Code of Conduct

About Sanderson Weatherall

Our vision is to be the leading SME in the UK property industry. We strive to help businesses and places thrive by delivering first class property advice and solutions. We recognise the impact our business has on the environment and the communities that we operate in and aim to make a positive difference.

Owned and run by a group of commercial property experts, we provide property consultancy services for owners, occupiers, investors, developers and financial advisors of property and associated assets.

Operating from offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Teesside and York we combine our knowledge and skills to provide complete property advice, ultimately making businesses more successful.

The property industry is continually changing and influenced by technology, culture and the economy and we’re excited to be a part of the journey, making an impact where we can and adapting when we need to.

At Sanderson Weatherall we recognise the impact our business has on the environment and the wider communities that we operate in. We embrace a progressive and holistic approach to understanding the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects of our operations and aim to make a positive difference in the world.

We strive to deliver excellence and our many accreditations are testament to that. We love what we do and like to see our clients’ businesses and the people who work in them flourish. We are after all, a people focused business ourselves.

Sanderson Weatherall is regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and its Rules of Conduct. Our firm is also built around a wider set of policies and procedures which are outlined in this document. Full copies of all our policies are available on our company intranet.

RICS Rules of Conduct

The RICS Rules of Conduct apply to all members and firms regulated by the RICS. The rules support positive change in the built and natural environments, through promoting and enforcing the highest ethical standards in valuation, the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. The Rules of Conduct are based on ethical principles of honesty, integrity, competence, service, respect and responsibility.

  1. Members and firms must be honest, act with integrity and comply with their professional obligations, including obligations to the RICS.
  2. Members and firms must maintain their professional competence and ensure that services are provided by competent individuals who have the necessary expertise.
  3. Members and firms must provide good-quality and diligent services.
  4. Members and firms must treat others with respect and encourage diversity and inclusion.
  5. Members and firms must act in the public interest, take responsibility for their actions and act to prevent harm and maintain public confidence in the profession.

Sanderson Weatherall’s membership of the RICS is assessed annually to ensure we are complying with all rules and regulations.

People

People are at the core of our business and we aim to create an environment where people can thrive. Sanderson Weatherall is built on values of fairness and respect. We have a number of policies to protect those values, which are detailed below.

Diversity

Diversity means valuing the individual differences of our employees, clients and stakeholders. It is also about encouraging respect for an appreciation of differences and understanding the value that such differences bring. This creates a healthy and positive working environment.

Our commitment to diversity helps the firm maximise efficiency by harnessing the wide variety of talent and resources of our staff. By understanding and accepting differences we create a more positive and open environment for all that promotes greater opportunities for individual and team contribution. In addition to the demographic and visible differences of individuals, differences such as background, upbringing and beliefs are important in making us who we are.

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to the principles and philosophy of equal opportunities. In keeping with these aims our goals are to work towards the elimination of discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity in recruitment and employment and to promote good relationships between our colleagues, clients and stakeholders.

We also implement the workings of the Equality Act 2010 and the codes of practice advocated by the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission to ensure the company is free of unwanted conduct that violates the dignity of workers or creates an intimidatory, hostile, degrading, offensive or humiliating environment.

Wellbeing

We are committed to providing a supportive working environment that maintains and promotes the health and wellbeing of our employees. This includes improving the organisational environment through effective and consistent management enabling individuals to cope successfully with their work and providing support for employees whose health and wellbeing are affected by stress.

We encourage staff to improve their mental and physical wellbeing through information sharing on our company intranet, MySW, and company wide events, such as our annual step count challenge.

Bullying & Harassment

We are committed to providing a safe, healthy and fair environment in which people can work. We believe that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect and for this reason we do not tolerate bullying and harassment.

We encourage affected employees to speak out. Where it is found that there are proven incidences of harassment or bullying disciplinary action is taken, up to and including dismissal.

Whistleblowing

We are committed to conducting our business in a responsible way and to ensuring that actions are safeguarded in accordance with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA). We encourage employees to raise concerns in a responsible way where they believe that there has been some form of wrongdoing by the firm or its employees.

It is our intention to ensure that employees who make an allegation are protected from any adverse treatment.

Staff Training

We are committed to promoting an environment which supports the training, learning and continuing professional development (CPD) for all employees. This spans from graduate training to ensure APC success, to management training for those more advanced with their careers.

This is in order to equip you with the skills and knowledge required to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of our clients and also to be able to perform all related business activities and processes efficiently and effectively. We provide specialist training to each department, as well as company wide training such as health and safety, anti-money laundering and cyber security.

Health & Safety

We are committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of our employees and other persons who are involved with or affected by its activities (hereinafter referred to as interested parties).

We will:

  • Ensure that our operational and office activities are executed in such a way as to provide for the health, safety and welfare of all interested parties.
  • Comply with all applicable legal and other requirements related to our operations.
  • Drive to continually improve our health and safety performance through the operation of our OHSMS (in line with the principles set out in ISO 45001).
  • Set measurable objectives and targets to improve our OH&S performance, which will be subject to regular monitoring and review.
  • Seek to prevent injury or ill health.
  • Aim to promote, monitor and maintain the highest degree of physical, mental and social wellbeing of all interested parties.
  • Review annually.

We will provide and maintain: a safe workplace with safe access and egress; safe plant and equipment; effective information, instruction, training and lines of communication; safe arrangements for the use, handling, storage and transportation of articles and substances; adequate welfare facilities.  This will be communicated to all staff via intranet, email and notices in each office.

Business

Owned and run by a group of commercial property experts, we are a long-established property consultancy that’s a popular alternative to the industry’s larger international firms. We aim to deliver excellence and do so by running our business with integrity, good business ethics and compliance with the law.

Our Accreditations

For us, getting the right corporate responsibility, accreditations and office network in place is vital if our staff are to continue to provide our clients with award-winning advice. Securing ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus have all been a way for us to demonstrate our high standard of service and ability to handle larger service contracts.

Quality & Environmental Policy

Sanderson Weatherall is managed through a documented Quality and Environmental Management System (QEMS). This system is planned around the various risks and opportunities we face and takes into account the needs of our interested parties. It enables us to offer our clients a customer focused service, which fully considers environmental issues. One of our strategic aims is our commitment to providing a quality service and satisfying client requirements, as directed by the mission statement set out by top management.

Procurement

We will apply the best Principles of Procurement and Sourcing when planning, sourcing and managing our procurement. The way we buy goods/services/works will vary depending on the value, complexity and risk involved. We will apply the approach best suited to the individual purchase, within the framework of the Principles and Rules, encouraging competitive tendering whenever possible.

Anti Fraud and Anti Bribery

We recognise that the nature of our business provides a variety of opportunities for fraudulent activity and/or bribery and corruption. This is brought about by the principal activities of Sanderson Weatherall which relate to the valuation, sale, acquisition and letting of property on behalf of clients, together with the sale of machinery and business assets. We have in place a clear network of procedures to prevent and detect fraud, bribery and corruption. These arrangements keep pace with any future developments in techniques for preventing and detecting fraudulent activity.

Data Protection and Privacy

Sanderson Weatherall is obliged to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (together the data protection legislation). Our data protection policy sets out in general terms how Sanderson Weatherall complies with the data protection legislation and is available on our website.

Safeguarding

We are committed to conducting our business in a responsible way and to ensuring that actions are safeguarded in accordance with the public interest. We abide by the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people and are committed to safeguarding practice that reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice requirements.

Anti Slavery & Human Trafficking

We have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships. We implement and enforce effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains.

We are also committed to ensuring there is transparency in our own business and in our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply chains, consistent with our disclosure obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Conflicts of Interest

As an RICS regulated firm we adhere to the RICS Professional Statement on Conflicts of Interest along with the RICS Rules of Conduct.

The RICS Rules of Conduct set an overarching obligation on members and RICS regulated firms to ‘…act with integrity and avoid conflicts of interest and avoid any actions or situations that are inconsistent with its professional obligations.’

The RICS Professional Statement on Conflicts of Interest supports the Rules of Conduct. An RICS member or regulated firm must not advise or represent a client where doing so would involve a conflict of interest or a significant risk of a conflict of interest, other than where all those affected have provided prior consent.

As part of our Quality and Environmental Management System we have strict procedures in place for checking and identifying potential for conflict at an early stage. On receipt of an instruction, the details of the property and all parties (eg landlord, tenant, guarantor) are entered onto our company database. The results of the search, together with the details of any market information held at that particular location are provided to a Partner or Associate Partner for their confirmation that no conflict exists. In the unlikely event of a conflict arising which is unavoidable the parties involved must be notified and a solution agreed. Records of all searches and decisions made are retained.

Anti Money Laundering

Our company is committed to complying with all legislation that is designed to combat money laundering or terrorist financing. This includes ensuring that we have adequate controls to counter money laundering or terrorist financing and that we train staff appropriately.

We keep our procedures under regular review by undertaking a regular audit review of individual transactions to ensure compliance with the money laundering legislation especially in relation to the undertaking of Customer Due Diligence.

We recognise the importance of staff promptly reporting suspicious activity to the Money Laundering Officer to ensure compliance with the regulations and the effective reporting of money laundering or terrorist financing.

Community

We are committed to being an active and supportive member of the community and we strive to ensure that our investment has a sustainable benefit. Our approach to community investment is to support charitable organisations, not only through funding, but also with the experience and expertise of our employees.

Our aim is to make a clear and positive contribution to the communities in which we work and live and in circumstances where we can make a real difference. Our aim is to build and maintain sustainable community relationships so that our partnerships have lasting results.

This commitment stems from the belief that our relationships with local and national communities should reflect both the firm’s core values and our responsiveness to those with whom we work.  We encourage our staff to establish projects and partnerships around property, education and social welfare.

Environment

Sanderson Weatherall is aware of the role it can play in supporting sustainable development across the range of our services. We are committed to promoting sustainability issues through our day to day activities as chartered surveyors.

Sanderson Weatherall have teamed up with Net-Zero consultants Flotilla. This new partnership will take Sanderson Weatherall on our journey to Net-Zero by reducing our carbon emissions by at least 90% by 2030.

Environmental concern and that for the wider sustainability agenda are integrated into our business management systems. Our goal is to promote good environmental and sustainable practices in our operations and that of our suppliers and clients.

The key elements of our sustainability activities include:

  • Incorporating sustainability issues into all business decisions.
  • Ensuring all our advice to clients takes sustainability into account.
  • Integrating sustainability considerations into internal operational procedures.
  • Minimising the environmental impact of our offices.
  • Minimising the environmental impacts of travel.
  • Abide by the “waste hierarchy” through prevention, reduction, re-use and recycling.
  • Protecting the environment by minimising energy use within our buildings and ensuring that energy efficient equipment choices are made.
  • Consider environmental/sustainability issues in our purchasing decisions.
  • Encouraging employee involvement in voluntary/charitable work.
  • Making our clients and suppliers aware of our sustainability policy.

How this relates to you?

Sanderson Weatherall values every member of staff and the contribution you make to ensuring the success of our business. Whilst we aim to provide a flexible working environment giving you the freedom to inject growth and positive change into your individual role and succeed on a personal level, as with any business a degree of governance is required. We therefore expect every member of staff to adhere to this Code of Conduct and our company policies, in particular we expect you to:

  • Comply with the terms of your contract.
  • Familiarise yourself with our Quality and Environmental Management System designed to promote best practice in all that we do.
  • Conduct yourself in a manner that maintains the high standards and reputation of Sanderson Weatherall.
  • Comply with the RICS Rules of Conduct. We are an RICS regulated firm and thus expect all staff (not limited to surveyors), to adhere to these ethical principles in their day to day work.
  • Raise situations which could give rise to a conflict, or perceived conflict, with appropriate stakeholders and adhere to our procedures for dealing with conflicts of interest.
  • Report any matters of a health and safety nature (accident, injury, illness) immediately to your line manager and the H & S Officer. This includes matters arising in our offices, whilst working from home or whilst out on site and applies to yourself, visitors, contractors etc..
  • Provide a supportive working environment to your colleagues no matter what your role.
  • Adhere to our policy for zero tolerance to intimidatory, hostile, humiliating or discriminatory behaviour.
  • Safeguard yourself and others. We encourage you to raise any concerns you have over wrongdoing by the firm or others.
  • Safeguard against fraud and security breaches, both virtual and physical.
  • Safeguard data (virtual and physical), both that of Sanderson Weatherall and that provided to you by others.
  • Be mindful of the impact of your daily activities on the environment.
  • Undertake training appropriate to your role, complying with any requirement of regulatory bodies, as well as completing all training provided by Sanderson Weatherall on matters that affect our business (eg cyber essentials, information security, anti-money laundering, health & safety).

Full copies of all our company policies are available on our Sharepoint site.