“M&S internal policies include our Human Rights policy and our Code of Ethics where we confirm that we will not tolerate or condone abuse of human rights within any part of our business or supply chains and will take seriously any allegations that human rights are not properly respected…
…All suppliers are required to comply with our Global Sourcing Principles, and with business-area specific ethical policies, which require them to:
Participate in ethical trading audits assessments;
Provide employees with good working conditions, fair treatment and reasonable rates of pay; and
Respect workers’ human rights and comply fully with all applicable laws.
The above policies also require that:
All work must be voluntary, and not done under any threat of penalties or sanctions
Workers must not pay any deposits for work, and employers – whether labour users or recruiters – must not keep original copies of identity documents.
Indentured labour is prohibited, and workers must be free to leave work at any time, with all salary owed to be paid.
The Global Sourcing Principles have applied to product suppliers since 1998, and as of May 2016, have been extended to all suppliers – including goods not for resale. As of May 2016, we have also strengthened the Global Sourcing Principles on forced labour, and agency labour, by adding a new statement prohibiting the payment of direct or indirect recruitment fees to secure a job, and requiring suppliers to have adequate due diligence in place to ensure this does not happen…
This year M&S has amended its standard supplier contractual terms to include obligations on suppliers to: comply with the Modern Slavery Act, conduct regular Modern Slavery risk assessments within their own supply chains, implement appropriate controls to prevent Modern Slavery, and notify M&S immediately if they become aware of any Modern Slavery within their supply chains. Suppliers which breach these obligations will face appropriate actions which could include termination of contracts.”