Modern Slavery Statement


This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that Smithie UK Limited 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. Smithie UK 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

Smithie UK is a specialist distributor for IT components and LED Lighting operating out of offices in Basingstoke Hampshire supplying both business and consumers in the UK market we are the agent for approximately twenty well respected suppliers.

Our high risk areas

Smithie UK has not identified any areas of the business to be high risk however if we should identify any such activity we will immediately terminate any sales agreements with suppliers in question and will never enter any engagement with them in the future.

Our policies

We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:

  • Anti-slavery policy. This policy sets out the organisation’s stance on modern slavery and explains how employees can identify any instances of this and where they can go for help.
  • 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.
  • Whistle blowing policy. We operate a whistle blowing policy 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.
  • 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

Smithie UK 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 [if practical this will include on site audits which include a review of working conditions]. 

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.

  • They pay their employees at least the national minimum wage / national living wage (as appropriate).
  • For international suppliers) They pay their employees any prevailing minimum wage applicable within their country of operations
  • We may terminate the contract at any time should any instances of modern slavery come to light.

Training

We regularly 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 was approved by the Board of Directors of Smithie UK Limited on 27thFebruary 2018

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