We are committed to respecting and supporting human rights throughout our operations. We firmly adhere to the principles of this document as reflected in the conduct of our business dealings and relationships with our business partners.  We are committed to taking steps to ensure that slavery and human trafficking does not occur within our business or partners in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

ORGANISATION'S STRUCTURE

We are a theatre in the performing arts sector and the Royal Shakespeare Company group includes the Royal Shakespeare Company, RSC Enterprise Limited, RSC Estates Limited, RSC Pre-Productions Limited, RSC Matilda US Limited, RSC Productions Limited, RSC Matilda Australasia Limited and RSC Touring Limited.

OUR POLICY ON SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

We have appropriate policies in place that underpin our commitment to ensure that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business. We continuously review and update all our policies.

Our anti-slavery policy reflects our commitment to acting transparently, respectfully, ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships. We do not tolerate slavery or human trafficking in any part of our business and are committed to ensuring that it does not take place in our supply chains. We implement and enforce effective systems and controls to mitigate this risk.

Policies which support prevention of slavery and human trafficking include the Speaking Up Policy, Safeguarding Policy, Recruitment and Selection Policy and Health and Safety Policy.

RISK ASSESSMENT AND DUE DILIGENCE PROCESSES FOR 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, allowing us to assess, identify, address and monitor potential risk areas in our supply chains and protect whistle blowers. We assess the risk of slavery or human trafficking occurring in our supply chains and apply enhanced checks where higher-risk areas are identified.

OUR SUPPLY CHAINS

We have reviewed our purchases to understand the nature of our suppliers. These include freelancers, consultants and companies providing a wide range of goods and services to help us deliver our aims and objectives.  

Existing supply chain

As part of our risk management process, we asked all heads of department to carry out a risk assessment to consider any existing or future arrangements with third parties. This included identification of:

• All agencies we use to provide staff or services, where there is a heightened risk of poor practice, particularly where they employ non-UK nationals or in light of the services the staff are asked to provide;
• Suppliers whose work involves a high level of physical labour; and
• Relationships involving suppliers operating outside the UK, in countries where controls on employment practices may be weaker.

We assessed the responses and identified risk areas so that we could review those relationships in more detail. Our legal team are working with relevant heads of department to consider each situation individually. This is an ongoing exercise. 

Future suppliers

We will carry out risk assessments for new suppliers to consider the likelihood of maltreatment of staff or other unsatisfactory factors. This may mean that we decide not to work with them or seek further information, or assurances, before proceeding. For new suppliers where a higher risk is identified:

• If the supplier is required to comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, we will review their own published policies on modern slavery.
• For other suppliers, we will seek declarations that they meet appropriate requirements and may ask them to give information on their working practices.
• We will apply appropriate vetting procedures, based on the level of risk identified, to ensure we are comfortable that any risks involving slavery can be identified and addressed promptly.

SUPPLIER ADHERENCE TO OUR POLICY

We have zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking. To ensure all those in our supply chain and contractors comply with our values and our policy, we have in place a supply chain compliance programme. This consists of contractual warranties in our agreements with suppliers, site visits (where deemed appropriate and practically possible) and regular audits to check compliance with our policies and procedures. Representatives from our Legal, Human Resources and Finance Departments support and uphold the programme.

RAISING AWARENESS and 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 and updates to our staff via our intranet and internal newsletters/briefings and by providing both written and oral reminders of good practice.

The statement was approved by the Board on 21 July 2023.

Stephen Eames
Interim Chief Operating Officer
21 July 2023