Modern slavery is an international crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It is a global problem that transcends age, gender and ethnicities. It may take 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. It permeates many aspects of the legitimate economy and the construction industry is one of the many industries in the UK targeted by traffickers and illegal/unlicensed gangmasters.
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 was introduced in the UK in October 2015 with the aim of stamping out slavery and trafficking and created a number of new criminal offences. It also increased penalties and strengthened the powers of the police and border forces. The Act also contains a number measures intended to encourage businesses to take steps to address modern slavery. In particular, commercial organisations supplying goods or services with a turnover above £36 million must now comply with disclosure requirements.
The purpose of this policy is provide information and guidance to all persons working for Oliver Connell and Son Ltd in any capacity on how the company deals with modern slavery and the role that all individuals involved with our business must play in ensuring compliance with the Act.
Our Policy Statement
Oliver Connell and Son Ltd take a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships and to implementing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains.
We are also committed to ensuring there is transparency in our own business and in our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply chains, consistent with our disclosure obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We expect the same high standards from all of our contractors, consultant, suppliers and other business partners, and expect our supply chain to impose the same standards on their own supply chain. We will therefore require this policy to be included in our supply chain contracts and appointments, and to be complied with.
Policy Application
This policy applies to all persons working for any part of Oliver Connell and Son Ltd or on our behalf in any capacity and within any part of our business units, including employees at all levels, directors, officers, agency workers, seconded workers, volunteers and our supply chain including all sub-contractors, consultants, service providers, joint venture partners and any other agents, third- party representatives and business partners.
Compliance with the policy
All our employees must read, understand and comply in all respects with this policy. Any activity which could lead to or suggest a breach of this policy is strictly prohibited. It is the responsibility for all those that either work for Oliver Connell and Son Ltd or are under our control to ensure the prevention, detection and reporting of any possible breaches of this policy.
All our employees are encouraged to raise any concerns about any issue or suspicion of modern slavery at the earliest possible stage. Oliver Connell and Son Ltd encourages openness and transparency and any person that raises a genuine concern in good faith under this policy will be supported by the business, even if they turn out to be mistaken. We will investigate all genuine concerns which are raised in connection with this policy and our employees are encouraged to act without any fear of reprisal.
If an employee believes or suspects that there has been a breach of this policy, or a breach may occur in the future, they must notify their line manager or do so via the Whistleblowing Procedure.
Oliver Connell and Son Ltd will do everything it can to protect the confidentiality if this has been requested by an employee. However, employees are discouraged from making any disclosures anonymously, as this can limit the investigation process.
Following an internal investigation, Oliver Connell and Son Ltd may decide to alert the police or Authorities.