Modern Slavery Statement
Introduction
Nationwide Produce PLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nationwide Produce Holdings PLC. The company has five business locations in England, one in Northern Ireland, two in the Netherlands and one in Spain. Our main business activities are the purchase, supply and distribution of fresh produce throughout the UK and Europe.
Company Policies
Nationwide Produce have policies in place which show the companies zero tolerance to any kind of slavery, servitude, forced labour, compulsory labour or human trafficking. We believe these policies enable our employees to identify and report any concerns regarding modern day slavery in an appropriate and safe manner without placing any of our employees or those affected at risk.
Policies
- Human Rights Policy
- Equal Opportunities Policy
- Anti-bribery Policy
- Bullying and Harassment Policy
- Grievance Policy
- Whistle Blowing policy
Due Diligence and Risk Management
We recognise the potential high risk areas within our business model to modern day slavery and have implemented compliance checks and procedures for us to mitigate the risks.
Agency Labour
We require all our warehouse agency labour providers to have a Modern Day Slavery Statement and demonstrate clear policies and procedures in tackling and reacting to any signs of modern day slavery or human trafficking. We are committed to working with these providers in a proactive manner to strengthen and advance our knowledge and ability to recognise and report concerns.
Our suppliers
We understand our global supply base is potentially our greatest risk and have instigated open communication meetings with our supply base to access potential high risk supply areas. We recognise that audits alone will not identify all instances of modern slavery but building relationships and trust with suppliers is much more critical when it comes to identifying and tackling the risks.
Modern Slavery training
We understand our global supply base is potentially our greatest risk and have instigated open communication meetings with our supply base to access potential high risk supply areas. We recognise that audits alone will not identify all instances of modern slavery but building relationships and trust with suppliers is much more critical when it comes to identifying and tackling the risks.
We have implemented the completion of a group wide employee engagement survey to understand the employees voice as well as conducting additional training within the depot management and supervisor teams.
Next steps to prevent Modern Slavery
We believe that leadership makes all the difference in an effective response. We have engaged modern day slavery training at Director, Manager and Supervisor levels and encouraged active involvement from differing backgrounds and nationalities.
At our depot facilities and within our procurement teams the senior management are responsible for compliance to our policies and the company position of zero tolerance to any kind of slavery, servitude, forced labour, compulsory labour or human trafficking.
Our focus over the next year will be to continue to work closely with our colleagues and suppliers to identify and address modern slavery and human trafficking.
KPI in tackling Modern Slavery
To assess the effectiveness of the steps taken by Nationwide Produce we will be monitoring the following Key Performance Indicators:
- Ethical audit of all high-risk suppliers.
- Increased training for managers and supervisors at all depot sites.
- Training and recognising modern slavery risks within the supply chain for all senior procurement personnel.
- Ensure continued use of employee engagement surveys.
This statement was approved by the Board of Nationwide Produce PLC on 21st September 2021.
Tim O’Malley
Group Managing Director
