Modern Slavery And Human Trafficking Statement

Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement

Introduction

This Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement is a response to Section 54(1), Part 6 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and relates to actions and activities for the financial year ending 30 September 2023. 

Warners Midlands Plc (‘the Company’, ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’) is committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking violations in its own operations, its supply chain, and its products. We have zero-tolerance towards slavery and require our supply chain to comply with our values. 

Organisational structure

Warners Midlands Plc has business operations in the United Kingdom.

We operate in the Commercial Printing sector. The nature of our supply chains is as follows: We work with a number of key direct suppliers, who provide us with equipment, materials and services, such as plant and machinery for our premises and operations, raw materials and sundries, and services, such as contractor services, machine maintenance and facilities support.

For more information about the Company, please visit our website: www.warners.co.uk.

Policies

We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. 

These include the following:

  • Recruitment and selection policy – Outlines the process of all recruitment and selection to ensure a fair and complaint outcome in line with employment legislation.
  • Staff code of conduct – Ensures employees conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times and adhere to all company policies and procedures.
  • Equal Opportunities Policy – Ensures that all applicants, employees and other stakeholders of the business are treated equally and fairly irrespective of any protected characteristic they may come under.

We make sure our suppliers are aware of our policies and adhere to the same standards.

Due Diligence

As part of our efforts to monitor and reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our supply chains, we have adopted the following due diligence procedures: 

  • Internal supplier audits.
  • External supplier audits.

Our due diligence procedures aim to:

  • Identify and action potential risks in our business and supply chains.
  • Monitor potential risks in our business and supply chains.
  • Reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our business and supply chains.

Risk and compliance

The Company has evaluated the nature and extent of its exposure to the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in its UK supply chain through:

  • Reviewing on a regular basis all aspects of the supply chain based on supply chain mapping.

We do not consider that we operate in a high-risk environment because the business operates in a low risk level environment as the majority of our supply chain is based in the EU and UK and in low-risk industries. 

We do not tolerate slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains. Where there is evidence of failure to comply with our policies and procedures by any of our suppliers, we will seek to terminate our relationship with that supplier immediately.

Effectiveness

The Company uses Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure its effectiveness and ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its business and supply chains. These KPIs are as follows:

  • We will contact A Rated suppliers to enquire about their modern slavery practices every 12 months.
  • We will train our staff about modern slavery issues and increase awareness within the Company.
  • We will carry out a regular audit of A-rated suppliers – 50% of suppliers each year.

Training our staff

The Company requires its staff to complete training and ongoing refresher courses on slavery and human trafficking. The Company’s training covers: 

  • How to identify the signs of slavery and human trafficking.
  • What initial steps should be taken if slavery or human trafficking is suspected.
  • How to escalate potential slavery or human trafficking issues to the relevant parties within the Company.
  • What external help is available.
  • What steps the Company should take if suppliers in its supply chain do not implement anti-slavery policies in high-risk scenarios, including their removal from the Company’s supply chain.

 

Whistleblowing

The business encourages confidential communication for all employees through their Human Resources Department, to report any concerns that they have, and any investigations will be conducted using the company Grievance policy.

The statement was approved by the board of directors of Warners Midlands Plc.

Date:                     21st February 2024                          

 

 Philip Warner                    Stephen Warner               Jeannette Warner           Michael Warner                Christopher Warner

Managing Director           Company Director            Company Director            Marketing Director          Commercial Director