AJ Bicât Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
Introduction
This statement is made pursuant to Section 54 part 6 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that AJ Bicât has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in our supply chains or in any part of our business.
Our organisation’s structure
AJ Bicât is global leader in MEQ® Provision whose core business is training and consultancy, comprising multiple on or off site locations. Located principally in the UK, AJ Bicât has one full time employee and occasionally employs contractors to carry out additional training or consultancy work. All procurement and contracting is undertaken in house.
Our policy on slavery and human trafficking
AJ Bicât is committed to acquiring goods and services for its use without causing harm to others. In doing so, AJ Bicât is committed to supporting the UK Government’s approach to implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
In implementing this approach AJ Bicât supports the Base Code of the Ethical Trading Initiative:
- Employment is freely chosen
- Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected
- Working conditions are safe and hygienic
- Child labour shall not be used
- Living wages are paid
- Working hours are not excessive
- No discrimination is practiced
- Regular employment is provided
- No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed
Our supply chains
AJ Bicât’s assessment at this time is that the principal areas which carry material risks are office supplies, ICT and AV equipment, and some others such as catering. We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business.
What we are doing now
AJ Bicât’s procurements are by in-house tendering and contracting. AJ Bicât actively engages with its purchasing consortia to support the inclusion of ethical sustainability, including addressing slavery and human trafficking, in their procurement programmes.
AJ Bicât’s in-house tendering and contracting processes include prequalification clauses which address the London Living Wage, and our major soft service contracts already include this requirement. Our standard terms and conditions have clauses covering modern slavery and human trafficking.
We use the DEFRA Prioritisation tool and the Responsible Procurement Code as tools to assess the risks and to monitor progress with mitigation.
What we are going to do in the future
As part of this reporting exercise in this and the coming years, AJ Bicât expresses its commitment to better understand its supply chains and working towards greater transparency and responsibility towards people working on them.
For contracts that we have awarded we will identify those supply chains which represent a medium to high risk of modern slavery, human trafficking, forced and bonded labour, and labour rights violations. We will record this assessment of risk using the DEFRA Prioritisation tool and the Responsible Procurement Code, and working with our suppliers will more closely monitor this supply chains that have been identified as a potential risk and take appropriate action as necessary. We envisage identifying such action in collaboration with our purchasing consortium partners and with appropriate NGOs.