INTRODUCTION

This statement is made on behalf of Oxford MedWell Academy ltd pursuant to the section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and comprises our slavery and human trafficking statement. 

This is Oxford MedWell Academy (OMA) statement issued under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and builds upon the statement from 2019. It outlines the steps we have taken as a business to identify and prevent slavery and human trafficking in our own operations and supply chains. We understand our responsibilities and are committed to improving our practices to combat slavery and human trafficking.

OUR BUSINESS

We are the UK’s pharmaceutical and personal protective equipment manufacturer and distributor. We are the parent company has its head office in the UK. The OMA has over 30 employees who operate in the UK.   

We manage the OMA through three customer-centric business units:

^1.               UK – bringing our sales, manufacturing businesses together, defined in one business unit and recognising distinct characteristics of the UK Market.  

For further information about the OMA please visit our website www.oxford-medwell.co.uk . 

OUR SUPPLY CHAINS

The OMA has direct relationships with a number of primarily UK and overseas based suppliers offering a wide range of services to the OMA and also for the benefit of our customers. Our supply chains also include outplacement of IT services, service providing sites, and certain other routine administrative tasks that are commoditised in nature. Outplacement is to a mix of onshore and offshore providers.

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 reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our business and in our supply chains. Accompanying this is our Whistleblowing Policy which provides a system for our employees to escalate slavery and human trafficking issues and breaches of our OMA policies. Both policies are reviewed annually. There have been no breaches or suspected breaches of our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy reported in 2020. 

DUE DILIGENCE PROCESSES FOR SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

As part of our initiative to identify, monitor and mitigate against industry risk, business transaction risk and risk in the countries in which we operate, we nominate senior representatives of the business units and functions, who in turn report to the Group Risk and Compliance Committee chaired by the Enterprise Risk Director. 

We have in place policies and systems across our business; our trading partners; and our supply chains to:-

•       Identify inappropriate employment practices;

•       Identify, assess and monitor other potential risk areas;

•       Mitigate the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring;

•       Protect whistleblowers; and 

•       Investigate reports of Modern Slavery. 

SUPPLIER ADHERENCE TO OUR VALUES AND ETHICS

We have zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking. To ensure all those in our supply chain and contractors comply with our values we operate in line with principles of responsible sourcing, including paying employees at the prevailing minimum wage applicable within their relevant country of operations.  

We also have a Supplier Code of Conduct which outlines our expectations. The

Supplier Code of Conduct lists the OMA Mandatory Policies and we expect Suppliers to adhere to these standards or higher. The relevant account managers will monitor and enforce compliance of the Supplier Code of Conduct. 

TRAINING

To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our business, in our supply chains and in our business partners, we provide relevant in-house training to our colleagues. Under our Supplier Code of Conduct we also require our business partners to provide regular and relevant training to their staff and suppliers and providers. 

COVID-19

We understand that some workers may be more vulnerable to modern slavery during the coronavirus pandemic. The OMA adopted government guidelines for Covid-19 secure workplaces and paying statutory sick pay in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Our employees have been and continue to have access to our grievance procedures.  

NEXT STEPS 

•         Raise awareness of the Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct with our employees and suppliers.

•         Additional training for employees as necessary. 

•         Integrate any learnings from Covid-19 into our future strategy. 

STATEMENT

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our OMA ‘s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31^st May 2020 and was approved by the Board of Directors of OMA ltd on 01 June 2021.