This statement is made pursuant to Modern Slavery Act 2015 (“MSA 2015”), S 54(6). Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person's liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain. ANDigital Limited (“AND Digital”) is committed to preventing acts of modern slavery and human trafficking from occurring within its business and supply chain, and imposes the same high standards on its suppliers.
We believe our people to be our greatest asset. Our principle to always put the wellbeing of our people first also applies to the way we engage with our suppliers and clients.
1. Structure of the organisation
AND Digital is the parent company of the group and employs over 1,000 people. It has business operations in the UK, and from June 2021 in the Netherlands. In order to accelerate our client’s digital capabilities by developing their technological expertise and up-skilling their people, we work with a range of suppliers including usable goods, property and professional services.
2. Policies
As part of our commitment to combating modern slavery, we have implemented an Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy which we keep under review. We have also incorporated anti-trafficking training into the onboarding requirements for all AND Digital employees (“ANDis”). Our ANDis must ensure that they have read, understood and comply with this policy at all times. The prevention, detection and reporting of modern slavery in any part of our business or supply chains is the responsibility of all those working for us or under our control.
Our zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery in our business and supply chains is communicated to all suppliers, contractors and business partners at the outset of our business relationship and we have included a modern slavery clause into our own terms of business to ensure that those who we contract with adhere to the same high standards that we set ourselves.
Alongside our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy, we also have policies relating to grievances, disciplinary issues and whistleblowing to encourage all people working for us or on our behalf to come forward with any concerns without fear of retaliation, and to allow AND Digital to take any necessary corrective action as appropriate.
Our policies are clearly defined and communicated to ANDis. All our ANDis are treated fairly and equally, and are paid above the national minimum wage. Our ANDis will not be required to work in excess of the number of hours permitted in law, and normal working hours will not exceed 48 hours per week average unless the employee agrees.
Our values alongside our culture make clear to our ANDis the actions and behaviours expected of them, we strive to maintain the highest standards of conduct and behaviour across our business
3. Due diligence, Risk and Compliance
Our due diligence procedures are designed to reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring within our supply chains. AND Digital buyers are responsible for evaluating the modern slavery and human trafficking risks of each new supplier and carrying out appropriate checks /investigations as part of the procurement process. We continue to evaluate these on an ongoing basis to ensure that they are robust enough to identify any issues. We also impose contractual obligations on suppliers to ensure that our supply chain and contractors are compliant with the legislation.
If a supplier is deemed to be higher risk by country of origin and/or lack of suitable policy/processes, an investigation will be raised and assessed by senior members of the organisation which can result in the vendor being inactivated. We are glad to report that we have had no findings of inappropriate suppliers due to modern slavery and human trafficking concerns and we have processes in place to invoke sanctions should any issues ever arise in the future.
Our procedures are designed to:
- establish and assess areas of potential risk in our business and supply chains
- monitor potential risk areas in our business and supply chains
- reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our business and supply chains
- provide adequate protection for whistleblowers
4. Effectiveness and KPIs
Our dedicated Social, Ethics and Inclusion (SEI) Committee exists to ensure AND Digital is operating by its values and business principles. The Committee is the social conscience of the business with an independent chairperson. The members oversee compliance of the committee’s principles, and make recommendations to the Executive Team where appropriate.
The Committee reviews the Company’s Ethical Client Approach, Anti-Slavery, Human Trafficking andWhistleblowing polices at least annually. It is vitally important to ensure our ANDis, clients and suppliers act with integrity and in line with the Committee’s principles.
We have not identified any high-risk Modern Slavery concerns in 2020/2021.
5. Training
We invest in educating our ANDis to recognise the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chains. Through our training, ANDis are encouraged to identify and report any potential breaches or concerns relating to our anti-slavery and human trafficking policy and procedures. ANDis are taught the benefits of stringent measures to tackle slavery and human trafficking, as well as the consequences of failing to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from our business and supply chains. Our ANDis must complete an online course and pass it in order to test their knowledge on the Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy we have in place.
6. Sign-off
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and applies to the financial year ending 31st December 2020 and was approved by the board on 28th July 2021
Signed
Paramjit Uppal
Director, AND Digital
28th July 2021