As an owner-operated company, we are proud to hold a leading position in a market characterized by consolidation, price pressure and a high level of competition, and that we have been able to expand that lead for several years now.
We serve the most demanding target groups in the premium segment of the language services business with a holistic portfolio of translations, content creation, media and new technologies. This is only possible because we have highly motivated and qualified employees.
The foundation of our success is a set of common values that we uphold in interacting with each other and in our work. In the process, Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH is aware of its entrepreneurial and social responsibility – to its employees and business partners, but also to the public and the environment.
This Code of Conduct was created to help us meet our own high standards of responsibility and integrity. It is intended to provide us orientation in our daily work and decision-making.
We – the management, shareholders and employees of Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH – undertake together to uphold these values and principles and to act in accordance with them at all times.
Heike Leinhäuser
Managing Director
Birgit Albrecht-Klein
Financial Director
Claudia Link-Beier
Managing Partner
Our values and our corporate culture
People are at the heart of what we do. That goes for those who work for us as well as those who entrust us with work for them. We treat business partners and employees fairly and respectfully and communicate openly and transparently. In line with our leadership mission, we promote a working environment in which our employees can all develop equally and draw on and advance their skills in their work performance.
This is all part of our DNA, the LEINHÄUSER SPIRIT, made manifest by smart people who do their best every day with a high degree of motivation and expertise, who support each other and are there for each other, who are creative and inspired in their search for solutions and often make the impossible possible.
Compliance with statutory requirements
Applicable laws, official regulations, statutory requirements and internal guidelines form a framework for our actions and decisions. The management and the employees are all familiar with these laws and regulations and comply with them at all times.
Likewise, compliance with these laws and regulations is required from our service partners and other service providers and suppliers, in particular with regard to information security, data protection and confidentiality.
Data privacy, data protection and confidentiality
Our customers entrust us with highly sensitive data and information, and protecting it has the highest priority.
In the process, we rely on the security of our IT systems, on information and training for our employees and on suitable business processes. An information security management system (ISMS) has been implemented to ensure an appropriately high level of information security and the protection of internal and external data and information assets.
Compliance with the processes and requirements of this system is mandatory. All our employees are obligated from the first day of their employment to observe strict confidentiality as regards data and information from our customers and business partners that is made known to them as part of their project activities or generally during their work at LLS, independently of whether this data and information has been expressly marked as confidential.
This obligation extends beyond the duration of their employment relationship with LLS and applies in particular to the protection of personal data. This is why the collection, storage, use or processing of personal data always takes place in compliance with applicable laws, in particular Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Special processes and procedures ensure that the processing of data expressly classified as confidential or secret is governed by particular security precautions. Likewise, contact with inside information is subject to special regulations and processes that all employees must know and follow.
Respect for human rights
Inherent in our core service – the translation of text into other languages – is a position of openness and appreciation for other countries and cultures in the world and the people who live in them.
We are committed to the protection of internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms such as those laid down in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. In the process, we oppose child and forced labor as well as every form of labor exploitation. We act in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ILO agreements and expect this from our business partners all over the world as well.
Respect for fundamental rights of employees and respectful dealings with each other
We respect the dignity, private sphere and personality rights of each individual. For this reason, we tolerate no type of harassment, intimidation, sexual harassment or abuse of power, in particular no behavior (including gestures, language or physical contact) that is sexual, coercive, threatening, abusive or exploitative. All forms of discrimination will be sanctioned.
We ensure a healthy, safe work environment according to the state of the art of technology and occupational medicine and hygiene. Suitable measures and training help prevent occupational accidents and illnesses and work-related health hazards, and create an ergonomically sound, attractive and motivating work environment for our employees.
We ensure appropriate wages for our employees as well as compliance with applicable maximum working hours. Flexible, family-friendly models for working hours and locations enable our employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance in harmony with their personal situations.
We ensure that our employees can freely ask questions about working conditions at our company, and respect their rights to freedom of association and to found groups to represent their interests.
The atmosphere of open, respectful communication we foster enables a constructive, solution-oriented approach to dealing with mistakes that is characterized by honesty and trust.
Diversity and equal opportunity
Diversity and equal opportunity are valuable assets in our corporate culture. We respect and promote the cultural, religious and individual diversity of our employees. All employees are subject to the same rules and have the same opportunities to develop their skills, continue their training and education and pursue their careers at LLS regardless of country of origin, age, sexual identity, skin color, appearance, disability, sexual orientation, or religious or cultural background.
Our remuneration models are oriented exclusively to the employee’s position and performance and apply without distinction to all employees.
Internationality characterizes our personnel structure as well as our service portfolio. We experience our high share of non-German employees and our worldwide network of service partners not merely as a professional necessity, but above all as a substantial enrichment of our corporate culture.
The promotion of young employees is important to us. For this reason, we regularly employ trainees and interns, offering them a well-qualified entry into the world of work.
Dealing with business partners
We act with integrity ourselves and in harmony with laws and regulations, and expect this from our service partners and customers as well. Employees of Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH are required to apply not just high qualitative standards in selecting service partners, but also strict criteria as regards integrity and compliance with rules.
Dealing with conflicts of interest
We orient our business decisions and actions at all times to the best interest of our company. In the process, we apply objective criteria, not personal advantage or personal relationships.
In the event of a possible conflict of interest between personal and business interests, our employees are required to report the situation immediately to a member of management or the company’s compliance officer. A solution is then sought jointly in an atmosphere of openness and transparency.
Dealing with gifts and invitations
We avoid actions that could be perceived as bribery or the exertion of undue influence. For this reason, our employees are not permitted to offer, demand or accept gifts or invitations that are associated with benefits for the business partner and might be perceived as bribery.
Fair competition
We respect the principle of free, fair competition and always act in accordance with applicable competition laws. Employees are therefore prohibited from entering into agreements with competitors on prices, price strategies, market share or contractual conditions.
Agreements that exclude competitors from the market are likewise prohibited, as are refusals to purchase from specific suppliers or serve specific customers.
Anti-competitive conduct can damage the reputation of Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH and result in substantial penalties for the company and the affected employees.
Preventing money laundering
We refuse any payment that could come from an illegal source or criminal activities such as drug dealing or corruption. Our employees have therefore been instructed to be vigilant and to immediately report to the management or compliance officer all payment streams that appear unusual, such as cash payments, payment made using suspicious bank accounts or payment in currencies not previously agreed with the customer.
Environmental protection, sustainability and future viability
We are committed to the protection of nature and our environment. For this reason, we use devices and supplies sparingly and require that our employees separate waste and recycle and reduce it where possible.
We are open and transparent about our commitment to sustainable, responsible corporate governance. We have committed ourselves to the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact and undergo an annual assessment by the sustainability rating platform EcoVadis.
As an owner-operated business we also practice our interpretation of economic sustainability: Instead of pursuing the interests of investors and cost efficiency at any price, we value personal, stable business relationships, the use of high-quality resources and the exploitation of savings potential where this does not impair service or performance.
In the process, we build on close relationships with our customers based on above-average performance as well as reliable business relationships to our service partners that are marked by fairness, respect and loyalty.
We monitor industry trends and technological developments along with opportunities for automation and efficiency increases, so that we can maintain and continually expand our leading position on the market tomorrow as well as today.
Activities in industry associations
Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH places great value on being informed at all times of current industry trends and developments and helping shape the future of the industry as an active player on the market.
Examples of management’s extraordinary commitment to the language services market and its close connections to other leading members of the industry include membership and the long-standing presidency of the Verband der Qualitätssprachendienste Deutschland e. V. (QSD), membership and the presidency since 2018 of the European Union Association of Translation Companies (EUATC) and our professional cooperation with the Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer e. V. (BDÜ).
Communication and social media
Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH communicates openly and transparently using respectful language that is appropriate to the occasion and medium. We pay close attention to providing content that is truthful, plausible and verifiable and is in harmony with the company’s brand image.
Employees must ensure when making statements in social media that their comments, posts and content do not violate applicable laws or regulations of the platform on which the content appears or transgress standards of common decency. This applies in particular if these statements are connected with Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH, its employees or its customers or business partners.
Possible consequences of violations
Mistakes are human and can never be avoided completely. However, since small errors can lead to great damage, all our employees are required to report mistakes early on and to ask about them in cases of doubt.
Violations of this Code of Conduct can have severe consequences for Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH and the affected persons. The company can be held liable and be subject to fines as well as sustaining reputational damage with serious economic consequences. Violators are subject to disciplinary measures that may include the termination of employment as well as criminal prosecution and fines.
Contacts
Contact for all questions on compliance as well as for reports of compliance violations:
Claudia Link-Beier
Compliance Officer
Phone: +49 89 480 581 0223
compliance@leinhaeuser.com
Anti-discrimination officer within the meaning of Germany’s General Act on Equal Treatment:
Claudia Schindler
Phone: +49 89 480 581 0210
cs@leinhaeuser.com
Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH
Inselkammerstr. 8
82008 Unterhaching