Modern slavery act statement

Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy Statement

1. Introduction

At Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT) we are committed to ensuring that no modern slavery or human trafficking takes place in any part of our business or our supply chain.

This statement sets out actions taken by OHFT to understand all potential modern slavery and human trafficking risks and to implement effective systems and controls.

2. Organisational structure

OHFT provides physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people’s homes. We focus on delivering care as close to home as possible.

As a leading teaching, training and research trust, we have close links to Oxford and Oxford Brookes, Buckinghamshire, Reading and Bath universities.

We are part of the Oxford Academic Health Science Centre, working closely with our university colleagues to translate their findings into clinical care as quickly as possible, enabling people using our services to benefit from the latest advances in healthcare.

We host the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre with Oxford University, and aim to bring the best science to the complex problems of mental disorders and dementia.

We also host the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) Oxford; a partnership between universities, healthcare commissioners and providers, charities and industry targeting health and social care problems in Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley.

Our supply chains enable the procurement of a wide range of goods and services on behalf of our clients and service users.

3. Our policy on slavery and human trafficking

We are fully aware of the responsibilities we bear towards our service users, employees and local communities.

We are guided by a strict set of ethical values in all of our business dealings and expect our suppliers (i.e. all companies we do business with) to adhere to these same principles.

We have zero tolerance for slavery and human trafficking. Staff are expected to report concerns about slavery and human trafficking and management are expected to act upon them in accordance with our policies and procedures.

4. Due diligence

To identify and mitigate the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our own business and our supply chain we:

  • Undertake appropriate pre‐employment checks on directly employed staff and agencies on approved frameworks which are audited to provide assurance that pre‐employment clearance has been obtained for agency staff
  • Implement a range of controls to protect staff from poor treatment and/or exploitation, which comply with all respective laws and regulations. These include provision of fair pay rates, fair Terms of Conditions of employment and access to training and development opportunities
  • Consult and negotiate with Trade Unions on proposed changes to employment, work organisation and contractual relations
  • Purchase most of our products from UK or EU based firms, who may also be required to comply with the requirements of the UK Modern Slavery Act (2015) or similar legislation in other EU states
  • Purchase a significant number of products through NHS Supply Chain, whose ‘Supplier Code of Conduct’ includes a provision around forced labour
  • With effect from January 2017, require all suppliers to comply with the provisions of the UK Modern Slavery Act (2015), through our purchase orders and tender specifications, all of which set out our commitment to ensuring no modern slavery or human trafficking related to our business
  • Uphold professional codes of conduct and practice relating to procurement and supply, including through our Procurement Team’s membership of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply and/or other appropriate professional bodies
  • Where possible and consistent with the Public Contracts Regulations, build long‐standing relationships with suppliers.

5. Training

Advice and training about modern slavery and human trafficking is available to staff through our Safeguarding Children and Adults training, our Safeguarding policies and procedures and our Safeguarding leads.

6. Board of Directors’ approval

This statement has been approved by the Board of Directors of OHFT, who will review and update it on an annual basis.

Modern slavery transparency statement 2022 – 23 (Final following consultation)

Review our previous statements

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Page last reviewed: 10 November, 2023