Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, 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.
The Company has a comprehensive Modern Slavery Policy in line with the provisions of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Company understands that this requires an ongoing review of both its internal practices in relation to its labour force and, additionally, its supply chains. A Slavery Compliance Officer is appointed for this purpose.
Modern slavery is defined as:
- human trafficking;
- forced work, through mental or physical threat;
- being owned or controlled by an employer through mental or physical abuse of the threat of abuse;
- being dehumanised, treated as a commodity or being bought or sold as property;
- being physically constrained or to have restriction placed on freedom of movement.
The Company is a small ‘biotech’ engaged in the development of new cancer medicines. It is a virtual organisation which outsources the majority of its operational functions. Themain supply chains of the Company include those related to laboratories, contract research organisations, contract development and manufacturing organisations, academic institutions, and medical facilities. We include anti-slavery and human trafficking clauses in our new and renewed contracts with these vendors. We understand that the Company’s first-tier service providers are intermediary traders and therefore have further contractual relationships with lower-tier suppliers.
The Company does not enter into business with any other organisation, in the United Kingdom or abroad, which knowingly supports or is found to involve itself in slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour.
No labour provided to the Company in the pursuance of the provision of its own services is obtained by means of slavery or human trafficking. The Company strictly adheres to the minimum standards required in relation to its responsibilities under relevant employment legislation.