Code of Conduct
Code of Conduct
This document is copyright protected in content, presentation, and intellectual origin, except
where noted otherwise. You may not modify, remove, augment, add to, publish,
transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, create derivative works from, or in any way exploit any
of the elements of this document, in whole or in part without prior written permission from eClerx
Services Ltd. © 2018-2019.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5
2. Applicability ................................................................................................................................ 6
3. Independent Director.................................................................................................................. 7
Annexure – I ............................................................................................................................. 45
Annexure – II ............................................................................................................................ 46
Annexure – IV .......................................................................................................................... 48
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1. Introduction
The Code of Conduct (‘Code’) has been adopted by eClerx Services Limited (‘Company / eClerx’) to
comply with the applicable rules of the Stock exchanges, where the securities of the Company are
listed, including but not limited to SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements)
Regulations, 2015 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Listing Regulations’), and the applicable provisions of
the Companies Act, 2013 and rules thereunder. eClerx is committed to conducting its business in
accordance with the applicable laws, rules and regulations with highest standard of business ethics.
This Code recognizes and is complementary to all rules, regulations, manuals and procedures that
may be laid down by the Company from time to time.
eClerx is committed to continuously review and update its policies and procedures. Therefore, this
Code will be subjected to review and modification as and when necessary.
The Code cannot address every situation that may occur. You are expected to exercise good
judgment and ask questions whenever you have any question or feel the need for any guidance or
clarification.
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2. Applicability
The Code has been prescribed as a guiding principle for doing business and is addressed to all those
who does any act for and on behalf of the Company.
This Code is applicable to our Board of Directors and employees of the Company including
employees of subsidiaries and associate companies (collectively referred hereinafter, for the sake of
brevity, as ‘Officer(s)’).
This Code also applies to the Company’s agents, business partners, third party vendors, suppliers,
consultants, customers and others acting on the Company’s behalf, whether operating out of any
eClerx location or otherwise.
The scope of this Code can be extended to such persons as the Board of Directors may deem fit.
The Code has been approved by the Board at its Meeting held on May 26, 2008. The Code was
further amended on May 18, 2011, March 7, 2012, July 24, 2012, July 31, 2014 and then on May 23,
2018 with immediate effect.
In case any of the provision(s) of this policy is found to be conflicting with any other applicable laws
and/or statutory provisions which might govern and/or impact the said provisions of this policy, as the
case may be, such applicable laws and/or statutory provisions would have overriding effect to the
effect of such provisions in this policy.
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3. Independent Director
Independent Director, for the purpose of this Code shall mean, as defined under the Companies Act,
2013, SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, and such other
regulations as applicable.
The duties of Independent Director shall be governed by the Code of Conduct for Independent
Directors, as approved by the Board of Directors of the Company.
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Additionally, the Board of Directors and Senior Management Personnel shall sign and submit the
declaration to the Company Secretary (as per Annexure – II) on an annual basis, within 30 days of the
close of every financial year, affirming compliance with the provisions of this Code.
The Senior Management Personnel for the purpose of Clause 4 herein-above, shall mean employees
of the Company and its subsidiaries/associate Companies who are members of its core Management
team excluding Board of Directors. This would comprise of all members of the Management in the
cadre of Managing Principal, Principal and Associate Principal including Vertical Head(s).
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All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, individual qualification,
and performance (as applicable). Individuals to be hired, promoted, transferred, or trained are
selected on the basis of merit and the best qualification available for the successful execution of
evolving business demands.
The Company provides for fair treatment to all employees based on merit.
The Company provides for a non-discriminatory and inclusive environment for all employees.
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6. Human Rights
All Officer(s), agents and business partners acting on behalf of the Company shall respect the human
rights and dignity of all our stakeholders.
The Company treats all employees with dignity and maintains work environment free of sexual
harassment – physical, verbal or psychological
The Company does not employ children at its workplaces or use forced labour in any form.
The Company does not confiscate personal documents of its Officers, or force them to make any
payment to us or to anyone else in order to secure employment with us, or to work with us.
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Behaving responsibly as a global citizen is an inextricable part of our heritage. We uphold human
rights in all of our global operations. All employees of eClerx worldwide are entitled to fair wages
and hours, consistent with local laws, and are entitled to work in an environment free from
discrimination.
We are committed to preserving the environment and we utilize sustainable practices to reduce
our carbon footprint and ensure our impact on the world is a positive one. Employees of eClerx
must ensure compliance with all applicable environmental laws, regulations, and standards.
Child rights and education is one such cause that resonates broadly within the eClerx family. The
mission of eClerx Cares is committed to being participants of progress by supporting initiatives in
education and child welfare to help measurably improve the lives of underprivileged children.
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8. Principles of Conduct
All Officer(s), agents and business partners acting on behalf of the Company shall pursue the highest
standards of ethical conduct in the interests of shareholders and all other stakeholders. In particular,
they should:
Act honestly and use their powers of office, in good faith and in the best interests
Use due care and diligence in fulfilling the functions of their work and exercising the powers
attached to it
Be independent in judgment and actions and take all reasonable steps to be satisfied as to the
soundness of all the decisions taken by the Senior Management
Make all necessary disclosures in respect of transactions covered under this Code of Conduct, to
the Company in terms of the Companies Act, 2013, the Listing Regulations and any other law for
the time being in force
Maintain highest level of professional conduct that would enhance the image, goodwill and
creditability of the business of the Company
Create an atmosphere of highest integrity, trust, fairness and honesty in performance of their duty
which should strengthen the bond of relationships with people both internally and externally
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Prepare, maintain and report accounts in accordance with the generally accepted accounting and
financial standards, guidelines, principles, laws and regulations of the country as may be
applicable to the Company.
Make accounting information accessible to the auditors of the Company, other authorized parties
and government agencies, as and when required as per Company policy
Not willfully omit any Company transactions from books and records
Note that any misrepresentation and / or misinformation of the financial accounts and reports is a
violation of the code and applicable accounting and financial standards, guidelines, principles,
laws and regulations apart from inviting civil or criminal action
Devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls that provide sufficient
reassurance that:
Make and keep books, records, and accounts which, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly
reflect the business transactions and dispositions of the assets. ‘Reasonable detail’ means such
level of detail as would satisfy prudent officials in the conduct of their own affairs.
Not to do anything which may amount to violations by the Company of any applicable law or
regulation;
Comply with all policies, rules, regulations and Codes of the Company.
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An Officer’s private interest interferes in any way or even appears to interfere with the interest of
the Company
An Officer receives a personal benefit as a result of his / her position against the interest of the
Company
An Officer takes any action or has interest that makes it difficult to perform his / her duties for the
Company objectively and effectively
An Officer has any ownership or interest, either directly or through his / her ‘relatives’ in any
customer, business associate or competitor of the Company
Related Parties: The Officers shall, before conducting Company’s business activities with a
relative and / or a business in which a relative is associated in any manner, disclose the same
before the Board of Directors (or any Director designated by the Board for the said purpose) in the
prescribed Form (Annexure – III, as attached) and take prior approval of the same
All Officers shall disclose the potential conflict of personal interest that they may have relating to all
financial and commercial transactions to the Board / Director designated for the purpose.
Provided that the Officer shall be presumed to be interested, also when he/she or his / her relatives,
apparently has powers to influence the decision making process of the entity with whom the
transaction is proposed.
Furthermore the term ‘relative’ as defined under the Companies Act, 2013 is forming part of this code
as Annexure IV.
The above situations as set out in Clause 10, herein-above, are not exhaustive. There may be various
instances where the personal interest of Directors / Officers may conflict with the interest of the
Company. Thus the Director(s) / Officer(s) shall where their personal interest conflicts or appears to
conflict with those of the Company, must promptly disclose the same in the prescribed Form
(Annexure – III, as attached) and take prior approval, if and as may be required.
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11. Transparency
The Officer(s), agents and business partners acting on behalf of the Company shall ensure that their
actions in the conduct of business are totally transparent except where the need of business activity
dictates otherwise. Such transparency shall be brought about through appropriate policies, systems
and processes.
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Under no circumstances shall any Officer directly or indirectly solicit, accept or retain any gift,
entertainment, trip, discount, service, or other benefit from any organization or person doing business
with eClerx or competing with eClerx, other than
(i) modest gifts or entertainment, not exceeding normal, appropriate and justifiable value from any
Person, Client, Vendor or Entity, as part of normal business courtesy and hospitality that would not
influence and would not reasonably appear to be capable of influencing, such person to act in any
manner which is not in the best interest of the Company.
If the gift, entertainment, trip, discount, service or hospitality received is more than a token gift or
modest meal/ entertainment or if it is more than normal, appropriate and justifiable value in the
ordinary course of business, the concerned officer must obtain prior written approval from his/her skip
level APGM++ level manager and must notify the HR Head of the Company giving full details of the
gift or hospitality received including the approximate value, the purpose or intention of the gift or
hospitality, the name of the recipient and provider of the gift or hospitality and their relationship.
All such cases, if any, should be presented to the meeting of Board of Directors, at least twice in a
financial year.
In case the HR Head decides that the gift should not be retained by the concerned Officer, then the
concerned Officer would need to hand over the gift to the Company for being used for Charity purpose
under Company’s philanthropy initiative(s) or for returning.
No Officer shall offer or make directly or indirectly any illegal payments, remuneration, gifts, donations
or comparable benefits to obtain business or uncompetitive favour to any person, organization or
entity irrespective of whether such person, organization or business entity shares any business or
official relationship with eClerx
Explanation: For the purpose of this clause and the policy, “normal and appropriate value” shall mean
any value less than approximately INR 2500 per annum for giving/receiving gift/hospitality from/to one
Person, Client, Vendor or Entity in India and any value less than approximately USD 100 per annum
for giving/receiving gift/hospitality from/to one Person, Client, Vendor or Entity at location other than
India in which eClerx operates.
Giving Gifts
There should be no business pending before any government agency whose officials are the
beneficiaries of undue / unreasonable gifts, travel, or entertainment expenditures. Gifts and / or
entertainment should be legal, within accepted industry norms, and consistent with Company policy.
The Officers and agents are prohibited from making any kind of corrupt payment to any Government
or other official on behalf of the Company or to represent the Company in any matter related thereto.
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All Officers shall maintain the confidentiality of confidential information of the Company or that of any
vendor, agent, customer, supplier or business associate of the Company to which the Company has
duty to maintain confidentiality, except when disclosure is authorised by the Company or is required
by law. All confidential information must be used only for the Company’s business purposes or
legitimate purposes as defined under the applicable data privacy laws in force from time to time. The
use of confidential information for his / her advantage or profit is prohibited.
Officer(s), agents and business partners acting on behalf of the Company who handle the personal
data of others must:
Collect, use and process such information only for legitimate business purposes
Limit access to the information to those who have a legitimate business purpose for seeing the
information
The Company also has a Privacy Policy which explains how eClerx collects, uses and discloses the
information you provide while using the eClerx website at www.eClerx.com.
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All inquiries or calls from the press and financial analysts should be referred to the Company’s
CFO or to any person or agency specifically authorized by the Company in writing
The Chairman, Executive Director, Director and / or any person authorized in writing shall be the
Company’s spokespersons on financial and operational matters
Press Release or other communication containing price sensitive information shall not be
released without providing a copy of such communication to the Stock Exchanges
No Officers, agent or business partner shall spread any rumors or other speculative unpublished
information to the investment agencies or market intermediaries
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Theft of Company assets whether physical theft such as unauthorized removal of Company product,
equipment or information or theft through embezzlement or intentional misreporting of time or
expenses shall be treated as a violation of this Code. The Company treats workplace theft of assets
belonging to its Officer(s) the same way it treats theft of Company assets.
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The Company reserves the right to communicate its position on important issues to the elected
representatives and other government officials. Funds or assets of the Company must not be used as
contribution for political campaigns or political practices under any circumstances without the prior
written approval of the Board. We do not use Company resources for personal political activities
neither do we encourage the same under any given circumstances. We also do not indicate in any
manner that we represent our Company’s opinion about a candidate for office or any political cause or
decision of any government.
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26. Lobbying
Lobbying is strictly regulated under the laws of most jurisdictions and is often defined broadly to
include communications about and efforts to influence not just legislation, but also executive action,
administrative matters, execution of government programs, regulatory proceedings, and government
contracts.
Wherever Company's work includes meetings with government, elected officials, all of these can be
construed as ‘lobbying’ as it can have some influential effects. Officers, agents and business partners
must be aware that such activities are regulated and is undertaken as per the legal and justifiable
requirement, and any Officers, agents and business partners in no circumstances should claim to
represent Company at such meetings unless they are specifically designated by the Company to do
so. As in all other spheres of our activity, any meetings of this sort should be carried out with high
integrity, in line with Company values.
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The Company is committed to conducting business only with reputable customers involved in
legitimate business activities, with funds derived from legitimate, lawful sources.
Officers, agents and business partners acting on behalf of the Company should;
exercise caution that Company products and services are not used for any money laundering or
illicit financial activity, including terrorism
while dealing with clients, suppliers, and other business partners, ensure they are engaged in a
legitimate business, and committed to complying with applicable regulations.
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Officers, suppliers, conusltants, customers, third party vendors, agents, business partners, and others
acting on the Company’s behalf, must comply with applicable international trade laws, including those
dealing with export controls, anti-boycott regulations,etc.
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The Company’s dealings with its customers shall be professional, fair and transparent. eClerx
respects customers’ right to privacy in relation to their personal data and shall safeguard customers’
personal data, in accordance with applicable laws.
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Suppliers are expected to abide by this Code in their interactions with, and on behalf of the Company,
including respecting the confidentiality of information shared with them.
Officers are required to ensure compliance with the procurement policy of the Company for business
dealings with suppliers, as may be applicable.
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The mission of eClerx Cares is committed to being participants of progress by supporting initiatives in
education and child welfare to help measurably improve the lives of underprivileged children. Before
making a charitable contribution on behalf of eClerx, Officers should keep in mind that the recipient is
a registered, tax-paying, recognized organization and that such contributions are permissible under
CSR Policy of the Company.
Any amounts contributed or donations made towards charitable causes under CSR shall be fairly and
accurately reflected in eClerx’ books of accounts.
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All Officers, agents and business partners acting on behalf of the Company shall strive to provide a
safe and healthy working environment and shall follow all prescribed safety and environment related
norms.
The Company has in place Environment, Health and Safety Policy which applies to all employees,
contractors and visitors at work, company orgainsed events and for employees during their travel
between home and work and during business related travel. It is the duty of our employees to ensure
compliance with the Environment, Health and Safety Policy. The policy complies with the legal
requirements of the applicable health and safety laws of the countries wherein we or our affiliates
conduct business.
Officers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and for that of others who may be
affected by their actions. They must inform their managers in case they contract any contagious
diseases or observe the same amongst their team members. Officers should not be under the
influence of alcohol or illegal substances during working hours. The Company does not promote,
support or encourage excessive consumption of alcohol at after-hours gatherings or social functions.
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An Internal Compliance Committee has been set up to redress complaints received regarding sexual
harassment. All employees (permanent, contractual, temporary and trainee) are covered under this
policy.
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The Board of Directors and Senior Management Personnel of the Company shall affirm compliance
with the Code on an annual basis each year under Clause 4 of the Code.
Violations of this Code will result in disciplinary action. The Board of the Company or any committee /
person designated by the Board for this purpose shall determine appropriate action in response to
violations of this code. The following action(s) may be taken depending on the severity of the
situation:
Verbal warning
Written warning
Probation
Suspension/ blacklisting
Imposition of damages
Any other penal remedy that may be available to the Company under the applicable law of the
country where the act has been committed or any other such actions as may be warranted
depending on the circumstances of the case
Anyone who breaches this policy and/or any applicable laws and regulations which falls within the
ambit of this policy shall indemnify eClerx against all claims, actions, damages, losses, liabilities and
costs, including reasonable legal fees, that may be incurred /suffered by eClerx on account of any
non- compliance of such person with this policy and/or such applicable laws and regulations which
makes the company liable for such a breach.
Investigations against violations of this Code will be conducted in confidence and will be respectful
and fair. If any person reports a potential violation in good faith, you are assured of all support from
the Company. This support is extended to any person who is assisting in any investigation or process
with respect to such a violation as well.
Any person can report any potential violation in good faith without worrying, for instance if it will affect
you professionally. Any such retaliation may be immediately reported to the reporting Manager, HR
head, Compliance Officer or Chief Financial Officer. If any Officer is the subject of an external
investigation, you should immediately report this to your manager unless it is prohibited by law.
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Unless otherwise specified, such amendments shall be effective from the date of meeting of the Board
at which such amendments are approved.
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40. Whistleblowing
We encourage our Officers, Company’s agents, business partners, third party vendors, suppliers,
consultants, customers and others acting on the Company’s behalf, whether operating out of any
eClerx location or otherwise to speak up or escalate issues pertaining to the violation of this Code or
any matters anciliary thereto as per our Whistleblowing Policy.
Place: Mumbai
Date: May 23, 2018 Sd/-
P. D. Mundhra
Executive Director
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Annexure – I
Declaration
I hereby further give notice that I may be regarded as interested directly / through my relative(s) in the
following companies*:
Note: Kindly sign and submit this declaration in case of a fresh appointment.
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Annexure – II
Declaration
I hereby further give notice that I may be regarded as interested directly / through my relative(s) in the
following companies*:
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Annexure – III
Disclosure of Conflict of Interest / Potential Conflict of Interest
I, Mr. / Mrs. / Ms. __________________, ____________ (designation) do and hereby give this notice,
pursuant to the provisions of the Code of Conduct or any of the policies or legal / regulatory
requirements of the Company, as may be applicable to my responsibility, that I am aware of the
following transaction(s), which eClerx Services Limited is entering into a business transaction with the
following entity(ies).
I further give this notice that I have a potential / conflict of interest in the said transaction, as explained
below*:
* Please make this disclosure within 7 days of becoming aware of any potential conflict of interest.
I therefore make this disclosure for the information and records of the Company.
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Annexure – IV
List of Relatives
List of relatives in terms of clause (77) of Section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013
Relative with reference to any person, means anyone who is related to another if:
As covered under the Companies (Specification of Definitions details) Rules, 2014, framed
under the Companies Act, 2013
A person shall be deemed to be the relative of another, if he or she is related to another in the
following manner, namely:
4. Son’s wife
5. Daughter
6. Daughter’s husband
This Code will also be applicable to such other relative(s), though not specifically named herein but is
/ are dependent on the Directors / Senior Management Personnel / or any other person to whom the
Code applies.
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