We operate in the UK, Ireland and Isle of Man.  Our supply chains include:

• Sourcing of staff
• Sourcing of accommodation
• Sourcing of goods and services

We will not tolerate slavery and human trafficking and expect everyone who works with and all of those in our supply chain to have the same approach and to uphold:

• Freedom of workers to terminate employment
• Freedom of movement
• Freedom of association
• Prohibiting of any threat of violence, harassment and intimidation
• Prohibiting of the use of worker-paid recruitment fees
• Prohibiting of compulsory overtime
• Prohibiting of child labour
• Prohibiting of discrimination
• Prohibiting of confiscation of workers’ original identification documents
• Providing of access to remedy, compensation and justice for victims of modern slavery

Where we may become aware of breaches of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (and other relevant legislation/guidance) we will act decisively and take whatever action is appropriate.

Directors and managers are responsible for compliance in their respective departments, and for their supplier relationships, and all staff have a role in supporting this.  To enable this we have in place a staff awareness training programme to ensure that this matter has prominence and to ensure that staff:

• are particularly alert to the fact that vulnerable people can be at greater risk of enforced labour or trafficking
• are aware of signs of possible modern slavery
• know how to act if they have any suspicion about slavery in the workplace, supply chain, or elsewhere
• know where to find support if they believe that they themselves are a victim of modern slavery
• where they procure goods or services, know to seek supplier confirmation of compliance with Modern Slavery legislation

Additionally we shall:

• Publish our statement on our website so that our commitment is visible
• Register our credentials with the UK Home Office and update same as required
• Promote our whistle-blowing policy to staff
• Record any instances of violation of this policy by:
  • Staff
  • Third parties
• Record any reports made to statutory agencies under this policy
• Include in reports to the boards of trustees no less often than annually:
  • Instances of staff breach
  • Instances of third party breach
  • Details of any reports made under this policy
  • Training statistics for staff and associates
• Seek confirmation from contractors that they are compliant with modern slavery legislation and guidance in their own business activities and supply chain as a condition, where possible, of contracting with them

The Board of Trustees of Autism Initiatives reaffirmed its commitment to this statement on 9th May 2024.

Andrew Grainger, CEO Autism Initiatives