At Klaxon Technologies Ltd we have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and are fully committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in our operation and supply chain.
We are serious about our brand because it’s part of our identity and so is our commitment to corporate social responsibility. We believe transparency is the best way we can ensure the public that we are doing our best as an ethical corporate citizen. In that spirit, we have published our annual statement for slavery and human trafficking, made in compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, in which we explain how slavery and human trafficking can affect our business and the steps we are taking in the fight against it. This slavery and human trafficking statement also addresses the steps taken by our parent company, Software Cloud Ltd. Our efforts against slavery and human trafficking complement our broader CSR Policy and our adoption of the Ethical Trading Initiative.
1. Structure, business and supply chain
Klaxon Technologies Ltd is headquartered in Leeds, UK and sells its product throughout the world, including the United Kingdom. Our SaaS product is designed to help businesses relay important information to their employees quickly using a wide range of communication channels. Our solution allows companies to manage crises, disasters, health pandemics and other emergencies with instant notifications to ensure all staff are kept informed, safe and productive.
We establish a relationship of trust and integrity with all our suppliers, which is built upon mutually beneficial factors. Our supplier selection and on-boarding procedure includes due diligence of the supplier's reputation, respect for the law, compliance with health, safety and environmental standards, and references.
Building on our existing CSR Policy and our commitment to the Ethical Trading Initiative, we have embraced the requirement to publish an annual slavery and human trafficking statement. This will allow us to share our efforts against slavery and human trafficking and improve and measure our success each financial year. In November 2020, we took the following key steps to ensure slavery and human trafficking did not occur within our organisation or supply chain.
2. Slavery and human trafficking policies
Klaxon Technologies Ltd operates the following policies for identifying and preventing slavery and human trafficking in our operations:
Whistleblowing Policy - we encourage all employees, customers and suppliers to report any suspicion of slavery or human trafficking without fear of retaliation. We provide a confidential helpline to protect the identity of whistle-blowers.
- Code of Conduct: our code encourages employees to do the right thing by clearly stating the actions and behaviour expected of them when representing the business. We strive to maintain the highest standards of employee conduct and ethical behaviour when operating abroad and managing our supply chain.
- Purchasing Code: we have updated our Purchasing Code and supplier contracts to make explicit reference to slavery and human trafficking.
- Accountability: Establishing a framework for organisation accountability to allow for raising issues, making suggestions, voicing grievances and reporting slavery and human trafficking
3. Due diligence procedures
Klaxon Technologies Ltd conducts due diligence on all new suppliers during on-boarding and on existing suppliers at regular intervals. This includes:
- Assessing risks in the provision of particular services
- Auditing the suppliers, and their health and safety standards, labour relations and employee contracts
- Requiring improvements to substandard employment practices
- Sanctioning suppliers that fail to improve their performance in line with our requirements
We require all suppliers to attest that:
- They don't use any form of forced, compulsory or slave labour
- Their employees work voluntarily and are entitled to leave work
- They provide each employee with an employment contract that contains a reasonable notice period for terminating their employment
- They don't require employees to post a deposit/bond and don't withhold their salaries for any reasons
- They don't require employees to surrender their passports or work permits as a condition of employment
4. Identifying, assessing and managing risk
In the past year, we conducted a risk assessment of our supply chain by taking into account:
- The risk profile of individual countries based on the Global Slavery Index
- The business services rendered by the suppliers
- The presence of vulnerable demographic groups
- A news analysis and the insights of labour and human rights groups
This assessment will determine our response and the risk controls that we implement.
5. Awareness
Klaxon Technologies Ltd has raised awareness of modern slavery issues by putting up posters across our facilities and sending an email that is focused specifically on modern slavery to all our staff, which explains:
- Our commitment in the fight against modern slavery
- Red flags for potential cases of slavery or human trafficking
- How employees should report suspicions of modern slavery
6. Training available to staff
In addition to the awareness programme, Klaxon Technologies Ltd has rolled out a fresh e-learning course to all employees and supplier contacts, which covers:
- Various forms of modern slavery in which people can be held and exploited
- The size of the problem and the risk to our organisation
- How employees can identify the signs of slavery and human trafficking, including unrealistically low prices
- How employees should respond if they suspect slavery or human trafficking
- How suppliers can escalate potential slavery or human trafficking issues to the relevant people within their own organisation
- What external help is available for the victims of slavery
- What terms and guidance should be provided to suppliers in relation to slavery policies and controls
- What steps Klaxon Technologies Ltd will take if a supplier fails to implement anti-slavery policies or controls
- An attestation from employees that they will abide by Klaxon Technologies Ltd anti-slavery policy
About this statement
This statement covers 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2023 and has been approved by the board of Klaxon Technologies Ltd at the board meeting on 8th September 2021.
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