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MSA Business Performance Indicators
Has the company reviewed business KPIs to ensure they are not increasing risk of modern slavery? (E.g. expansion to production countries that have a lot of migrant workers)
1832012
Walk Free
Researched

About the data

Business Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can affect the level of risk and how exposed a company is to modern slavery. Companies can provide information in their statements on their existing business KPIs and explain if they have considered whether these KPIs make their business and supply chain more (or less) vulnerable to modern slavery.

For further information on Business Performance Indicators please refer to Home Office Guidance, pp. 36.

Does the company disclose existing business KPIs that may increase their exposure to the risk of modern slavery?

Examples of these business KPIs include:

  • turn-around time,
  • expansion to new production countries,
  • the cost of materials, or
  • efficiency in production.

Business KPIs that increase the risk of modern slavery could be sourcing the cheapest goods in the shortest amount of time, for example.

Select:

  • Yes. The company explicitly states having reviewed business (not modern slavery) performance indicators (usually economic led indicators) that might increase risks of Modern Slavery or are incompatible with their modern slavery strategy. Provide details in the comments.
  • In Development. The company indicates it is planning to identify these KPIs in the future. Include any relevant details.
  • No. The company:
    • Discloses no such KPIs
    • Mentions it will review its performance for the next report
    • Mentions it has consulted its subsidiaries or committees or other groups to produce this report
    • Actions taken to address modern slavery risks
 

Whistles Ltd, MSA Statement 2020, p.10-11

"At the same time some industry business models can have a direct effect on increasing the risk of modern slavery occurring in our supply chain.

For this very reason, in 2018 Whistles voluntarily joined the Better Buying initiative in order to scrutinise their own purchasing practices and assess how their business model might impact supply chain partners.

We are continuing our work to improve purchasing practices across the group and the upcoming year will also see us collaborating with industry peers to align methodologies.

  • We know that unrealistic expectations about lead times can cause suppliers to slip on their ethical standards in order to meet high-pressure expectations from clients. As such, we talk with them to understand what deadlines are realistically possible to meet.
  • We ensure our ethical trade policy is prioritised over any cuts on delivery speed and price and align our procurement practices in line with these standards.
  • We discuss payment schedules and margins with suppliers, and ensure we make payments on time.
  • We ask suppliers about their use of sub-contractors, recruiters and brokers in order to have visibility of supply chains.

We believe that business model related factors must be tackled hand-in-hand with our suppliers. It must be a joint effort, where parties involved trust each other and reciprocate with honesty and openness. In addition, we are conducting further analysis of areas of our business where there is migrant labour, high presence of refugees, home workers, young workers and a risk of the use of child labour, contract and temporary workers, women workers, and outsourced recruitment agencies."

 

* Note on choosing the Year of your answer

Read the MSA Statement carefully to find out what year it covers.

When a statement is referring to a Financial Year (FY) ending in Q1 or early Q2, it should be labeled with the previous year. Example:

  • Statement for FY2018/19 ending in April 2019 = 2018
  • Statement for FY2018/19 ending in May 2019 (or later) = 2019
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
In Development
No
Research Policy
Community Assessed
Report Type
Modern Slavery Statement
Steward
Katharine Bryant