Modern Slavery Act Statement

At Solicitor Direct Ltd we are relentless in our pursuit of delivering quality and excellence for our clients. We use our professional expertise with integrity and in a responsible manner, aligning our actions and decisions to the highest standards of business conduct and being alert to situations that pose ethical questions. Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. This statement underlines our commitment to ensuring modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in and around our organisation.

October 2019

This statement is made by Solicitor Direct Ltd and is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the “Act”) and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement.

Solicitor Direct Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales (registered number 08711504 in England and Wales)

Responsibility

The firm’s Director and HR Manager have responsibility for overseeing the effective implementation of our anti-slavery and human trafficking policy and for the annual preparation of the anti-slavery and human trafficking statement.

The Director and the HR Manager shall report annually to the management team and to date no issues have been raised.

Supplier Due Diligence

We are committed to improving our practices to enable us to identify and eradicate any modern slavery or human trafficking within our supply chains.

We have instigated a firm-wide risk assessment, clearly mapping the firm’s supply chains across multiple tiers and identifying potential touch-points for modern slavery. The results of this assessment will shape our future due diligence processes and we will focus our attention on the highest risk areas identified to ensure that our obligations under the Act continue to be met.

We also engage with our suppliers to seek reassurance about their compliance with the legislation.

Training

All staff have been made aware of the firm’s anti-slavery and human trafficking policy and the policy is available on our internal platform for all staff to access. The policy applies to all persons working for us or on our behalf in any capacity. In 2019 we are rolling out firm wide compulsory training for all staff to raise awareness of issues surrounding modern day slavery and human trafficking.

Effectiveness

There have been no reported incidents of modern slavery or human trafficking during the financial year to date. If any concerns are raised then a full investigation would be carried out and appropriate action taken in accordance with our policies and procedures.

Further Steps

As part of our ongoing review of the firm wide risk assessment, we monitor our procurement process and will be introducing specific measures to ensure that our obligations under the Act are passed through our supply chain. These could include:

• A requirement for all new suppliers to complete a supplier’s statement confirming they comply with all anti-slavery laws and that they have effective procedures and controls in place to ensure that their business and supply chain is free from slavery or human trafficking.
• Requesting existing suppliers complete a supplier’s integrity statement at the time of their next renewal.
• Rolling out the compulsory e-learning training programme for all current staff and new joiners to the firm to raise awareness of this Statement and our antislavery and human trafficking policy.
• Reviewing our training programme for key stake holders such as those involved with procurement or business services and make recommendations for improvements.

Solicitor Direct Ltd
Derek Forrest

Updated October 2019

Click HERE to download the Solicitor Direct Modern Slavery Act Statement (PDF).