Shoosmiths publishes its fifth annual slavery and human trafficking statement

Shoosmiths is committed to better understanding its supply chains and collaborating with stakeholders who wish to improve transparency and address incidents of slavery or human trafficking.

This applies not just to our own practices but also to the identification of opportunities in wider society where we might be able to make a difference. We are particularly keen to hear from like-minded organisations so that we can explore collaborative opportunities.

Anti-Slavery Day which takes place each year on 18 October aims to raise awareness of trafficking and modern slavery and to encourage preventative action to the problem facing more than 46 million victims worldwide.

That’s why we are also joining Unseen’s 2020 anti-slavery day national campaign which is asking for help to raise awareness of the role of business in tackling modern slavery.

What is Shoosmiths doing?

We recently published our 2020 statement setting out our progress and plans. Key activities during the year over and above continuing to advise our clients on this issue included:

• our supplier code of conduct was updated to provide details of how suppliers can report any concerns to Safecall and asking suppliers to report to Shoosmiths any incidents of slavery or human trafficking found in its business or supply chain;
• our modern slavery duty to notify procedure now includes a more detailed risk assessment to identify priority suppliers for engagement/survey and an escalation procedure in the event that a potential incident of slavery was to arise or be reported;
• our whistleblowing policy and modern slavery duty to notify policy and guidelines are also now in the public domain; and
• work is underway to review and update our e-learning training which covers four modules providing an introduction to modern slavery, what are the signs, action to take and an assessment of understanding.

Our four priorities for 2020/2021 are to:

1. Standardise procurement policies and practices across the business that are aligned with Shoosmiths’ responsible supply chain management requirements;

2. Continue to increase understanding of potential risk areas perceived by our priority suppliers within their supply chains. To include an on-site assessment of one of our key suppliers;

3. Continue to explore opportunities for collaboration within the business sector and with third sector organisations involved in mitigating and preventing slavery and trafficking within the UK; and

4. Continue to raise awareness amongst stakeholders.

With a supply chain consisting of circa 1,300 suppliers in relation to the purchasing of goods and services that support the operations of our offices and services to our clients our potential degree of influence is significant.

Our 2020 statement and previous statements are located here.

If you would like to explore collaborating with Shoosmiths please contact [email protected]