Modern Slavery

Financial Year 2020 / 2021

E. Park & Sons Ltd, is a family owned business with over 70 years’ experience of managing  seed and packing potatoes for major retailers, food service and the convenience sector.

E. Park & Sons Ltd takes its commitments under the Modern Slavery Act very seriously and many of its existing initiatives, policies and procedures go beyond the minimum standards set out in the Act.

As a business with both a history and an ethical framework of good employment practice,   E. Park & Sons Ltd. is committed to providing good working conditions for its employees, according to European standards, and to protecting their health and safety.

E. Park & Sons Ltd. recognises that modern slavery is an issue that has become increasingly visible in the UK, and takes seriously its moral and legal duties in this regard.  The Company has put in place measures to prevent, detect and manage incidences of modern slavery, and has engaged in this regard with a number of stakeholders including the Ethical Trading Initiative and Stronger Together to raise awareness of and provide training for the prevention of modern slavery.

We have initiated a number of steps to ensure we go beyond the basic compliance, including:

• Use of risk assessment data to identify priorities and develop actions for the detection and management of forced labour in our supply chain. It is acknowledged  that our grower base provides the highest risk for potential modern slavery;
• Best practice training for our management, procurement and agronomy teams who are most likely to encounter potential issues with regard to modern slavery;
• To visit and audit all our key growers for modern slavery over a 2 year cycle;
• Development and communication of a Company policy on Ethical Trading;
• Inclusion of modern slavery in our grower undertaking (effective 2018/19).

As part of our ongoing commitment, we will continuously review our approach to modern slavery and prioritise the largest growers within our grower base.

More broadly, E Parks & Sons Ltd plan for the prevention and management of modern slavery sits within the context of the wider commitment to running a sustainable business.

Sustainability, values and the commitment to people

The Sustainability strategy covers all areas of E Park & Sons Limited business and is intended to frame the future direction of the company, to ensure its long-term resilience and success.

Our people commitment is the one most relevant to the avoidance, detection and management of any incidences of modern slavery.

It is:

“We strive to make E. Park & Sons Ltd an enjoyable and rewarding place to work, that nurtures and develops our people for the benefit of the individual, the company and the community”.

The objectives underlying the people commitment are:

• employ our workforce according to European standards
• protect the health of our workforce and promote healthier lifestyles
• treat our employees fairly, with dignity and respect
• develop our employee’s life and business skills
• empower all our employees to make their voices heard.
• demonstrate leadership in equal opportunity employment, thriving as an ethically and culturally diverse company
• encourage and facilitate female representation and their contribution to the business
• reward our employees for achieving the company’s business objectives
• educate our employees on the values and principles of sustainable development

E. Park & Sons Ltd takes the view that the challenge of combatting modern slavery and human-trafficking is an ongoing one which we remain firmly committed to.

This statement is approved by Richard Park (Managing Director) of E. Park & Sons LTD 31/03/2020