Question: Does the company describe a grievance mechanism to facilitate whistle-blowing or the reporting of suspected incidents of slavery or trafficking?
Answer:
Whistleblower protection (direct employees),
Whistleblower protection (supply chain workers),
Focal Point (direct employees),
Focal Point (supply chain workers)
15537335
Walk Free
2022
Unverified - Added by Steward
updated 9 months ago by Aureliane

 

 

For direct employees, there is a focal point (my assumption is that a direct contact is a person) and Whistleblower protection (through confidentiality). It is not clear, however, how accessible the procedure is for supply chain workers outside of audits:

 

p.g.3, 2.5: We encourage employees and workers in our supply chain to follow normal procedures to raise issues and concerns(...) We have a Whistleblowing procedure in place which is set out in our Employee Handbook and available on the Company’s intranet as well as in our Anti-Corruption and Bribery policy which provides a direct contact at Mulberry HQ for urgent issues or in case all other avenues to report issues are exhausted. As part of our supplier audit process, our auditors offer interviewed workers the opportunity to follow up by telephone or email on a confidential basis.

 

pg 3; 1.4: Since direct suppliers have to adhere to Mulberry's GSP, the focal point and Whistleblower protection also applies to supply chain workers (tier 1):

 

"For almost all our products, the materials are selected and sourced by Mulberry, and so Mulberry has a direct line of communication to both our finished goods and our raw material suppliers, all of which sign up to our Global Sourcing Principles as a condition of doing business with Mulberry."

 

For contracted workers on Mulberry's production site (which I considered direct employees in this context), the statement mentions a focal point but does not explicitly mention protections:

 

pg.4, 2.3: A “welcome letter” is also issued which provides such people who work on our sites with contact details of a specified Mulberry person with whom they can raise any significant issues akin to whistleblowing. It is hoped that this will provide such people with an alternative route in the event there are any Modern Slavery related issues or other areas of concern. Since its implementation in 2018, no issues have been reported.

Aureliane.....2023-08-18 14:01:40 UTC