PREVENTING HIDDEN LABOUR EXPLOITATION
At Burts Snacks Limited, we have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and are fully committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in our operation and supply chain. Burts Snacks Limited commits to developing and adopting a proactive approach to tackling hidden labour exploitation.
Modern slavery is a heinous crime and a morally reprehensible act that deprives a person’s liberty and dignity for another person’s gain. It is a real problem for millions of people around the world, including many in developed countries, who are being kept and exploited in various forms of slavery. Every company is at risk of being involved in this crime through its own operations and its supply chain.
Hidden labour exploitation is exploitation of job applicants and workers by third party individuals or gangs other than the employer or labour provider including rogue individuals working within these businesses but without the knowledge of management. It includes forced labour and human trafficking for labour exploitation; payment for work-finding services and work-related exploitation such as forced use of accommodation. It is understood that it is often well hidden by the perpetrators with victims, if they perceive of themselves as such, reluctant to come forward.
We have taken concrete steps to tackle modern slavery and this statement sets out the actions that we have taken to understand all potential modern slavery risks related to our business, and to implement steps to prevent slavery and human trafficking during the financial year 2021.
Business Commitment
Burts Snacks Limited:
Our Business and Supply Chains
Burts Snacks Limited is an award-winning premium snack manufacturer, mainly based in the South West of the UK. We produce a growing range of brand, licensed and private label snacks, driven by our ambition to deliver premium quality snacks with exceptional taste and flavour
Our thick-cut British potato chips are hand-cooked in Devon, using locally sourced Red Tractor Assured potatoes. We use the best quality ingredients, sourced locally, to reduce our impact on the environment.
We’re keen for Burts Crisps to be a key part of our local communities, and support a variety of local and community based activities, as well as supporting several national charities and working with/supporting local suppliers.
Increasing our international footprint is important to us. So we’re continuing to focus on the export market and Burts Snacks now sold in over 22 countries around the world.
We have two separate manufacturing facilities, located in Plymouth and Leicester, where we can provide state-of-the-art manufacturing of your premium brand and private label snacks.
Suppliers
We carefully evaluate suppliers and their ethical credentials and have established a relationship of trust and integrity with all our suppliers located globally, which is built upon mutually beneficial factors.
We have over 60 direct suppliers of raw materials and packaging. Most of our suppliers are based in the UK however we also work with suppliers based in the EU, USA and other parts of the world such as Turkey and Malaysia.
Our supplier selection and on-boarding procedure includes due diligence of the supplier’s reputation, respect for the law, compliance with health, safety and environmental standards, and references.
We haven’t been made aware of any allegations of human trafficking/slavery activities against any of our suppliers, but if we were, then we would act immediately against the supplier and report it to the authorities.
Risk assessment
In the past year, we have risk assessed our supply chain by taking into account:
These assessments determine our response and the risk controls that we implement.
Burts Snacks Limited is also, with the help of partners who are specialists in this field looking for ways to further enhance, manage and identify risks within our supply chain.
Supplier due diligence
Burts Snacks Limited conducts due diligence on all new suppliers during on-boarding and on existing suppliers at regular intervals. This includes:
We require all suppliers to attest that:
Company Policies
Burts Snacks operates the following policies for identifying and preventing slavery and human trafficking in our operations:
Awareness
Burts Snacks Limited has raised awareness of modern slavery issues by sharing information with members of staff, informing them of the Company’s commitment to fighting modern slavery, the red flags for potential cases of slavery or human trafficking and how employees should report suspicions of modern slavery
Training
In addition to the awareness programme, Burts Snacks Limited has rolled out a fresh e-learning course to all employees and supplier contacts, which covers:
Measuring how we’re performing
Burts Snacks Limited has defined a set of key performance indicators and controls to combat modern slavery and human trafficking in our organisation and supply chain. These include:
This statement covers 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 and has the support of the Board of Burts Snacks Limited.
Date: 31/08/2022
Michael Cosby
Finance Director
APPENDIX 1 – MODERN SLAVERY POLICY