Modern Slavery

Voluntary slavery and human trafficking statement

E. Park & Sons Limited is making a voluntary modern slavery and human trafficking statement relating to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

We oppose slavery and human trafficking in all its forms and make this statement to set out the steps we have taken to ensure that there is no slavery or human trafficking in our business or in our supply chains.

About us

We are a family owned and run business supplying fresh conventional potatoes and fresh organic potatoes to major retailers, wholesalers, food service companies, food processors and restaurateurs.

As a family business, we pride ourselves in providing a safe, secure and respectable working environment.

We strive to make our business an enjoyable and rewarding place to work, which nurtures and develops our colleagues for the benefit of the individual, the business and the community.

Modern slavery is entirely unacceptable and we are committed to developing and improving procedures for ensuring that such practices do not occur within our business or within our supply chain.

Although we are currently not required to make a modern slavery statement under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, we are making this voluntary statement to show our commitment to ethical trading principles and to set out the steps we are taking to tackle the potential threat of modern slavery and human trafficking in our business and in our supply chains.

The legal director has overall responsibility for the implementation and operation of our Modern Slavery policies and procedures.

Our supply chain

Our supply chains are mainly made up of the following:

• Growers- The majority of our products come from UK farms. We do source from other countries to ensure year-round supply. These countries include: Italy, Spain, France, Holland and Israel.
• Packaging suppliers- A leading supplier of packing material supplies all of our packaging needs.
• Temporary labour providers- We work closely with one labour provider. The majority of our workers are employed directly by us.
• Contract cleaning service- We directly employ a number of cleaning staff. We use a contract cleaning company for the cleaning of the office areas.

Our Policies

The following policies reflect our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our supply chains:

1. Equal opportunities policy;
2. Anti-harassment and bullying policy;
3. Anti-corruption and bribery policy;
4. Whistleblowing policy;
5. Anti-slavery and human trafficking policy; and
6. Recruitment policy.

Supply chain due diligence and risk assessment

To help identify and monitor the risk of slavery and human trafficking in our supply chain, we undertake the following steps:

1. Our raw material suppliers are approved annually.
2. All UK raw material suppliers must have Red Tractor accreditation, be SEDEX approved and encouraged to attend Stronger Together- Tackling Modern Slavery in UK Business workshops.
3. All overseas raw material suppliers must have Global Gap accreditation and be SEDEX approved.
4. All raw material supplier contracts incorporate provisions requiring suppliers to comply fully with all appropriate legislation including but not limited to the Modern Slavery Act 2015, Bribery Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998.
5. All raw material suppliers are required to complete Grower Undertakings, which include questions relevant to Modern Slavery and Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority provisions.
6. Our fieldsmen visit all of our UK  growers.
7. Senior management visit overseas growers whenever possible to assess the appropriateness of working conditions.
8. All non-raw material suppliers will be asked to complete a modern slavery due diligence questionnaire.
9. We undertake Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority active checks against our labour providers.
10. Business relationships are terminated in the event of continued non-compliance of our policies and procedures.

Company due diligence

We have a zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking and wish to make our company as unattractive as possible to those individuals who wish to exploit others.

Steps that have been or are currently being undertaken internally to combat exploitation within our business, in addition to the above company policies, are as follows:

1. Creating a dedicated compliance team, which consists of colleagues from the following departments: Legal; HR; Health & Safety; Production; Procurement and Sales.
2. Information concerning modern slavery and how it can be identified is included in the employee induction process.
3. Stronger Together Multi-Language Worker Posters have been placed onsite.
4. A member of the Production Team will be appointed as a “Modern Slavery Champion”.
5. External “trusted interpreters” have been identified.
6. Procedures have been put into place into how the compliance team will investigate and report potential modern slavery issues within the business and the supply chain to the relevant authorities.

Training

To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and our business, Stronger Together training has been conducted by a director and by the Factory Operations Manager. An account manager within the business has also attended customer run training.

The compliance team and the Company’s fieldmen will also be required to attend such training.

This voluntary slavery and human trafficking statement is made in connection with section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

CHRISTOPHER PARK

For and on behalf of E. Park & Sons Limited

Date: 13.05.2022