Modern Slavery Act Statement
Modern slavery is a form of organised crime in which victims are treated as commodities and exploited for criminal gain. The victims of modern slavery come from all walks of life and can be found all over the globe.
The International Labour Organisation estimates that in 2016 40 million people globally were victims of modern slavery.
Reed & Mackay is committed to undertake due care and diligence to ensure that it conducts its business in accordance with its obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA 2015). We recognise that in addition to a legal obligation we have an ethical responsibility to support this Act and endeavour to ensure there are no Modern Slavery risks within our own business or our supply chains.
In that spirit, we have published our annual statement of slavery and human trafficking, made in compliance section section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, in which we explain how slavery and human trafficking can affect our business and the steps we are taking in the fight against it.
Our Company Structure & Vision
Reed & Mackay was established in 1962 expanding into strategic travel management in 1988, with a view to specialising in travel management services for the professional services sector. We operate from the UK, USA, Dubai and Germany have over 400 employees within our organisation. Our vision is ‘To be the best in class travel management provider in chosen international markets’.
To support our vision, our mission is ‘we live to deliver unrivalled business travel management harnessing leading technology and our dedication to remarkable service’.
Our values which include passion, fun, care & consideration, making a difference, open mindedness and participation help drive our commitment to service, the core of what we do and with this in mind, we work with likeminded partners and suppliers whose values and ethos align with our own.
Our Employees
There are many aspects of Reed & Mackay’s culture which go to make up our unique environment. Maintaining and strengthening the culture is part of our everyday working life and underpins much of our corporate policy. We strive to create an enjoyable and safe working environment where staff can excel. We recognise our staff as our most important asset and employee welfare is a key objective that is linked to the company’s unique culture and values. We do not tolerate discrimination, abuse or harassment of any kind and we expect the same of our suppliers. All staff must adhere to our codes of conduct and company policies.
We operate a thorough recruitment and selection process for all our hiring decisions. This includes obtaining documented proof of an individual’s right to work in the country in which they will be employed. Should a concern arise we operate an open door communication policy and we also provide a protected disclosure facility should a staff member require confidentiality.
Reed & Mackay always pay at least the minimum wage rate applicable.
Our Supply Chain
We only work with reputable suppliers, most of whom we have partnered with for many years and we take responsibility for endeavouring to ensure our supply chains are clean of slave labour. This is managed through our ISO Management Systems and via our Commercial and Product Development team who are dedicated to managing trade supplier and partner relationships.
Our commitment to preventing modern slavery is integrated into our staff and supplier operating principles and our policies are reviewed at least annually or more frequently if business needs determine and are communicated using our intranet.
We will not work with a supplier before carrying out research into their business procedures and we ensure they are appropriately licensed to carry out the service they are providing. Spend commitments are subject to legal contracts and we do not pay cash for services.
In line with our commitment to the Modern Slavery Act we have added a clause to our risk register that specifically addresses this issue within our supply chain and we carry out bi-annual risk assessments across our business.
Our Activities to date & Future Plans
As part of our risk management process, we have completed a risk assessment to consider any existing or future exposure. This remains an ongoing exercise.
We have reviewed our purchases to understand the nature of our suppliers. These include consultants and companies providing a wide range of goods and services to help us deliver our aims and objectives.
We have reviewed how we engage with new suppliers and introduced a more robust onboarding procedure which considers Modern Slavery 2015 requirements.
We have created Supplier Operating Principles and communicated these to our suppliers and partners setting our expectations including adherence the suppliers should comply with all relevant legislation in the countries in which they operate and all relevant International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
We will introduce a new Supplier Compliance programme, enabling us to record the compliance of our suppliers and ensure that we challenge our supply chain to re-assert their compliance on an annual basis and where appropriate, will review contractual terms and conditions.
We will also, where appropriate and practical, visit our suppliers’ offices, both in the UK and abroad. This will help us to become familiar with how they operate and what safeguards they have in place to reduce, remove and prevent the use of slave or forced labour in their organisations and their supply chains.
We have regular audits to check compliance with our policies and procedures.
We are making sure that our employees are aware of the Modern Slavery Act, of the definitions of slavery and human trafficking and that they know what to do should they suspect a case of slavery or human trafficking.
Reed & Mackay maintain a commitment to preventing Modern Slavery and will continue to operate a zero tolerance policy in this regard. In accordance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 this statement has detailed the actions taken during the financial year ending 2016/17.
This statement will be reviewed annually and its effectiveness will be measured in line with objectives.
The Board of Reed & Mackay Limited has approved this statement.