Modern Slavery Statement
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes RMBI Care Co.’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending March 2023 and has been approved by the Board of RMBI Care Co.
Modern slavery is an abhorrent practice, a hidden crime that affects over 40 million men, women and children from all walks of life and from all around the world, including the UK. It encompasses slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour, and human trafficking, and is a serious violation of fundamental human rights, depriving a person of their liberty and exploiting them for personal or commercial gain.
RMBI Care Co. will not tolerate modern slavery in our business or in our supply chain and we recognise that high levels of integrity are required in our procurement of people, goods and services. We have a zero tolerance approach to modern slavery and we have examined our working practices to identify risks and implement effective controls, systems and procedures to prevent and reduce the risks accordingly.
Our Business and Supply Chains
RMBI Care Co. is a UK business, headquartered in London. Whilst part of the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF), it operates as an independent charity, providing care for older Freemasons, their families and the wider community, and operating 17 care homes across England and Wales for some 1000 residents, with services including residential care, nursing care, dementia support, short-stay breaks, and day services. The £54m annual turnover of the business requires us to produce an annual slavery statement in compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
RMBI Care Co. employs over 1500 staff in its care homes and head office. Our supply chains include procurement of agency staff, medical consumables, facilities maintenance, utilities, vehicles, telephony and IT and waste management.
Our 17 homes are supported by regional and national roles which include Care Operations, Property, HR, and Finance with technical roles within these functional teams. Our payroll function is outsourced and is directly managed by the HR department, and our IT function is outsourced, this is directly managed by the Managing Director.
Our Policies
RMBI Care Co. has worked closely with independent experts to produce a comprehensive Modern Slavery Policy.
The policy sets out RMBI Care Co.’s commitment to preventing and reducing the risk of modern slavery in our business and our supply chain. The document sets out in detail the scope of the policy, the responsibility and governance arrangements along with awareness, development and communication strategies.
The policy also sets out clearly the serious consequences of a breach of the policy by either staff or suppliers and, where appropriate, this may result in dismissal or termination of a business relationship.
Our Modern Slavery Policy is supported by our whistleblowing and grievance policies.
Risk Assessment and Due Diligence
RMBI Care Co. has conducted a comprehensive risk assessment process across the business model to identify where the risks of modern slavery may occur; the organisation recognises that the risk is highest where local care homes recruit temporary staff for short-term periods. A number of new measures are in the process of being introduced to reduce such appointments and to reduce this risk. A comprehensive action plan has been produced to manage the organisation’s response to modern slavery; this will be overseen by a modern slavery champion who will be supported by a small working group of senior managers.
The vast majority of suppliers in our supply chain are well-known to us and we meet with them on a regular basis. Our Procurement and Contracts Manager has been awarded the role of modern slavery champion and is tasked with further strengthening our due diligence processes in line with our risk assessment around modern slavery.
The modern slavery champion reports quarterly to senior management on the progress of the action plan and the monitoring of KPIs which have been identified to measure the effectiveness of the policy. A report providing an overview of the KPIs and progress will also be provided to the Board on an annual basis.
Key Performance Indicators
We have identified and will monitor key performance indicators to measure our activities around: training, number of supplier questionnaires issued and received back, codes of conduct, and the number of our suppliers – which we intend to reduce.
Awareness, Training and Development
In order to understand how modern slavery and human trafficking can affect the business, a number of key managers have received face-to-face training from our independent experts.
Training is undertaken by Home Managers, Deputy Home Managers, Business Relationship Managers, Facilities Managers and any other members of the Senior Management team where required on commencing employment. This is refreshed on an annual basis.
Signed on behalf of the Board of RMBI Care Co.
Reviewed on 04/03/2024.