Modern Slavery Statement
Zero Tolerance
Checkatrade operates a zero-tolerance policy to Modern Slavery and fully supports the intentions of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (“the Act”). Modern Slavery is an infringement on basic human rights, such as: the right to life, freedom from torture and the right to fair and just working conditions. It materialises in many ways, including Human Trafficking, Forced Labour; Debt Slavery; Child Slavery; Domestic Slavery, Child and Forced Marriage and Slavery in the Supply Chain. Forced Labour is the most common form of slavery in the UK, arising from the pursuit of cheap products and services, with little consideration about the people behind them. At Checkatrade, one of our company values is Do the Right Thing. Eradicating Modern Slavery in all its forms across our business and supply chain is central to this value and is essential for conducting business in a fair, ethical and responsible way. We are on a continuous journey of improving both our practices and policies which we remain committed to keeping at the front of our minds as we progress as a business.
Checkatrade’s Structure
Checkatrade is the trading name of Vetted Limited and is a digital platform and print directory connecting people with trades and tools to make home improvements easy. Checkatrade currently operates solely out of the UK. Checkatrade is a member of the HomeServe Group (HomeServe) which has an existing relationship with the Slave Free Alliance. Checkatrade has worked with HomeServe and the Slave Free Alliance to conduct a gaps analysis exercise across its policies and procedures, including benchmarking its understanding of the issues relating to Modern Slavery. The recommendations of this gap analysis exercise have been incorporated into the actions set out within this statement. Checkatrade’s Supply Chain and Due Diligence Our Supply Chain consists mainly of suppliers of professional and skilled services. We therefore do not believe our Supply Chain carries an elevated degree of risk relating to Modern Slavery and / or Human Trafficking. We have implemented supplier due diligence processes to ensure our suppliers understand their responsibilities under the Act and we have updated our Standard Supplier Contracts, so that suppliers are contractually bound to comply with the requirements of the Act. We are in the process of undertaking a full review of our suppliers and have implemented quarterly business reviews with them to assess their delivery. We believe this deeper understanding of our suppliers will also help us to identify early indicators and/or raise suspicions of Modern Slavery in their delivery.
Checkatrade’s Members
In accordance with the Checkatrade Standard, we expect members to behave honestly and professionally in all their dealings. Our members agree to comply with the terms of the Act in their Membership Agreement with Checkatrade. Our Membership Agreement makes the Modern Slavery obligations clear and the Checkatrade Standard includes an obligation that our members pay and treat employees and contractors fairly and in line with the law. Trades who wish to become members of Checkatrade must undergo and pass rigorous vetting checks. This scrutiny, combined with the skills and certifications required, provide us with a considerable level of assurance that Modern Slavery is not taking place. Further assurance is also provided through our verified reviews of the tradespeople on the work they have carried out. A clear and concise complaints and disputes procedure is also outlined in the Checkatrade Standard for the purposes of reporting behaviour of a trade. In the coming year we intend to enhance and improve the ability for consumers to report more general complaints, including the ability to alert us specifically to suspicions of Modern Slavery.
Checkatrade Policies
We are committed to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of Modern Slavery within the business or in our Supply Chain. We have internal policies in place, including our recruitment and Whistleblowing policies, that demonstrate our commitment to this. Training A comprehensive suite of online training is made available to all new employees (and on demand for existing employees), including training on Whistleblowing. Each year we send out an engaging communication to our employees alerting them to the dangers of Modern Slavery and making them aware that should they know of, or suspect, any incidence of Modern Slavery they can report it following our Whistleblowing procedure. We make it clear that we take any such reports extremely seriously and we will act on them quickly.
Actions for 2024
The following actions are to be undertaken by Checkatrade in the next 12 months.
- Enhance our customer complaints process to cover the reporting of Modern Slavery issues.
- Establish and build long-standing relationships with our suppliers and clearly state our expectations of business behaviour to them regarding Modern Slavery operating principles and compliance.
- Review and update our end-to-end Procurement Policy to ensure it adequately assesses any Modern Slavery risk for new and existing suppliers.
- Revise our Whistleblowing policy to re-state and refresh our embedded practices, so that anyone who has a concern relating to Modern Slavery and/or Human Trafficking may raise it confidentially and with ease.
The Act
In accordance with the requirements of the Act, this statement can be found on our website and will be reviewed annually.
Jambu Palaniappan – CEO and Director
25th January 2024
Our financial year end is 31 December. This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes Vetted Limited’s (t/a Checkatrade) Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking statement for the period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2025. It was approved by the Vetted Limited Board of Directors on 25 January 2024.