Human Rights

DZ BANK recognises the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations General Assembly and the European Convention on Human Rights and follows the ten globally valid principles of the UN Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.

Together with the Code of Conduct of DZ BANK, they form the binding framework for the company's actions. In the Code of Conduct, DZ BANK commits itself to democracy, tolerance, equal opportunities and the protection of human rights, and provides its employees with principles and rules for correct and responsible behaviour, particularly when dealing with customers, business partners and colleagues. Accordingly, DZ BANK does not tolerate any discrimination against employees or third parties on the basis of age, gender, origin, nationality, religion, political opinion, ideology, disability or sexual identity. In addition, DZ BANK strictly rejects any form of forced or child labour and recognises the right of all employees to form trade unions and employee representative bodies on a democratic basis within the framework of national regulations. The core conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) apply without restriction to all DZ BANK employees. Human rights aspects are also taken into account in our business activities, for example in our purchasing processes and in DZ BANK's lending process.

As an employer, DZ BANK respects and promotes the human rights of its employees, the majority of whom work in Germany. The bank has also committed to this by signing the UN Global Compact and has also incorporated corresponding principles into its own code of conduct. In order to further specify the content on the subject of human rights as set out in the Code of Conduct, the Guideline on Human Rights for the DZ BANK Group and a declaration of principles of DZ BANK on respect for human rights were published in 2023. They are based on the ILO core conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations General Assembly and the European Convention on Human Rights. Training on the German General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) is mandatory for all employees and specifically for managers. In addition, employees are obliged to respect human rights on the basis of the Code of Conduct. If employees of DZ BANK or stakeholders have questions or concerns regarding human rights or suspect a violation, they can report these anonymously via the whistleblower system.