Modern slavery statement for financial year 2020/21
This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets
out the steps that Arthur Pollard Ltd has taken and is continuing to take to ensure
that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or
supply chain.
Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced
labour. Arthur Pollard 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
Arthur Pollard Ltd has been established for over 60 years in the industry and
operates under the trading name of Arthur Pollard Ltd.
Arthur Pollard is based within the Leicestershire area and we aim to deliver the
design, installation, project management and commissioning of mechanical services
in a variety of applications for clients within the public and private sectors and have
experience in operating within the following sectors: Universities, Hospitals,
Residential Homes, Football Grounds, Churches, Food Manufacturing Premises,
Police Stations.
High Risk Areas
Our risk assessments have identified that our Company practices present relatively
low risks in relation to modern slavery and human trafficking, however a significant
risk lies within our supply chain, particularly in relation to their business practices
and procedures for recruitment and sending sub-contractors to site.
In order to mitigate this risk, Arthur Pollard Ltd operate a policy whereby all
suppliers and sub-contractors must complete a pre-qualification questionnaire prior
to being considered for working in partnership with Arthur Pollard Ltd.
The completed questionnaire is reviewed by the Managing Director Jon Pollard, and
then issued to our health, safety specialist to ensure the information provided meets
the standards and requirements.
Our Policies
We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business
in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:
1. 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.
2. Supplier & Contractor Control Procedure. Which details the full procedure for due
diligence when authorising and monitoring the supply chain and their practices.
3. Grievance/Whistleblowing Procedures. We have in place reporting procedures 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.
4. Code of business conduct. This code explains the manner in which we behave as
an organisation and how we expect our employees and suppliers to act.
Our Suppliers
Arthur Pollard 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. This due diligence includes an online search to ensure that particular
organisation has never been convicted of offenses relating to modern slavery.
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:
1. They have taken steps to ensure modern slavery does not occur within their
business
2. They hold their own suppliers to account over modern slavery
3. (For UK based suppliers) They pay their employees at least the national minimum
wage / national living wage (as appropriate)
4. They make sure employees’ evidence of identification is presented including;
passport, confirmation of address, details of the bank account where wages will be
paid and a valid contract of employment
5. They make sure employees know their statutory rights including sick/holiday pay
6. (For international suppliers) They pay their employees any prevailing minimum
wage applicable within their country of operations
8. We may terminate the contract at any time should any instances of modern slavery
come to light
Training
We periodically conduct training for our procurement/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
no reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to
indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified.
Approval for this Statement
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015
and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year
ending 2021.
This statement was approved by the Board of Directors on 3rd March 2021.
