Modern Slavery Act 2015: Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT
Introduction
LA International Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries (“LA International”) is committed to preventing acts of modern slavery and human trafficking from occurring within its businesses and ensuring there is transparency in our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply chains, consistent with our disclosure obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We also have an Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy which is available on our website and internal share point system for employees.
Organisation's structure: OUR BUSINESSES AND SUPPLY CHAINS
LA International is a Digital Technology Resourcing and Project Solutions organisation, with Enhanced Government Accreditation. Operating globally from the largest single site facility in the UK, LA International is the UK’s number 1 and largest Supplier of Security Cleared Digital and Technology resource to His Majesty’s Government. We operate 8 specialist Divisions engaged in the provision of contract & consultancy staff via award winning service delivery models, the operating Divisions include; International, ICT, Defence, National Security, Central Government, Health, Higher Education and Managed Services.
Our supply chain consists of suppliers that provide LA International with goods and services needed to operate its businesses. These suppliers are managed by our procurement team via a robust due diligence process and risk assessment which ensures we help protect vulnerable groups of people.
Where we procure goods for the operation of our business, for example, stationery, office equipment’s etc., we obtain such supplies from established and reputable organisations or retailers. These suppliers will all have their own direct obligations under the UK Modern Slavery Act in relation to their supply chain. As a result, we do not consider there to be a material risk of slavery in any business relationship concerning the supply of goods to us over which we have any direct control.
We sometimes procure services for the operation of our business. In the main, such supply consists of services from regulated and trusted professionals including, banks, accountancy practitioners, law firms etc. Many are UK-based and will have their own direct obligations under the Modern Slavery Act and/or their own regulatory oversight regime. As a result, we consider our relationship with such suppliers to be very low risk so far as issues with trafficking and modern slavery are concerned. We may also engage other suppliers who are not subject to a regulatory regime to provide services. Any such suppliers are subject to our due diligence and risk assessment process which ensures there is a very low risk of modern slavery and trafficking in our supply chain. We also mitigate the risk of modern slavery in our supply chain by directly employing staff to provide services (for example, cleaning services), where those services may have otherwise been supplied via suppliers in a high risk sector.
Our supply chain also consists of consultants and sub-contractors we supply to clients and other organisations which we engage with to supply consultants to our clients. We have safeguards in place to ensure that such consultants or sub-contractors supplied are not being exploited or victims of traffickers. These safeguards include conducting identity and right to work checks and training staff on how to identify signs of modern slavery.
Our policies on slavery and human trafficking
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. Our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy within our business reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships. The policy also aid in implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our supply chains.
Due diligence processes for slavery and human trafficking
As part of our initiative to identify and mitigate risk we ensure that our employees are aware of how they can assist in tackling modern slavery and human trafficking.
We have in place systems to:
- Identify and assess potential risk areas in our supply chains.
- Mitigate the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our supply chains.
- Monitor potential risk areas in our supply chains.
- Protect whistle blowers.
We also have a dedicated compliance team, which consists of involvement from the following departments:
- Legal
- Audit and compliance
- Human resources
- Procurement
Training
To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and our business, we provide training to our staff. The training provided to staff includes:
- the basic principles of the Modern Slavery Act 2015;
- how employees can identify and prevent slavery and human trafficking;
- what employees can do to flag up potential slavery or human trafficking issues to the relevant parties within the organisation
RISK ASSESSMENT AND MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS
Due to the structure of our supply chain and the checks we undertake, the risk of modern slavery in our business is limited but we nevertheless take our commitment to tackling modern slavery very serious and have a zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking.
In the financial year, some of the steps we took within the group to ensure ongoing compliance included:
- pre-employment/engagement audit checks on employees and contractors we have employed or engaged which included verification of their identity, right to work and references.
- refresher training for employees
- training for new employees
- undertaking a modern slavery compliance exercise of our suppliers
- checking the website of suppliers who have an obligation under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to verify compliance with terms of Section 54(1) of the Act
We continue to keep our policies and procedures under constant review to ensure compliance with the law.
This statement has been approved by the board of directors on 10 July 2023 and is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 30 June 2023.
This statement applies to all our subsidiaries including LA International Computer Consultants Limited.
…………………………..
Paul Lukic
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
For and on behalf of
LA International Holdings Limited and its subsidiary companies
