Modern Slavery Act Company Statement
Meyer welcomes the Modern Slavery Act 2015 into law, bringing labour rights into renewed focus and the duty it places on companies to publicly disclose the active steps they are taking in order to tackle the issue of forced labour and human trafficking. We support the promotion of ethical business policies and practices in order to protect workers from any kind of abuse, deprivation of a person’s liberty or exploitation in relation to our business and supply chain.
Addressing ethical compliance has become part of our core business practice. We arm the key members of our team who work diligently with our supply base with the knowledge, understanding and awareness of ethical compliance, it means we are tackling issues of ethical compliance and modern slavery head on, whilst ultimately taking active steps to affect and improve the quality of workers lives. We take responsibility and are alert to these risks, however small, in our business and within our supply chain.
POLICY, COMPLIANCE AND DUE DILIGENCE IN OUR BUSINESS
Meyer ensures that it complies with all applicable employment laws and commits to ensuring fairness in the hiring and advancement of all colleagues without discrimination. We require all staff to comply with the company’s code of conduct and ethics within all business dealings.
We are transparent and regularly review our recruitment processes, ensuring full and stringent verification for all labour providers used.
POLICY, COMPLIANCE AND DUE DILIGENCE IN OUR SUPPLY BASE
We operate a zero-tolerance approach to slavery and human trafficking and require our suppliers to ensure they do not use forced labour, bonded or involuntary prison labour within their operation.
We also communicate and regulate our policies with existing and new suppliers, as well as our sourcing agents and employees throughout the business where we make it clear from the outset our expectations; insisting on only working with suppliers who share our ethical values. We encourage open transactions and lines of discussions and work through challenges together with suppliers, with a refusal to trade with them should they offer little or no engagement or transparency.
ASSESSING AND IDENTIFYING RISK
We understand the key to assessing risk is to build relationships and build capacity with suppliers where we develop a culture where there is mutual respect and trust in order to understand our suppliers and offer support in the evaluation of risk. We insist on full transparency and visibility throughout all aspects of our Supply Chain.
Aspects of modern slavery can be extremely subtle, with forced labour, labour trafficking and exploitation of workers often being a hidden blight on global society – therefore while third party ethical and social audits in factories can offer benchmarks and indicators, we engage key stakeholders, and work collaboratively with suppliers, mapping supply chains, and adopting a diligent approach in our selection of new suppliers through factory visits and our rigorous factory evaluation and verification process.
AWARENESS AND COLLABORATION
Meyer takes active measures to ensure the goods we manufacture and import from outside the UK are not at risk of slavery and human trafficking – we will commit to working collaboratively with suppliers in order to raise continued awareness and continually review our verification processes to address and eradicate any such risks.
MEYER’S COMMITMENT
All businesses must play their part in tackling Modern Slavery and combatting it effectively requires improved traceability, increased transparency and through working collaborations. Meyer will commit to review annually our Modern Slavery policies to ensure its relevance, whilst factoring in social and economic factors and changes. We will continue to strive to assess and improve on all ethical business practices and assessment of risks, current and new. Our policies, procedures and approach to ethical compliance are geared towards what we believe to be balanced, reasonable, effective and practical.
We have not been made aware of any allegations of slavery or human trafficking within our operation, or supply chain as at 1st March 2023. However rest assured if we were to, then we would report it to the relevant authorities.
Signed on behalf of the Meyer Group Board of Directors.
Mark Ivory
(Chairman and Managing Director)
