Financial Year 2023
This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that Fellowes Limited has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain. Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. Fellowes Limited has a zero tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our supply chain.
Our Business
Fellowes Limited is a subsidiary of Fellowes, Inc., a global organization headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Fellowes is a manufacturer and distributor of Office Products and Furniture, with over 100 years of expertise and market leading brands in our portfolio. Fellowes continues to be a family owned organisation which started business in 1917. Fellowes Limited is based in Doncaster, UK and sells products mainly in UK and Ireland but also to our subsidiaries in Europe and South Africa. Fellowes Ltd has over 2,000 products, bought mainly from suppliers in Asia but also Europe.
International Operations - Global subsidiaries in North & South America, Europe, Africa and Asia
Number of Suppliers - 75
Number of UK Employees - 113
Our Policies
We operate a number of internal and external policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. We endeavour to operate on the highest ethical plane and in compliance with all of the laws of the locations that it does business.
In that regard, Fellowes has adopted a Code of Ethics (www.fellowes.com/ethics) which requires compliance with all applicable laws, including laws relating to employment.
Recruitment policy. We operate a robust recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
Whistleblowing policy. We operate a 3rd party service service for all employees to anonymously report ethical concerns about how colleagues are being treated, or practices within our business or supply chain.
Our Suppliers
Fellowes specifically addresses the risk of slavery and human trafficking in all factories that manufacture Fellowes products, whether those factories are under direct operational control or are independent third party suppliers.
In the factories where Fellowes has direct operational control, Fellowes employees are trained in and required to adhere to the Fellowes Code of Ethics. At these locations, business is conducted in accordance with Fellowes Code Ethics and subject to internal audit procedures. All candidates for employment are required to present their personal Identity Card (bearing the date of birth on the ID card) issued by the government department and checked by the HR hiring specialist prior to being hired. These factories are regularly inspected by Fellowes Global leadership team.
With respect to third party suppliers, our original equipment manufacturers (OEM) agreement and Supplier Code of Conduct (CoC) specifies that Suppliers will not use forced, indentured or bonded labour. Suppliers failing to meet our terms of the contract would be in breach of these agreements, making them subject to termination. To ensure the OEM Suppliers are meeting these standards, periodic audits are conducted. These audits are conducted by third party audit firms representing large retail customers and/or by the Fellowes China team based in Dongguan, China.
Our Performance Indicators
We will know the effectiveness of the steps that we are taking to ensure that slavery and/or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain if:
- No reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified
- Regular audit by 3rd party international accredited bodies
As of the date of this disclosure, neither Fellowes nor the independent auditors have found any evidence of forced labour or human trafficking in the Fellowes supply chain.
Approval for this statement
This statement was approved by the Board of Directors