At Rowland Homes we recognise that slavery and human trafficking are significant human rights issues and are committed to taking appropriate and proportionate steps to mitigating the risk of these occurring within our business and supply chain.
As a house-building and construction business operating within the UK, the key areas of our operation that could be affected by slavery and human trafficking are our directly hired employees, agency workers working on our behalf, subcontractor operatives working on our sites, and the workforce of our supply chain who supply materials to our business. The steps that we take to mitigate risks in relation to each of these areas are as follows:
We verify that all employees have the right to work in the UK upon commencement of their employment.
We make all employees aware of their working hours, leave and absence entitlements and other employee benefits via the Employee Handbook.
We aim to only engage agency workers that are provide by suppliers on our Preferred Supplier List.
We require all Preferred Supplier List suppliers to a) ensure their agency workers have the right to work in the UK, b) confirm that they do not charge workers a work finding fee and c) to have procedures in place to minimise the risk of recruiting forced or compulsory labour.
We ensure their employees have the right to work in the UK.
We consider sub-contractors’ approaches to employee rights and any breaches of human rights related legislation during our selection process.
We want all sub-contractors that purchase materials for use on our sites to consider the risk of modern slavery in their supply chain.
We procure the majority of our directly sourced materials from UK based organisations that are required to comply with UK laws on forced labour. However where materials are directly sourced from outside the UK we consider the risk of slavery and human trafficking as part of our selection process.
Our whistle blowing procedures allow any employee or third party to confidentially raise a concern.
The Group Managing Director is responsible for the contents of this statement, which will be reviewed and updated as necessary on at least an annual basis. Overall accountability for compliance rests with the Board of Directors.
Chris Sams; Managing Director
Rowland Homes Limited
