This statement is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that Gardiner Bros. and Company (Leather) Ltd. & Footsure Western Ltd. has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or is not taking place within our business or supply chain.
Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. Gardiner Bros. and Company (Leather) Ltd. & Footsure Western Ltd. has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our supply chain.
Our Business
We are a national and international supplier of safety and non-safety footwear and clothing.
Our High-Risk Areas
Some of our suppliers are located in Asia. We independently employ an Asia Manager to ensure our policies are being adhered to and audit our supplier’s factories at least annually.
Our Policies
We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:
- Anti-slavery policy. This policy sets out the organisation’s stance on modern slavery and explains how employees can identify any instances of this and where they can go for help.
- Recruitment policy. We operate a robust recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
- Whistleblowing policy. We operate a whistleblowing policy so that all employees know that they can raise concerns about how colleagues are being treated, or practices within our business or supply chain, without fear of reprisals.
- Code of business policy. This code explains the manner in which we behave as an organisation and how we expect our employees and suppliers to act.
Our Suppliers
Gardiner Bros. and Company (Leather) Ltd. & Footsure Western Ltd. operates a supplier policy and maintains a preferred supplier list. We conduct due diligence on all suppliers before allowing them to become a preferred supplier. Our anti-slavery policy forms part of our contract with all suppliers and they are required to confirm that no part of their business operations contradicts this policy.
In addition to the above, as part of our contract with suppliers, we require that they confirm to us that:
- They have taken steps to eradicate modern slavery within their business.
- They hold their own suppliers to account over modern slavery.
- (For UK based suppliers) They pay their employees at least the national minimum wage/ national living wage (as appropriate).
- (For international suppliers) They pay their employees any prevailing minimum wage applicable within their country of operations.
- We may terminate the contract at any time should any instances of modern slavery come to light.
Training
We regularly conduct training for our buying teams so that they understand the signs of modern slavery and what to do if they suspect that it is taking place within our supply chain.
Our Performance Indicators
We will know the effectiveness of the steps that we are taking to ensure that slavery and/ or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain if:
- Our suppliers allow us to carry out factory audits on at least an annual basis.
- No reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have identified.
- We employ our Asia Manager to ensure all factories in high risk locations are compliant with our policies including the Modern Slavery Act 2015.