Modern Slavery Statement

3rd May 2024

Introduction from the Group Chief Financial Officer

Vocation Group Limited (“Vocation”) is committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships. Modern Slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. We are fully committed to playing our part in eradicating modern slavery by ensuring that slavery, trafficking, child labour, bonded labour, and forced labour does not take place within our business or any part of our supply chain.

The Chief Financial Officer holds the responsibility for this policy.     

 

Our Business

Vocation is a Group of businesses under the parent company Vocation Group Limited, headquartered in Yorkshire in the United Kingdom.  At the core of our business is our Brewery where we develop and supplying beer to customers of all sizes and direct to consumers.  We also own and operate Vocation and Co, taprooms across the North of England.  The Group has 170 employees and operates solely in the United Kingdom.

 

Our Supply Chains

We source as much as possible locally, and the products for use in our manufacturing processes are predominately from the UK, EU and USA.  Occasionally we source equipment or merchandise from further afield and therefore will be taking steps to ensure that we are able to identify products and countries that represent a high risk of modern slavery and built awareness of these risks within our team.

Relationships with our suppliers are important to us, we do our best to maintain a limited number of suppliers for many reasons, which largely makes it possible to understand their processes and ways of working, making the implementation of this policy achievable.

 

Our Commitment 

Vocation has a zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking.  Internally we ensure our people receive fair pay and good working conditions, people are at the heart of our business, from the design and brewing of our beers to the hosting and serving at our bars and we will continue to make them our focus.   

Additionally in 2024 Vocation will implement the following initiatives:

1. We will continue to develop a risk matrix for our supply chain to identify and assess potential risk areas
2. Implement our due diligence process with all current and any new suppliers onboarded
3. We will continue with our company-wide training program to support all our people-focused policies and initiatives – This is completed through the induction process
4. Develop KPIs to measure the effectiveness of the steps we’ve taken in the year

 

Due Diligence Processes

In addition to the development of a risk matrix, identifying and assessing potential risk areas in our supply chain, to ensure all those in our supply chain comply with our ethics we will ask all suppliers to assess their own business and supply chain and declare to us that they are committed to ensuring that there is no slavery, trafficking, bonded labour, child labour or forced labour within their business or supply chain.

We will do this retrospectively with all current suppliers and this will form part of our new supplier approval process going forward.  If you are our supplier and do not give this declaration, or we believe you may be in breach of this declaration, we may terminate our contracts and working relationship, report you to the appropriate authorities and pursue any legal remedies available to us against you.

 

Training

To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and our business, in 2024 we will continue to provide employee training to all staff relating to modern slavery as well as reiterating the importance of our other policies relating to anti-bribery, bullying and harassment, whistleblowing, equality and diversity as well as our grievance procedure.

 

Communication

Vocation Brewery Ltd understands that raising awareness of modern slavery within our company requires effective communication. All our policy materials are accessible through our internal communication channels. We recognise that communication must be both ways, which is why we launched several staff engagement platforms for all employees over the course of the previous financial year as a way of identifying support gaps and better understanding the requirements of all coworkers regarding wellbeing.

We will continue to improve our processes to help us identify, prevent, and mitigate any risks of modern slavery or human trafficking in relation to new and existing suppliers over the course of the upcoming fiscal year. We will also continue to raise awareness and understanding of the risk of modern slavery within our business.

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our Group's slavery and human trafficking statement for the year ending 2024.

 It was approved by the board on 21 February 2024

 

John Brooks

Group Chief Financial Officer

Vocation Group Limited