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Code of Conduct(s) – Company, Staff and Suppliers  

1. Our Ethics

MSQ and its agencies are in the business of providing creative marketing communications solutions for a wide range of clients. Our ethical policies reflect the nature of our professional services. 

We believe good ethical behaviour in a company flows as much from a culture and observed behaviour as it does from specific rules or regulations. In this context, we expect all of our staff to adhere at all times to the statements made below:

  • We will attempt to conduct our business in a fashion which is honest, open, in good faith, and free from fraud or deceptive activities.
  • We will respect the confidentiality of our clients’ information and all of our actions will be designed to be in the best interest of our clients and their marketing objectives.
  • We will not knowingly implement campaigns which contain statements or images which are offensive or which attempt to deceive or mislead. We accept that successful campaigns may often be shocking and even upsetting but we will always attempt to keep on the right side of public decency and factual accuracy.
  • We will not offer any form of bribe or inducement in an attempt to gain or retain clients, obtain work or benefits. This will not prevent us offering hospitality to clients and potential clients but this must be of a type and monitory value that is proportionate to normal business practice.
  • We will not accept any form of bribe or inducement to undertake actions which are not in the interest of our clients.
  • We will ensure that all members of staff are aware of relevant legislation such as the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and ensure that our culture is one where this legislation is understood and adhered to.
  • We will be open and transparent about potential conflicts of interest which might arise from the business activities of the partners and relatives of employees and ensure that these are visible to clients and other interested parties.


2. Our Supply Chain  

The MSQ Partners Group of companies’ primary business is the provision of marketing communication consultancy and services including advertising, public relations, design and digital marketing. The Group has its head office in the UK and has an annual turnover in excess of £100m.

As a service company operating in the UK, with limited production output, our supply chain is very simple. The majority of our work force are permanent employees, and we have a limited number of external suppliers or contractors in our supply process. 

Respecting human rights in the supply chain is ultimately our suppliers’ responsibility. However, the limited nature of our supply chain makes it relatively easy to play an active role in supplier development and we have adopted various means to communicate our expectations to our suppliers.

Moreover, slavery and human trafficking is a particular risk in a people-driven supply chain and remains a hidden blight on our global society. We therefore all have a particular responsibility to be alert to the risks, however small, in our business and in the wider supply chain.    




3. Our Policy on Slavery and Human Trafficking 

We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in any part of our business or in our supply chains. This policy reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our supply chains. 

Staff are expected to report concerns and management are expected to act upon them.



How we Mitigate Risk of Slavery and Human Trafficking

  • A commitment to paying the UK Living wage as a minimum
  • Labour and employment monitoring and the use of formal payroll systems 
  • Training and raising awareness of the issue through Director briefings
  • Where possible we build long standing relationships with local suppliers and contractors and make clear our expectations of business behaviour including having in place suitable anti-slavery and human trafficking policies  
  • Assessing risk related to human trafficking and forced labour within our supply base  
  • Visiting supplier premises to monitor compliance with standards and expectations
  • Systems to encourage the reporting of concerns and the protection of whistle blowers 

 This statement is made pursuant to Section 54, Part 6 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps the Company has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our supply chains or in any part of our business.

This statement has been approved by our Board of Directors, who will review and update it as necessary on an annual basis.

The Board of Directors have all delegated authority to Peter Reid, CEO at MSQ, to sign the statement on their behalf for the financial year ending 28th February 2025.

Peter Reid
CEO at MSQ

Signed on the 1st March 2024


D&I Policy

MSQ is fully committed to the elimination of discrimination and values the differences that a diverse workforce brings to the organisation.

We will not discriminate because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We will not discriminate because of any other irrelevant factor and will build a culture that values, openness, fairness and transparency.

This policy is applicable to all employees, secondees, agency staff, clients, communities, suppliers and contractors, whether permanent or temporary and applies to all processes relating to recruitment, onboarding, training and relationships with customers and clients. It will be reviewed on an ongoing basis to reflect changes in the law, demographics and internal business requirements.

The publication of a diversity policy enables us to send out a strong message of commitment, both internally and externally. It will be brought to life only if it is reinforced by everyone.

In order to do this, we are committed to making a positive long-term change. We have established nine commitments that are publicly available and reinforced to all staff: 

  1. Tracking and sharing our diversity statistics where we have them and collecting the data where we don’t
  2. Increasing the hiring of under-represented minorities to reflect the population levels in the communities where we work
  3. No gender pay gap
  4. Increasing ethnic and gender diversity at all levels of our company, especially in leadership roles
  5. Inclusive culture with equality of opportunity and advancement through fairness and transparency
  6. Training our people with a focus on anti-bias, allyship, recruitment and initiatives that promote minority, racial and gender equity
  7. Developing apprentice and fellowship programmes that recruit minority graduates and non-graduates to train with us and build careers with us
  8. Ensuring the diversity and inclusivity of our work product
  9. Increasing our involvement in organisations that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, to help boost gender and minority representation in our industry

All employees are responsible for the promotion and advancement of this policy. And it is held to account by a DEI Council, made up of MSQ employees from across the group, and overseen by the MSQ Chairman. Behaviour, actions or words that are not in line with the policy will not be tolerated and should be escalated to the HR team for appropriate action to be taken.