Decision

Follow up statement: UK Lawyers for Israel complaint to UK NCP about PwC

Updated 6 August 2021

This statement was published on 6 August 2021 by the UK National Contact Point (UK NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Background

OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

1. The OECD Guidelines are voluntary principles for responsible business conduct in areas including employment, human rights and the environment. As a country adhering to the Guidelines, the UK is required to maintain a National Contact Point (NCP) to promote the Guidelines and to consider complaints that multinational enterprises based in the UK, or operating there, have breached the Guidelines.

2. The UK NCP is based in the Department for International Trade (DIT). It operates independently of Ministers, who have no role in UK NCP decision making on complaints. A Steering Board including members from business, trade unions and civil society has general oversight of the NCP.

Follow up to final statements by the UK NCP

3. Where a Final Statement includes recommendations, or where an agreement between parties provides for it, the UK NCP approaches parties at a specified date to request an update. The NCP then publishes a further statement reflecting the parties’ responses and any further conclusions of the UK NCP.

Find more details of the NCP’s process and statements

UK NCP recommendations to PwC

4. The UK NCP’s Final Statement on the complaint from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) against PwC was published on 11 March 2020 and can be viewed on gov.uk. The UK NCP found that the PwC global network of firms had not breached the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and that the actions of PwC Palestine Limited were in accordance with the relevant Guidelines. However, in line with the UK NCP’s role to promote the Guidelines and related due diligence to multinational enterprises, it included two recommendations. These recommendations were that PwC network firms:

a. recognise the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises as a standard of responsible business conduct that apply globally to PwC network firms

b. take steps to ensure that in all PwC policies and standards, codes of conduct etc. wherever appropriate, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises be used and referenced by every member firm in all countries, regardless of whether or not that country is an OECD member state or a country adhering to the OECD Guidelines. If it has not already done so, the UK NCP recommends that PwC network firms use the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct for this purpose.

5. The Initial Assessment for this complaint is also available to be viewed on gov.uk.

Response from the parties

6. The UK NCP contacted both parties by email on 10 March 2021 and invited them to provide updates on the recommendations by 9 April 2021 which could be used in the follow up statement.

Company

7. Following the correspondence of 10 March 2021, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC UK) responded with additional information on 8 April 2021.

8. PwC UK noted that their colleagues at PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwC IL) conducted a mapping exercise to confirm that all relevant matters covered by the Guidelines were fully covered by PwC network central policies and standards. PwC IL also took the opportunity voluntarily to add additional references to the Guidelines to certain PwC network central policies and standards. PwC UK noted that certain aspects of these policies are internal and confidential to PwC network firms, however PwC UK shared the details of all public policies and standards which have been updated voluntarily to include references to the Guidelines, including PwC’s Global Code of Conduct and the Third Party Code of Conduct.

9. PwC UK also noted that these central policy references were in addition to individual PwC territory firm policies where further references to the Guidelines might be made. An example given was a reference to the OECD Guidelines which has been included in the PwC UK Modern Slavery Statement (PDF, 1.1MB).

10. In order to fully understand the scope of the mapping exercise without requiring PwC IL to disclose confidential internal policies, the UK NCP attended a call with PwC IL and PwC UK on 4 June 2021. UKLFI was not invited to this call due to the confidential nature of the internal policies and procedures which PwC IL was intending to show the UK NCP. The UK NCP shared this approach with UKLFI by email on 15 April 2021 and explained that any information deemed not confidential would be shared afterwards. During this call PWC IL presented both the process undertaken in the mapping exercise, as well as examples of internal network policies and procedures and how these were found to be aligned with the Guidelines. In many cases the UK NCP was able to observe that these internal policies and procedures included references and links to the Guidelines and the associated Due Diligence Guidance.

11. PwC IL stated that they reviewed all policies and procedures and found that existing policies and procedures were at least equivalent to, if not extending beyond, the scope of the Guidelines. A summary note from this call was shared with UKLFI on 22 June 2021.

Complainant

12. Following the correspondence of 10 March 2021, UKLFI responded on 26 March 2021. After reviewing the response from the UK firm of PwC UK, UKLFI provided a further response on 19 April 2021.

13. UKLFI noted that PwC UK continues to deny that the PwC network of firms is a multinational corporation or enterprise. UKLFI argued that this implies that the PwC network of firms does not consider itself to be covered by the OECD Guidelines.

14. UKLFI further notes that the language in the PwC Code of Conduct and other publicly available policies included terms such as ‘fully supportive’, ‘informed by’ and ‘a valuable source which informs’ when referring to the Guidelines. UKLFI argues that this language indicates that PwC has not recognised that the OECD Guidelines apply globally to PwC network firms.

UK NCP conclusions

15. PwC UK and PwC IL maintained in their communications with the UK NCP that the PwC network of firms does not consider itself a multinational corporation or enterprise, due to legal restrictions in a number of territories in which member firms operate. However, PwC UK has noted that PwC IL considers the Guidelines a valuable resource and that it intends to ensure that future modifications or updates to the Guidelines will continue to inform PwC network central policies and standards. The UK NCP maintains that for the purposes of the Guidelines, and in accordance with Part 1, Section 1, Article 4, the PwC network of firms is a multinational enterprise. However, the NCP considers that the actions of PwC IL as outlined in below paragraph 16 constitute voluntary observance under Part 1, Section 1, Article 4 of the Guidelines.

16. The UK NCP finds that the following actions of the PwC network constitute voluntary observance of the Guidelines in accordance with Chapter I, paragraph 1:

a. committing to use the Guidelines to inform PwC network policies and standards

b. making prominent references and links to the Guidelines on the PwC IL website

c. making prominent references and links to the Guidelines in public and internal policies and standards.

17. The UK NCP commends PwC IL for its extensive and thorough mapping exercise to ensure its central policies and standards are aligned with the Guidelines. The UK NCP is also pleased to see very prominent links to the Guidelines on the PwC network websites.