Corporate Responsibility
Gilat is committed to protecting human rights. It acknowledges the importance of promoting an inclusive and safe work environment for all. We conduct our business without infringing on human rights and firmly condemn any kind of modern slavery or human trafficking.
Gilat believes in the value of all human beings and their fundamental human rights as reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and in the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Gilat’s human rights commitment is further guided by internationally recognized principles and by all the laws applicable to its business activities worldwide.
In addition to this policy, Gilat’s commitment to human rights and fair labor practice is also outlined and referenced in other internal corporate documents: Code of Ethics, Gilat Policy Prohibiting Bribery and Corruption and Conflict Minerals Policy (which can be found under Corporate Governance.) Gilat expects its stakeholders, including employees, and management to comply at all times with the Code of Ethics and the Policy Prohibiting Bribery and Corruption, and both documents are formally approved and signed each calendar year by all employees and management, as well as other corporate policies as applicable for each region or sector of employees.
Our commitment to promoting human rights and fair labor standards includes the following aspects:
1. Prohibiting Child Labor – Avoiding child labor practices and complying with the minimum age laws and regulations in each jurisdiction in which Gilat operates.
2. Prohibiting Forced Labor – Ensuring that at all times, the terms of employment are voluntary and of a free choice and avoiding compulsory, bonded or coercive labor and modern slavery practices.
3. Non-Discrimination, Diversity and Harassment Prevention- As a leading global company in its field, Gilat promotes a multicultural business approach and strongly believes that equality and diversity not only empower our employees but also help our company to grow and succeed. In line with our approach, Gilat prohibits any kind of discrimination based on color, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, family status, political affiliation or disability. We are committed to inclusion throughout the employment process including recruitment, employment and, when necessary, dismissal or termination of employment for any reason.
Gilat recognizes the importance of diversity, and its contribution to the company’s business as a global company operating in 18 countries. As our projects often involve employees from multiple countries bringing different perspectives and points of view, we see this multicultural diversity as part of our strength. Gilat encourages equal opportunities for all and actively endorses recruiting people from various backgrounds to increase the diversity of employees within the company.
• We are proud to employ team members with different types of disabilities and we also engage with Taasuka Shava (an equal employment opportunity organization for people with disabilities in Israel), utilizing their experience in offering relevant open positions to employees with different types of disabilities. Our HR Department also takes part in different Taasuka Shava workshops providing the knowledge and tools to increase the integration of employees with disabilities in the company.
• In addition, we partner with different associations in order to promote a diverse culture, mainly for hiring purposes in the tech field, such as She Codes (Women); Tech Career (Ethiopian community); GRTH (for the orthodox community); and Co-Impact (for the Arab sector) in Israel. For our subsidiary in US we also publish in job boards that are dedicated to minorities.
• Commitment to diversity equality is also reflected in Gilat’s efforts to attract young graduates and interns, including by creating partnerships with educational institutions for the employment of juniors and apprentices, and at the same time, Gilat strives to maintain a wide representation of ages among its employees, believing in the benefits of combining the complementary experiences and perspectives of different generations.
4. Fair Compensation and Hiring Practices- Gilat compensates its employees with fair salaries and full social benefits. Employees are provided competitive and legally applicable social benefits such as annual leave that significantly exceed those mandated by law, as well as health benefits, retirement plans and other benefits intended to meet the specific needs of different employees. We review the compensation packages of our employees on an annual basis to ensure that each employee is appropriately compensated to reflect his or her performance, experience and professionalism. Gilat maintains a global and responsible compensation policy that gives employees a stake in the group’s results and rewards their efforts and commitment.
5. Work Life Balance – In order to maintain work-life balance, we allow flexibility of working hours and working from home. In addition, we enforce the limitation on working hours in accordance with all local laws in the regions we operate.
6. Freedom of Association – We acknowledge employees legal right, where applicable, to the freedom of association and collective bargaining. Where local law permits, employees can join unions or other work councils without retaliation or discrimination. Where unions are restricted by local laws, employees should not be restricted from working collectively to protect their rights.
7. Personal Information Privacy – We respect employees’ and customers right for privacy and committed to securing their personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable laws. Our employees are required to maintain confidentiality when dealing with third parties and follow our internal policy for use of information and data.
Covid-19: Safety, Security and Supporting Employees During the Pandemic.
8. During the Covid-19 pandemic, starting in March 2020, we supported our employees worldwide, enabling them to work remotely from home during lockdowns or local outbreaks, and provided a safe office environment when returning, in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines.
For example, in HQ offices in Israel we adjusted our offices and dining rooms to meet the new restrictions and government regulations (Tav Sagol) and needs for sterilization including securing distance between workstations and providing hand sanitizers, masks and gloves. We communicated to the employees all the restrictions and precautions that the company took to protect them and keep them safe. We invested a lot of time and effort to raise awareness among employees to use their masks properly in public areas, during meetings, etc. We also adopted the restricted green pass (Tav Yarok) allowing only vaccinated, Covid -19 recovered employees (and those who were tested for Covid on a weekly basis), vendors and suppliers access to the offices thus protecting our employees from Covid-19 and preventing its spread.
