This statement has been published in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It sets out the steps taken by the Group during the year ended 31st December 2022 to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains.
In 2022 the Group launched two separate new global brands, to distinguish its service offerings to the market:
The Group is committed to providing its workers (which is deemed to include employees, staff, contractors, freelancers and workers (together, ‘Workers’)) with safe, legal employment in a stimulating and rewarding environment. The Group is opposed to any form of slavery and human trafficking (‘Modern Slavery’) and strives to ensure that it is prevented from occurring in its business or supply chains.
The Group aims to carry out all business dealings in full compliance with applicable laws and with respect to internationally recognised, human rights standards in every location in which it operates.
2022 saw the transition from Ashfield and Huntsworth each having their own set of policies and training procedures, into an integrated set of policies and procedures for the Group. The Group’s policies and procedures are aimed at trying to ensure that its business is conducted in an ethical and transparent manner. Workers and Directors are made aware of these policies, including during the induction period upon joining the Group. All Workers and Directors can access applicable policies through policy management portals.
In the context of preventing Modern Slavery, these policies currently include the following:
2023 will see us further develop and build on our policies and procedures, including those of our supply chains and those that govern recruitment, equal opportunities and diversity in the workplace.
Given the service-oriented nature of the Group’s business, the Group does not have extensive supply chain networks and is generally at low risk of exposure to slavery and human trafficking. The supply chains include recruitment agencies, cleaning and catering services, IT hardware and software providers, through to office fit out and maintenance services and document retention services. Few suppliers to Group companies are significant in terms of the volume of business conducted with them, and many of them are small in size and based in the US, UK or other jurisdictions where Group companies operate.
The Group recognises that it is vital to preserve the highest standards of integrity and transparency within its supply chains, so that those employed within them are not exposed to any form of exploitation. The Group is therefore selective in its choice of suppliers and conducts requisite due diligence checks. However, suppliers may have their own complex supply chains and it is therefore not practicable for the Group to have direct oversight or management of the working conditions of each supplier. To counter this, where possible, the aim is to reduce complexity in supply chains, so that any weaknesses can be more readily determined and dealt with through a risk-based assessment. 3 2023 will see us launch a Supplier Code of Conduct, which will set out our expectations from suppliers who work with us or act on our behalf
A number of initiatives were introduced during 2022 aimed at ensuring that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in any part of the business or in any part of its supply chains, including, amongst other matters, the following:
The Group is not aware of any incidents of Modern Slavery having been notified or identified during the period covered by this statement.
The Group believes that its culture of openness and accountability, when coupled with its policies and procedures, is effective in combatting the risk that Modern Slavery could be found in the Group or its supply chains. If an instance of Modern Slavery were to be uncovered, the Group believes that it would be well placed to take swift and appropriate remedial action in line with the ethical values that underpin its business. The Group remains committed to further enhancing and strengthening effective integrated systems and controls, on an on-going rolling basis, to safeguard against, and mitigate the risk of, Modern Slavery taking place within the Group or its supply chains. 4 This statement was approved on 23rd March 2023 by the Board of Directors of Inizio Topco Limited, in its capacity as operating parent to the Group.
Signed
Paul Taaffe
Chief Executive Officer
Entities required to publish a statement under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and therefore covered by this Group statement include: CD&R Artemis Holdco 0.75 Limited, CD&R Artemis Holdco 2 Limited, CD&R Ulysses UK Holdco 2 Limited, Inizio Group Limited, Inizio Holdings Limited, Hunter UK Bidco Limited, Huntsworth Limited, Huntsworth Investments Limited, Huntsworth Proton UK Bidco Limited, Nucleus Holdings Limited, UDG Healthcare (UK) Holdings Limited, UDG Healthcare UK (HoldCo) Limited, Knowledgepoint360 UK AcquisitionCo Limited, Knowledge Point360 Group (Holdings) Limited, Ashfield Health Limited, Ashfield Healthcare Limited and Ashfield Meetings & Events Group Limited.
All rights reserved. © 2024