Modern Slavery Statement

Seymour Civil Engineering is fully committed to the prevention of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking and will not tolerate or condone any such identified act within any aspect of our business activities.

This statement is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, it sets out the activities undertaken by the Company in respect of the prevention of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking and constitutes the Company’s annual Modern Slavery statement.

Seymour provides a diverse range of specialist engineering services in support of the creation and maintenance of infrastructure assets for both public and private sector customers.

Our work is conducted solely in the United Kingdom (Northeast and Yorkshire) and delivered by a directly employed workforce, supplemented where necessary by temporary workers supplied by reputable recruitment partners, all of whom are fully eligible to work within the United Kingdom.

Seymour recruits either directly or via a limited number of reputable recruitment partners, who are required to successfully complete our supply chain due diligence process, prior to being accepted as a recruitment partner.

Seymour believes that no worker should pay for a job.  The cost of the recruitment of ANY worker engaged by Seymour Civil Engineering will be borne by Seymour Civil Engineering not the worker and, as part of our due diligence and risk identification processes, we will ensure that our supply chain and recruitment partners also adhere to this principle.

Supply Chain

Given the nature of our organisational structure, our model of directly employed work delivery, and our use of a UK-based supply chain, we consider that any exposure to the risk of Modern Slavery or Human Trafficking is extremely low and that should any risk exist it is most likely to be within the extended supply chain. 

We work closely with the Tier 1 providers of our supply chain in the identification of such risks to ensure they are addressed in an appropriate manner.

Modern Slavery Policy

Seymour Civil Engineering has implemented a comprehensive policy in respect of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. 

This policy and supporting procedures detail our business approach to the prevention of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, along with the processes used to support and deliver our commitment.  This policy and commitment have been communicated to our colleagues and Tier 1 supply chain partners for their information and action.

We operate a risk-based approach to the identification of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, the principle of which is based on the location of the product or service, industry sector, supplier relationships, and existing data held, supported by additional information and guidance obtained from, but not limited to, sources such as the Global Slavery Index, Corruption Perceptions Index and US Department of Labour Lists of Goods and Suppliers.

Due Diligence and Identification of Risk

Seymour Civil Engineering ’s policy of direct employment is supported by robust processes which ensure that an individual’s identity is confirmed, and they have a legitimate right to work in the United Kingdom.  This policy and the right-to-work checks undertaken by our staff significantly reduce the risk of directly employing forced labour or those who may be subject to human trafficking.

Where Seymour Civil Engineering does utilise labour only sub-contractors, we have introduced due diligence checks to ensure that, as a minimum, labour providers comply with our commitment to the Prevention of Modern Slavery and their processes for recruitment contain no illegal labour practices.

Notwithstanding that Seymour Civil Engineering ’s Supply Chain is primarily UK based, we have instigated a risk assessment of supply chain activities to identify and prioritise any areas which may pose a risk of Modern Slavery.

Communication and Training

Our commitment to the prevention of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking emanates directly from our Directors.  Their leadership and commitment to this important social issue has been clearly communicated both internally to colleagues and externally to subcontractors and Tier 1 supply chain partners.

All colleagues receive training in relation to Modern Slavery appropriate to their position and their involvement/responsibility in the engagement of workers and/or for dealing with supply chain matters.

Commitment

The Board of Directors have reviewed, accept and fully support this statement and formally approved it February 2023.

We acknowledge that we are still in the early stages of a long-term strategy and our approach to the prevention of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking will undoubtedly evolve year after year.

We will utilise our annual statements to publicly reaffirm our continued commitment and to communicate this evolution, including the steps we have taken and will continue to take, to deal with this morally and socially important issue.

Adam Harker, Managing Director