Introduction
Oxwash is a company that provides textile care services to clients and communities across the country. Our mission is to eliminate the negative impact of textile care on the environment and people. To achieve this, we follow internationally recognised human rights and standards, which include the International Bill of Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We are committed to preventing any involvement in human rights violations and ensuring that the human rights of our employees and anyone else we come into contact with are respected, whether directly or indirectly.
Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person's liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains.
Scope
Our Human Rights and Modern Slavery Policy applies to all Oxwash employees and workers. We also expect our suppliers to respect and adhere to this policy, which is outlined in our Supplier Code of Conduct.
Principles
We will:
seek to avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through our activities and address such impacts, if they do occur, in a timely and appropriate manner;
seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly related to our operations, products and services through our business relationships;
provide for, or cooperate in their remediation through legitimate processes, if we identify that we have caused or contributed to adverse human rights impacts;
continue to look for ways to support the promotion of human rights within our operations and our sphere of influence.
Employee Responsibilities and Raising a Concern:
Employees must ensure that they read, understand and comply with this policy;
The prevention, detection and reporting of modern slavery in any part of our business or supply chains is the responsibility of all those working for us or under our control. You are required to avoid any activity that might lead to, or suggest, a breach of this policy;
Please notify your manager or the Head of Sustainability as soon as possible if you suspect that a breach of this policy has occurred;
You are encouraged to raise concerns about any issue or suspicion of modern slavery in any parts of our business at the earliest possible stage;
If you are unsure about whether a particular act, the treatment of workers more generally, or their working conditions constitutes any of the various forms of modern slavery, raise it with your manager or the Head of Sustainability;
You may be asked to share any reports that you make in writing, to assist with further investigations;
We will aim to encourage openness and will support anyone who raises genuine concerns in good faith under this policy, even if they turn out to be mistaken. We are committed to ensuring no one suffers any detrimental treatment (including dismissal, disciplinary action, threats or other unfavourable treatment) as a result of reporting in good faith their suspicion that modern slavery of whatever form is or may be taking place in any part of our business. If you believe you have suffered such treatment, you should inform your manager or the Head of People immediately. If the matter is not remedied, and you are an employee, you should raise it formally using our Grievance Procedure.
Policy
This sets out our position concerning human rights and modern slavery and sits alongside our Employment Manual, Health and Safety Policy, Modern Slavery Statement and our Supplier Code of Conduct. Please refer to our Modern Slavery Statement, to learn about the actions we’ve taken to uphold this policy in the most recent year. Our statements below draw upon the International Bill of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work:
i. Child Labour:
Oxwash will not use child labour and will comply with all relevant laws in this regard. We do, however, support legitimate workplace apprenticeships, internships and other similar programmes that comply with the applicable laws and regulations.
ii. Modern slavery:
Oxwash will not use forced, bonded or involuntary labour, and workers are not required to lodge ‘deposits’ or identity papers with the company and can leave after giving reasonable notice, with all wages owed to be paid. We have a zero-tolerance approach towards human trafficking.
iii. Health, Safety and Hygiene:
All Oxwash employees will work in an environment that is both safe and healthy, in line with our UK Health and Safety Policy. iv. Discipline: Oxwash prohibits physical abuse or discipline, the threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation. Disciplinary and grievance procedures are documented and communicated to all employees in our Employee Manual. All disciplinary measures of a serious nature are recorded and actioned. v. Freedom of Association and Employee Representation: Oxwash recognises that all its employees have the right to form and join organisations of their own choosing as long as this does not contravene the company’s policies, which ensures our independence, in line with the regulatory requirements of our business. Oxwash takes active measures to seek employees’ views about the company, respects employees’ rights to belong to trade unions and fully complies with our legal obligations to inform and consult employees. vi. Working Hours:
Oxwash will ensure that working hours are reasonable and comply with the law and industry standards. vii. Equality of Treatment: Oxwash is fully committed to eliminating discrimination in recruitment, training and working conditions, on grounds of race, colour, sex, age, religion, political opinion, national extraction, sexual orientation, disability or social origin and to promoting equality of opportunity and treatment as outlined in the Employee Handbook. viii. Employment terms: Oxwash will provide written and clear contracts which detail the terms and conditions of its staff employment. We will ensure that work performed by employees is based on recognised employment law and practice. ix. Remuneration: Oxwash will, at a minimum, provide wages and benefits that meet national standards. We are an accredited Living Wage employer. We will provide employees with clear written information on their pay and conditions. The company prohibits deductions on employees’ wages as a disciplinary measure. Oxwash is committed to equal pay and benefits for men and women for work of equal value, and work to achieve a zero gender pay gap.
Grievance and remediation
Where a human rights violation is identified, we’ll work with all parties involved to seek access to remedy, compensation and justice for the victim. We’ll also investigate the root cause so that we can take appropriate steps to prevent such a violation from reoccurring. Anyone raising a genuine concern which is in the public interest will be protected from victimisation.
Implementation
Michelle Urvall-Ashraf, ‘Head of Sustainability’, is responsible for the company’s Human Rights Policy. Our Senior Leadership team will review the policy on an annual basis concerning its relevance and effectiveness and will make improvements as necessary. Our Human Rights Policy and our Modern Slavery Statement are both accessible to our staff via the Oxwash employee platform HiBob, and to other interested parties via our website (oxwash.com) downloads section, or on request.