MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022/23

 

This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that the  ‘TVS SCS Rico Group’ which includes Rico Logistics Limited, Circle Express Limited, Triage Services Limited, and SPC International Limited, has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain. 

Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking, and forced labour. ‘TVS SCS Rico  Group’ has a zero tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our supply chain. 

Our Business

‘TVS SCS Rico Group’ is a multi-national Logistics group operating in 14 European countries and Asia Pacific. Integrated solutions offerings are based around break/fix ‘emergency’ repair & maintenance contracts in the Telecomms, IT/hitech , EPoS and money handling equipment market sectors through a network of logistics centres including Central Country stock, Field Stock Locations, and Pick-Up and Drop-Off points (PUDOs). ‘TVS SCS Rico Group’ delivers a multi-faceted suite of solutions from same-day courier services, to break/fix technical repair and replace solutions, to warehousing and distribution management. Specialist, IT repair, refurbishment, and upgrade services are also available within the Group portfolio alongside a Freight Distribution network offering such diverse services from air & sea connectivity, part-load and FTL, hazardous and out-of-gauge freight.

Our Policies

We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include: 

  1. Ethical Trading Policy. This policy identifies the organisation’s ethical commitments to  Customers, Suppliers, and our Employees. 
  2. Anti Slavery & Human Trafficking Policy. Sets out the Group expectations for our approach to and reporting of Slavery and Trafficking. 
  3. Recruitment policy. We operate a robust recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.  
  4. Whistleblowing policy. We operate a whistleblowing policy so that all employees know that they can raise concerns about how colleagues are being treated, or practices within our business or supply chain, without fear of reprisals. 
  5. Code of business conduct. This code explains the manner in which we behave as an organization and how we expect our employees and suppliers to act.

Our Suppliers

‘TVS SCS Rico Group’ operates a supplier policy and maintains a preferred supplier list. We conduct due diligence on all suppliers before allowing them to become preferred suppliers. As part of our contract  with suppliers, we require that they confirm to us that: 

  1. (For UK-based suppliers) They pay their employees at least the national minimum wage /  national living wage (as appropriate) 
  2. (For international suppliers) They pay their employees any prevailing minimum wage applicable  within their country of operations 
  3. We may terminate the contract at any time should any breach of local or international law including the Modern Slavery Act 2015 become apparent.

Training

We have conducted training for our procurement/buying teams so that they understand the signs of modern slavery and what to do if they suspect that it is taking place within our supply chain.

Our Performance Indicators

We will know the effectiveness of the steps that we are taking to ensure that slavery and/or human  trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain if: 

No reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified. 

No findings from supplier audits indicate that modern slavery has been detected in our supply  chain partners

Continuous Improvement

‘TVS SCS Rico Group’ has taken steps to increase the awareness of Modern Slavery across the entire  Group and shall continue to monitor the key touch points within the business process to ensure no occurrence.

Approval for this statement

This statement was approved by the Board of Directors on 22nd June 2022

T Gunn, CEO

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