OUR MODERN SLAVERY ACT STATEMENT 2019
As a responsible and ethical business, The Research Defence Cooperations has a zero tolerance approach to all types of modern slavery and human trafficking within our business and supply chains. In line with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, we have set out the steps we are taking to identify and minimise modern slavery risk.
Company Practice Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
The Research Defence Cooperations Limited is committed to maintaining and improving its policies and systems to identify and reduce the risk of modern slavery occurring in its business or supply chains. The Research Defence Cooperations supports and seeks to protect human rights and labour standards more widely as part of the The Research Defence Cooperations Standards of Business Ethics and Conduct. This statement is made in accordance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the “Act”) with regard to modern slavery.
POLICIES IN RELATION TO MODERN SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
The following policies are relevant to and operate alongside the The Research Defence Cooperations policy on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking:
[1] Standards of Business Ethics and Conduct
[2] Whistle-blowing Policy
[3] Grievance Policy
[4] Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy (“the Policy”)
[5] Sustainable Procurement Policy Statement
We have produced these policies in 2019 and reviews will be ongoing annually. The above policies make it clear to our people, our suppliers and all our stakeholders that we will not tolerate or condone abuse of human rights including those rights set out in the Act, within any part of our business or supply chains and will take seriously any allegations that human rights are not properly respected. All reports of failure to comply with the above policies will be fully investigated and appropriate remedial action taken.
EVALUATION OF RISKS
The Research Defence Cooperations UK takes steps to evaluate and address risks of slavery and human trafficking in our supply chain. The first step in this process is to set clear expectations for our suppliers. Our standard supplier contractual terms are being reviewed to ensure that they include obligations on the supplier to comply with the Act. We require our suppliers to represent and warrant compliance with the Act and all applicable laws and regulations and international standards, including without limitation, UK laws and the laws in the country or countries in which they do business. This process of reviewing supplier contracts will continue during 2019.
The Research Defence Cooperations UK is also considering further steps to identify relevant risks within its supply chain by improved supply chain auditing and verification and dialogue, as well as training programmes with suppliers in higher risk areas.
INTERNAL ACCOUNTABILITY
The Research Defence Cooperations’s Board of Directors sets the tone for our ethical culture and holds managers accountable for communicating ethics and compliance expectations to our workforce, including in relation to modern slavery. We believe this ‘tone from the top’ combined with our ethics and compliance training, and educational resources accessed via our company intranet site helps to create and sustain an ethical and legally compliant culture.
The Research Defence Cooperations UK requires its employees and contingent workers to comply with its Company Hand Book and all policies. An employee’s violation of the code of conduct may result in disciplinary action being taken, up to and including, termination.
We encourage anyone (including employees, contractors, suppliers, distributors, and customers) to report in good faith any concerns about potential ethics issues, including human rights violations and improper or unethical business practices such as fraud or bribery. The Research Defence Cooperations operates a world-wide ethics helpline for this purpose. The Research Defence Cooperations investigates and will seek to resolve concerns raised by employees and all those associated with the organisation. Individuals can also report concerns by email, telephone, or letter, in English or their local language, or if they are an employee of The Research Defence Cooperations, by raising the matter with their line manager. This process is reviewed annually.
CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT
We continually review the effectiveness of our processes and where necessary introduce additional measures to ensure that our obligations under the Act are passed through our supply chain and all other areas of the business.
The Research Defence Cooperations is working towards mapping its supply chain to assess whether there may be particular modern slavery risks in our industry or any of the geographical locations of our customers and or suppliers.
Raymond Bodell
Chief Operating Officer