This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that Tandem Group plc 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. Tandem Group plc 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 company
Tandem Group plc is a designer, developer, importer, distributor and retailer of sports, leisure and mobility products listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM). We import products from suppliers in a number of countries, most notably the Far East.
Our supply chain
Tandem Group plc has a corporate and social responsibility committee which sets out and maintains a supplier evaluation and conformance policy. We believe our supply chain carries the most inherent risk of modern slavery and therefore we focus on this area of the business.
We promote transparency in our supplier relationships and expect that our suppliers will conduct their business operations, including their dealings with Tandem Group plc, with the same ethical standards we do.
We conduct due diligence on prospective suppliers before allowing them to become a supplier which includes checks for potential instances of modern slavery. The majority of prospective suppliers must satisfactorily complete an audit before being validated by the Group. The audit assesses risks that a supplier may not conform to our principles and statement. Follow up audits are undertaken on a regular basis once suppliers are accepted to review working conditions and check conformance to and measure the effectiveness of our policy. With the benefits of language and location, the Group’s Hong Kong office is able to control the audits of the suppliers in Asia. Other supplier audits are controlled from the UK.
Most of our suppliers’ Far East factories are also inspected and approved by independent third party organisations such as ICTI Care, BSCI and SMETA which specialise in ethical auditing.
Our conformance policy forms part of our contract with suppliers and they are required to confirm that no part of their business operations contradicts this policy. We review each audit report to test for the effectiveness of our policy and each ensure individuals who carry out supplier audits are suitably trained and experienced.
Reporting
We encourage employees and suppliers to report known or suspected illegal and unethical activities. Employees receive training where appropriate to support accurate and prompt reporting. We are not aware of any instances or indicators of modern slavery in the year ended 31 December 2023.
Approval for this statement
This statement has been approved by the Board of Directors, following the publication of the Annual Report and Accounts, for the year ended 31 December 2023.
Signed by: D S Rock
Company Secretary
25 March 2024