We are committed to respecting internationally recognised human rights wherever we do business.
In our Code we say that this means “we strive to prevent, mitigate, and remedy adverse impacts that our business activities or business relationships may have on the human rights of our colleagues, patients, workers in our supply chain and those who live in the communities in which we operate”. Our Human Rights Position Statement (PDF - 196.7kb) lays out our commitment to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the core labour standards set out by the International Labour Organisation.
In alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (PDF - 1.08MB), we periodically carry out company-wide human rights risk assessments to identify our most significant human rights risks. In 2024, we refreshed our salient issues – those areas where GSK’s potential to impact on human rights is greatest – to better understand where our operations, subsidiaries and supply chain may potentially adversely impact individuals and communities.
We engaged external stakeholders and considered employees and potential recruits, patients, clinical trial participants, third-party and supply chain workers, as well as communities. The five salient human rights risk areas below were identified:
Despite significant strides to widen access to medicines and vaccines, inequities remain both within and between countries. We are committed to making our products available at value-based prices that are sustainable for our business and implement access strategies that increase the use of our medicines and vaccines to treat and protect underserved people.
All GSK clinical trials are conducted according to the same fundamental ethical principles. Our trials follow international standards and abide by local regulatory requirements. We may put in place additional measures in countries with less developed research infrastructure, to help ensure that the rights, safety and wellbeing of trial subjects are protected no matter where in the world the trial is being conducted.
Patient safety is a fundamental principle for GSK. We comply with international regulations and have extensive controls in place designed to detect, evaluate and communicate benefits, risks and any potential safety concerns about our products throughout their development and once they are in use.
We are committed to equal employment opportunity, non-discrimination and merit-based decision-making in the way we recruit, manage and develop our people. We promote ethical behaviour across our business by supporting our employees to do the right thing and working with suppliers that share our standards and operate in a responsible way.
Our supply chains are complex and have significant scale, so we aim to work with third parties that share our values and work to the ethical and business standards expected by GSK. We expect our third parties to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including all relevant health and safety and environmental laws, and to adopt our labour rights principles in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as a minimum, fostering compliance with these principles through their own supply chain:
- no use of forced, bonded, indentured or involuntary prison labour, including modern slavery and human trafficking
- workers should not pay for a job or have their freedom of movement denied
- no use of child labour
- all workers must be provided with clean and safe conditions in all work and residential facilities
- all workers must be treated with respect and dignity and workers should not face discrimination
- provide a workplace free of harassment, harsh and inhumane treatment
- workers must have the right to trade union or other appropriate representation
- third parties must comply with applicable wage laws, including minimum wages, paid leave and mandated benefits
- workers have the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining third parties must provide a grievance mechanism for workers to raise occupational concerns
Climate change and nature loss are changing the spread and burden of disease and are an urgent threat to human health. That’s why we have set ambitious environmental goals addressing our impacts across our entire value chain, from drug discovery to disposal of our products. Meeting them will help support increased demand for medicines and vaccines with a lower environmental impact.
We know we have a responsibility to respect human rights through our engagements with patients, our employees, our suppliers and the communities in which we live and operate. We will continue to develop policies and procedures related to stakeholders’ engagement and human rights in relation to our impacts on climate and nature.
Data tech, including data itself, digital capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), gives us an unprecedented depth of understanding of patients, human biology, and disease mechanisms.
We take our responsibility for data ethics and privacy seriously and we exercise high standards of integrity in dealing with the personal information of our employees, patients, clinical research participants, healthcare providers and other stakeholders.
Read more about our responsible approach to AI and data privacy
Governance
Our GSK Leadership Team and the Risk Oversight & Compliance Council, the most senior leaders in our business, provide oversight of our human rights issues. They are supported by a Human Rights Steering Group. Additional board-level oversight is provided by the Corporate Responsibility Committee.
External engagement
We partner with other companies and organisations to increase the positive impact we have on society. Key collaborations include the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI) where we contribute to a number of projects to build members’ and suppliers’ capabilities to address human rights; and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) where we work with other pharmaceutical companies to understand human rights.
Grievance mechanisms
We want to maintain an open environment where people feel confident to raise concerns about possible breaches of our Code or suspected violations of country laws and regulations. Anyone within or outside GSK can raise issues or speak to an independent third party through our Speak Up facility,available in 49 languages, confidentially or anonymously if they prefer. GSK is committed to promptly investigating all reports of unethical, illegal or inappropriate activity.
Codes and policies
Our Code is the foundation of our company policies. It sets out the core standards and ethical behaviours that employees and complementary workers should apply in their daily work and embeds respect for human rights and labour rights across the business. The Code is underpinned by several policies and standard operating procedures that help to uphold human rights.
Our Human Rights Policy sets out our commitment to conduct business with respect for international human rights standards.
Our Global Employment Guidelines and Working with Third Parties Policy set out the minimum standards for our own employment practices and those expected of our third party partners. They are based on international standards, including the International Labour Organization core conventions, and prohibit any form of forced labour or child labour. They also make clear our expectation that no worker should pay for a job.
Our Standard Operating Procedure for Safeguarding and Non-retaliation defines our approach to protecting and supporting individuals who work for GSK and report concerns of significant misconduct in good faith (including exploitative labour practices).
Other relevant policies include those on Equal and Inclusive Treatment of Employees, Pre-employment Screening, Conflict Minerals, Deforestation-Free Sourcing and Anti-bribery and Corruption.
