SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING STATEMENT

SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING STATEMENT

Introduction

We are committed to eliminating acts of modern-day slavery and human trafficking within our business and from within our supply chains.

Our annual turnover is under £36 million and, although we are not legally obliged to report on slavery and human trafficking, this statement is made in accordance with section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and is our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2016.

Organisational structure, business and supply chains

We are a hirer of tower cranes and associated equipment. We are an independent company operating solely within the UK.

Our business comprises a fleet of cranes working on building sites across the UK. We operate from one yard premises near Redditch where we have workshops, warehouse storage, crane storage and our main office.

We have a limited supply chain. We run a fleet of Potain tower cranes and purchase all new cranes and parts from one multinational company. The transport of the crane is supplied by a single transport company. We have a list of trusted suppliers for mobile cranes. Labour to install cranes is predominantly internal labour; where extra help is needed we have a short list of trusted suppliers.

Policy on slavery and human trafficking

We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in any part of our business or in our supply chains. This policy reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere within our supply chains.

Due diligence

We consider ourselves to be a ‘low risk’ business with regard to slavery and human trafficking. However, we foster a culture that encourages the identification and reporting of any such risks within our business. We recruit all of our employees either directly or through recruitment agencies who are members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. We do not recruit from outside the UK.

All new employees are subject to a manual document-based right to work check. This requires them to present a valid Passport or Driving Licence. Copies are retained as evidence and kept securely. This is part of the "Employers' right to work checklist", provided by the home office, that we use for each new employee.

Assessing and managing risk

We have a whistleblowing policy in place and, as part of our efforts to identify and mitigate risks within our supply chain, we are introducing systems to identify, assess and monitor potential risk areas.

Effectiveness in combating slavery and human trafficking

We have zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking. To ensure that all those in our supply chains comply with our values we are putting in place a supply chain compliance programme that will require our suppliers to confirm that they have a slavery and human trafficking policy in place and that they require the same from their suppliers.

Training

We are providing appropriate training to ensure that relevant employees understand the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking within our business and supply chains.