This statement is written in accordance with S.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for the current financial year. Block Automotive Limited (“the Company”) are working to minimise the risk of Modern Slavery occurring in our Supply Chain and within The Company itself.
Modern slavery Act encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. The Company has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery and as outlined in this statement, will take all appropriate actions to assist in the abolition of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically, with integrity and with transparency in all business dealings and we have put effective controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within our business.
Our Business
The Company is a UK based manufacturer of high-quality Vocational Training Equipment destined for the UK and international educational arena looking to inspire and educate the mechanical engineers of the future. We build many of our units bespoke to the individual clients’ requirements and all equipment is built and supply fully CE Marked.
We have longstanding relationships with our suppliers and our senior leadership within buying and supply chain team speak and meet our suppliers on a regular basis.
Our Suppliers
We operate a policy which expects our preferred suppliers to act in a manner that embraces the spirit of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.We work with suppliers with regards to their diligence on all aspects of their business dealing before allowing them to become a preferred supplier. Agreement to our Anti-slavery statement forms part of that overall engagement process. This is an important consideration, and we view this as our responsibility to encourage others to follow our example, and such we maintain the right to terminate relationships at any time should any instances of modern slavery come to light.
Relevant Policies
We strive to always act with integrity and transparency, and we operate a protocol to assist The Company to work in ways to safeguard against human rights infringements including recruitment strategy, Health and Safety policy, Harassment and Bullying policy, equal opportunities policy and Disciplinary Rules and Procedures.
We encourage staff to report any unethical practices either externally or internally to the business including suppliers. Any such reports are taken very seriously and are fully investigated.
Due Diligence and Risk Assessment
The Board of Directors have overall responsibility for corporate governance, including any anti-slavery initiatives. We acknowledge there is a risk of exposure to modern slavery in our supply chain, this is a risk we all face. As part of our commitment to mitigating any risks we have focused within the business by.
- Committed to establish a code of conduct within The Company which expects all suppliers to embrace the industry standards.
- Increasing standards of reporting both externally and internally to encourage collaboration in following the guidelines of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Colleague Training
Our goal is to put every colleague through a core learning module on Modern Slavery to ensure they are all aware and therefore better equipped to help monitor this matter.
Training material and delivery strategy are currently being built and will be launched this year.
The Company are committed to a zero-tolerance policy in human rights infringements and resolved to keep vigilant in all such matters