Ethical principles
The values that control Terveystalo’s operations are expertise and caring.
Terveystalo emphasizes honesty and openness in its operations, honours human rights and supports its employee’s wellbeing. The company emphasises mutual trust and respect, meeting customer needs, innovativeness, striving for the best results, and quality, reliability and safety. These principles are followed with personnel, cooperation partners and other interest groups.
Terveystalo as a company and its employees must adhere to the laws, regulations and norms of the countries in which it operates, while considering the company's own targets and norms.
Openness
The aim of Terveystalo is to provide information about its operations openly and honestly while taking into account a listed company's continuous obligation of disclosure and the regulations and rules that govern listed companies' communication.
Working environment and conditions
The aim of Terveystalo is to offer a working environment where the entire staff can work safely and efficiency in order to achieve the targets.
No discrimination, exploitation or harassment
Terveystalo emphasises equality and tries to ensure a working environment free of discrimination or bullying. To the company all employees, job applicants and cooperation partners are equal and they are treated as equals regardless of race, colour, creed, sex, age, origin, possible disability or handicap, sexual orientation, marital status, military service, nationality or any other factor prohibited by law.
Exploitation and harassment is prohibited. No sexual, race-related or other type of mental or physical harassment is allowed within Terveystalo. This also applies to the personnel’s actions towards its interest groups.
In salary issues the company emphasises fairness by taking into account the minimum wages in the industry as well as the prevailing market and competitive situation.
Privacy is respected
Terveystalo as an employer and its employees have committed to adhering to laws and regulations related to other people's privacy. The personnel also honour cooperation partners' business secrets and confidential information.
No child labour
Local laws and regulations are applied in issues related to the age and working hours of people employed by Suomen Terveystalo. The employees cannot include individuals who are below the legal working age. Local laws and regulations are applied in issues related to the age and working hours of part-time employees of Terveystalo. The company also does its best to ensure that its cooperation partners do not use child labour.
The company tries, to its best ability and within the framework of regulation to offer young people the chance for internship and worklife orientation.
Freedom to unionise and act politically
Terveystalo’s employees can, in accordance with local legislation, join or remain outside trade unions or similar lobbying organisations.
The company cannot restrict its employees’ right to chose their political views. Terveystalo does not as a company take part in political actions.
Friendliness to the environment
Terveystalo has in its operations committed to creating a sustainable relationship with the environment.
Marketing and competition
Terveystalo values that its customers and other cooperation partners trust the company’s operations and the services it produces.
In its business dealings, the company acts honestly and in accordance with local legislation. The company believes in fair competition, supports the development of fair competition and acts in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations, and does not issue negative statements about its competitors. The aim is to produce reliable services for customers and cooperation partners by following both customers’ and partners’ instructions and local legislation.
Professionalism
In order to ensure the expected level of professionalism, Terveystalo offers its employees various opportunities for continuous development, skills acquisition and maintenance.
Terveystalo has a service ethics workgroup which acts as an expert body when necessary and helps the management in ethical questions related to Terveystalo’s operations. In addition to representatives of the management, employees and owners, the workgroup consists of outside experts on ethical issues related to healthcare.
All decisions related to the company's operations must be made so that they promote competitiveness, taking the best possible medical knowledge and practices into account, and are financially sound and purposeful.
Bribery, illegal offers and other operation for compensation
Suomen Terveystalo’s employees are not allowed to give or take bribes that affect decisions related to business operations, or that have considerable personal nominal or monetary value.
Persons employed by Terveystalo shall avoid any personal action that could conflict with his/her employment at Terveystalo and he/she is not allowed to use his/her position at Terveystalo Oyj for his/her own or his/her friends’ or family members’ benefit. Limitations on taking a secondary job are included in the terms of employment. The personnel cannot work for a competitor.
Following and supervision of ethical guidelines
Terveystalo supervises these instructions and their adherence among its personnel. The aim of the company is to promote similar actions among its business partners and suppliers.
The Management Team is responsible for the principles mentioned in the guidelines being communicated to the personnel. The managers’ task is to supervise that the principles are understood and followed.
Breaching or not following these or any other of Terveystalo Healthcare Oyj’s (Suomen Terveystalo Oyj until 31 December, 2008) operating principles may lead to disciplinary action. The company may, in such cases, terminate the employment of an employee or the business relationship with a cooperation partner.
Other principles and guidelines
As a healthcare sector company, Terveystalo´s operations are also governed by the healthcare sector’s common principles and guidelines, which include:
Ethical guidelines for doctors (The Finnish Medical Association, May 6, 1998)
The central regulations for the healthcare industry, which are the basic rights in the Constitution of Finland (731/1999), the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients (785/1992), the Act on Health Care Professionals (559/1994, the Primary Health Care Act (66/1972) and the Act on Specialized Medical Care (1062/1989).
Ethical principles for the healthcare sector (The National Advisory Board on Health Care Ethics).