Code of Conduct

This Code outlines the principles we follow in our work in Pearson. If you work with us, whether you’re employed full- or part-time, or you’re a partner or supplier, this Code applies to you.  We all have to comply with it, and we all have to renew our promise to comply with it every year to remind ourselves how important it is.

1. People

• We believe our company should include a range of people from different backgrounds and different points of view.  So when we hire someone to come to work in Pearson, we choose the best candidate without regard for gender, age, race, national origin, religion, disability or sexual orientation.  We apply that same standard when choosing suppliers, partners and anyone else we do business with. 
• People working with us can expect adequate pay for doing their job and special rewards for extraordinary work.  They can also expect training; feedback; a safe, amenable place to work with freedom from bullying, harassment or favouritism and respect for their privacy, dignity and life outside work. 
• We do our best to communicate honestly and openly with everyone who has an interest in our company, including colleagues, suppliers, customers and shareholders. 

2. The company

• We aim to avoid conflicts between the company's interests and our own, individual interests. 
• In our personal capacities, we don't compete with any activity or business of the company, directly or indirectly, or use the knowledge gained here to help anyone else compete with the company. 
• We don't make personal investments that might affect our business judgment.  For instance, we don't have personal interests in companies that compete with or do business with Pearson unless we have disclosed this interest to Pearson's board or management and they have approved it.  (This doesn't include owning small amounts of stock in publicly-traded companies.) 
• We don't do business on behalf of Pearson with a company from which we or a member of our family may benefit. 
• We don't work with suppliers or any third parties in ways that might affect our performance or our judgment about Pearson's business. 
• We treat company property as if it were our own, but we remember it's not.  We make sure it's taken care of and that it is not used for personal purposes except in special circumstances. 
• We're very careful with company plans and information we get to know in the course of our work, and we don't share that kind of material with people outside or inside the company unless it's necessary and we're authorised to do so. 
• When we receive a question from the press about the company's business, we refer it to the communications department and don’t ever respond ourselves unless asked to by them. 
• We take scrupulous care to maintain books and records that fairly reflect our business transactions as they occur.  We don't conceal or confuse our records in any way.  We don't make false or misleading entries.  We take seriously our financial control policies, and we follow them.

3.  Suppliers, associates and other partners

• We view our suppliers as partners, and we expect them to make a fair return when they do business with us.  We try to treat them equally, based on objective criteria such as price and quality and on intangible criteria such as their integrity and reliability. 
• We don't accept gifts or gratuities from current or would-be suppliers or other parties interested in doing business with us or having our favour for personal or commercial reasons.  Likewise, we don’t ever give money or gifts to gain influence for ourselves or for Pearson.  We may give or receive gifts or entertainment of small value if they don't compromise us or the company, and if they’re disclosed. 
• We respect all patents, trademarks, copyrights, proprietary information or trade secrets, as well as the confidentiality of anyone with whom we do business. 

4. Customers

• The most important thing we can do for our customers is to offer products and services that are consistently superior and effective. 
• When customers ask questions or make requests or complaints, we start with the presumption that whatever they say is correct.  Our response is always quick, generous, friendly, and it resolves the situation.  We never blame problems on the customer or someone else, and we always keep (and use) our sense of humour. 
• When we advertise or solicit business, we are truthful in every detail. 

5. Governments and laws

• We comply with the laws and regulations of any country in which we do business, and we don't seek or give influence in exchange for promises, gifts or any other inducements, no matter what the local business practice may be. 
• We comply with securities laws and don't trade in Pearson's shares or shares of other quoted companies controlled by Pearson except during “open periods” or when a trade has been approved.  We never use, for our own or others' benefit, company information that hasn’t been made public. 
• Our company is not partisan.  We do make donations to a range of education or free-speech-related causes, but we do not make any donations that are considered large enough to be material to the individual or organization involved.  We don't make any donations without first referring them to our government relations department to ensure that they conform to these principles. 
• We always try to compete fairly and honestly, observing all laws that relate to us. 

6. Our responsibility to society

• Much of our business involves keeping faith with the public: as an education publishing and service company with a responsibility to serve the purpose of learning; as a newspaper and information service dedicated to giving an unbiased account of events; as a company that protects the editorial independence of authors and editors everywhere.  This public trust partly defines our company, and we will uphold it at all costs.
• We try to give both time and money to the communities of interest in which we do business through our charities and sponsorship donations and through encouraging and enabling people to volunteer time to causes they support. 
• We oppose illegal or inhumane labour practices. 
• We support universal human rights, including equal employment, freedom of speech and of association, cultural, economic and social well-being. 
• We try to operate in a way that is sensitive to – and improves – the environment. 

Contacts

Pearson CEO: marjorie.scardino@pearson.com

Director for People: robin.baliszewski@pearson.com

Group Internal Audit: john.brennan@pearson.com

Legal: robert.dancy@pearsoned.com

Government Relations: jeff.taylor@pearson.com

Communications: Media contacts