This statement is provided on behalf of Cognitant Group Ltd and is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (‘the Act’). It constitutes Cognitant Group Ltd’s statement for the financial year ended 31 March 2022.
Introduction
Cognitant Group Ltd considers modern slavery and human trafficking extremely serious crimes, grave violations of human rights and contrary to the ethical standards and values we hold dear.
Modern slavery includes the crimes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced labour, forced criminality and organ harvesting. Victims might be working for organised groups or family members, and in a range of settings. It can be a hidden crime and the nature of the coercive control used to enslave people means victims are often themselves unaware of the true nature of their exploitation.
We have a zero-tolerance approach to such abuses and are committed to preventing modern slavery in our organisation and ensuring that our supply chain is as equally free of both modern slavery and human trafficking (within the reasonable bounds of our influence and control to ensure compliance with the Act by our supply chain and / or assure ourselves of their compliance).
All Cognitant Group Ltd employees are trained to, and agree to, the Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy.
Our organisation
Cognitant Group Ltd employs around 20 staff, all based in the UK. It is a condition of employment at Cognitant Group Ltd, irrespective of type and duration of contract, that successful candidates are able to prove they are legally entitled to work in the UK. All potential employees are asked to provide original documents, demonstrating their right to work, and these documents are checked for all employees by a Company Director. Overseas appointments are only permitted in exceptional circumstances, in consultation with our HR advisors, and follow the same right to work checks.
Our supply chain
Cognitant Group Ltd is committed to improving our practices to identify and eliminate modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains, and to act ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships.
The majority of our business activities are conducted by Cognitant Group Ltd employees, however we do work with a small number of freelancers, contract staff and subcontracting organisations. All procurement of such services does not involve high risk activities such as production of sourcing outside of the UK or EU.
In the 2022 /23 financial year Cognitant Group Ltd has taken steps to minimise the potential risk of modern slavery and human trafficking being present in our supply chain:
Our company policies are supported by our whistleblowing policy which encourages anyone who has concerns to raise them, with protection and support provided.
We are committed to raising awareness and building on this process in the future, and are committed to evaluating our risk and policies on an ongoing basis.