Policies

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.

As a public sector organisation, West Midlands Combined Authority recognises that we have a corporate responsibility to take a robust approach to slavery and human trafficking. We have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all our business dealings and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place anywhere within our own business or supply chains.

We will:

• Release a Modern Slavery Statement each financial year, in compliance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This statement will be made publicly available on our website and intranet. Regular reviews of the policy will be conducted to ensure it adheres to regulatory and legislative requirements.
• Acknowledge our responsibility as a ‘First Responder’ under Section 52 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, to report all instances when there are reasonable grounds to believe a person may be a victim of modern slavery or human trafficking to the Home Office.
• Safeguarding will continue to remain a mandatory e-learning course for all new starters within the business alongside the compulsory reading of this policy, with additional training being provided as necessary. Any amendments/updates added to this policy will be communicated to all staff.
• We will provide a working environment that thoroughly encourages all its employees, customers and other business partners to speak out if they are aware of, or suspect, any wrongdoing or misconduct within the organisation. This includes any circumstances which may give rise to an enhanced risk of slavery or human trafficking. The CA will support anyone who raises a genuine concern in good faith under this policy, even if they turn out to be mistaken. An employee will not suffer any detrimental treatment as a result of reporting, in good faith, a suspicion that modern slavery is taking place in any part of the organisation or our supply chain.

See our full Modern Slavery Policy and Modern Slavery Financial Statement for 2020/21.