Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking

Introduction

This Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement is a response to Section 54(1), Part of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and relates to actions and activities for the financial year ending 31 October 2023.

Kitout Limited is committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking violations in its own operations, its supply chain and its products. We have zero-tolerance towards slavery and require our supply chain to comply with our values.

Organisational Structure

Kitout is a limited company and has business operations in the United Kingdom. We operate in the retail sector. We work with a number of key direct suppliers, who provide us with goods, such as equipment/machinery for our premises as well as unbranded apparel ready for us to personalise.

For more information about us, please visit our website www.kitout.com

Policies

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

  • Supplier code of conduct – We operate this policy to ensure our suppliers operate in full compliance with the laws, rules and regulations of the countries in which they operate and to seek similar commitments across their own supply chain.

We make sure our suppliers are aware of our policies and adhere to the same standards.

Due Diligence

As part of our efforts to monitor and reduce risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our supply chains, we have adopted the following due diligence procedures:

  • Internal supplier audits.

Our due diligence procedures aim to:

  • Identify and action potential risks in our business and supply chains.
  • Monitor potential risks in our business and supply chains.
  • Reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our business and supply chains.

Risk and Compliance

We have evaluated the nature and extent of our exposure to the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our UK supply chain through:

  • Evaluating the slavery and human trafficking risks of each new supplier.
  • Creating an annual risk profile for key suppliers.
  • Reviewing on a regular basis all aspects of the supply chain based on supply chain mapping.

We consider that we operate in a high-risk environment. We feel the business operates in this risk level because although the majority of our supply chain is based in the UK, some of our suppliers do source some of the apparel from factories outside of the UK.

We do not tolerate slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains. Where there is evidence of failure to comply with our policies and procedures by any of our suppliers, we will seek to terminate our relationship with that supplier immediately.

Effectiveness

We use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure our effectiveness and ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our business and supply chains. These KPIs are as follows:

  • We will contact suppliers to enquire about their modern slavery practices every 12 months.
  • We will train our staff about modern slavery issues and increase awareness.
  • We will carry out a regular audit of our suppliers.

Training Staff

We require our staff to complete training and ongoing refresher courses on slavery and human trafficking. Our training covers:

  • How to identify the signs of slavery and human trafficking.
  • What initial steps should be taken if slavery or human trafficking is suspected.
  • How to escalate potential slavery or human trafficking issues to the relevant parties within the business.
  • What external help is available.
  • What steps we take if suppliers in our supply chain do not implement anti-slavery policies in high-risk scenarios, including their removal from our supply chain.

Next Steps

In the next financial year, we intend to take the following steps to tackle slavery and human trafficking by:

  • Constant review of policies and procedures.
  • Organising wider training for the internal team working on modern slavery and human trafficking issues.
  • The business will only use specified, reputable employment agencies to source labour.

The statement was approved by the company director.

Richard Page