Modern Slavery Act Statement
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and is published on behalf of Touchlight Genetics Limited and its group companies (“Touchlight”). Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour, and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain. Touchlight has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains.
We are also committed to ensuring there is transparency in our own business and in our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply chains, consistent with our disclosure obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We expect the same high standards from all of our contractors, suppliers and other business partners, and as part of our contracting processes, we include specific prohibitions against the use of forced, compulsory or trafficked labour, or anyone held in slavery or servitude, whether adults or children, and we expect that our suppliers will hold their own suppliers to the same high standards.
This policy applies to all persons working for us or on our behalf in any capacity, including employees at all levels, directors, officers, agency workers, associates, volunteers, interns, agents, contractors, external consultants, third-party representatives and business partners.
As part of Touchlight’s compliance processes we will always and we expect our supply partners to confirm that they meet the legal obligations within its domestic market place as regards: –
- Employment is freely chosen.
- Local laws covering the minimum age of employment are enforced and enforcement checks are made In the UK no person under 16 years old is employed on a regular basis other than training or work experience.
- Freedom of Association is allowed.
- Working conditions meet the national legal minimum.
- Compensation meets or exceeds the national legal minimum.
- Working hours do not exceed the national legal maximum.
- Policies exist to protect staff against discrimination within the workplace and a process exists for employees to raise grievances.