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: Hindustan Lever's Doom Dooma factory, Assam, India

(38KB)

Initial assessment by the UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: Hindustan Lever

(33KB)

Initial assessment by the UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: G4S and UNI

(37KB)

Initial assessment by the UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: complaint against an international manufacturer planning to restructure one of its UK plants

(32KB)

Initial Assessments withdrawn at the request of the complainant

Initial assessment by the UK national contact point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises: IUF and Unilever Pakistan Ltd

(37KB)

Statements of Complaints pre - 2007

Statement on Avient

(87KB)

Statement on De Beers

(49KB)

Statement by the UK national contact point on National Grid Transco

(56KB)

NCP statement on Oryx Natural Resources

(244KB)

[NCP statement on Oryx Natural Resources: annex 2]. Final submission, pursuant to paragraph 11 of Security Council Resolution 1457 (2003)

(161KB)

The Stakeholder Consultation

Background on the stakeholder consultation

In October 2005 the Government began a consultation process with stakeholders on how the UK could improve its implementation of the Guidelines. This was in response to complaints that the UK’s NCP was not active enough in promoting the Guidelines and was not as effective or efficient as it could be in handling complaints that companies had breached the Guidelines.

Much of the criticism surrounded how the UK NCP had handled complaints concerning the activities of four British registered companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a result the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Great Lakes Region and the Prevention of Genocide took a central role in the consultation process. They formed a Joint Working Group to canvas the views of business, civil society and unions to put forward joint recommendations on how to improve the NCP and the UK’s implementation of the Guidelines. In its response (published on 13 July 2006) to the recommendations that came out of the consultation, the Government made a series of commitments as to how it would improve implementation of the Guidelines. You can download the individual contributions to the consultation, the Government’s full response as well as the Minister’s written statement and the press release that were issued at the time using the links at the bottom of the screen.

Key Commitments following stakeholder consultation

• To revamp the National Contact Point and give joint responsibility for running it to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department For International Development.
• To clarify the complaints procedure and to conclude each complaint within 1 year.
• To establish a Steering Board with Independent members on it to oversee the NCP.
• To make a clear statement at the end of the complaint as to whether the company had breached the Guidelines and if so how it could improve its operating standards to bring them into line with the Guidelines.
• To agree a communications and awareness strategy for promotion of the Guidelines.
• To consult stakeholders regularly on the UK’s implementation of the Guidelines.
• To review how the new structure is working after one year.