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Slavery And Human Trafficking Policy

SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING POLICY

Pinewood Group Limited ("Pinewood"), its parent company Picture Holdco Limited, and their associate companies and subsidiaries (together, the "Group") are committed to the prevention, deterrence and detection of slavery and human trafficking. The purpose of this document is to set out the Group's policy against slavery and human trafficking and other corrupt practices, including the standards and procedures required to ensure compliance with this policy.

INTRODUCTION

The UK government has enacted legislation, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the "Act"), to demonstrate its commitment to eradicate slavery and human trafficking in UK-based business organisations. Pinewood itself and its officers and employees could all face prosecution under the Act if in breach.

The Group has a clearly-defined stance of zero-tolerance of all forms of slavery, human trafficking and other exploitation within its business and expects its officers, employees and business partners to conduct themselves in accordance with this policy. The Group will actively investigate all breaches or suspected breaches of this policy and, if appropriate, invoke disciplinary measures against any employee and take prompt action to remedy the breach and prevent any repetition. In appropriate circumstances, the Group will also invoke contractual sanctions against any business partner who is found to have committed slavery or trafficking-related offences.

Definition

Slavery and human trafficking is a crime and a violation of fundamental and basic human rights, affecting an estimated 27.6 million people globally. It is an international crime on a significant scale largely irrespective of gender, age and ethnicity. It is defined as deprivation of a person’s liberty in order to exploit them for commercial gain. The Act consolidates existing offences into a single piece of legislation which requires businesses over a certain size to disclose each year what steps they have taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in their business or supply chains.

SCOPE

Who must follow this policy?

The policy applies to all directors, employees, officers, advisors, agents, consultants, sub-contractors, suppliers and professional advisors of the Group. Compliance with this policy is mandatory for those individuals and it is vital that all staff know the rules and comply with them. Pinewood will provide staff with training on the scope and application of the policy at appropriate intervals. Copies of the training slides are appended to this policy. Please contact the Legal Department should you have any questions or wish for additional training to be provided to your team members.

We will also encourage the application of this policy amongst our business partners including joint venture partners and consortium members, and in some cases, our contracts with them will require them to comply with it.

Employees who engage third parties such as agents, contractors, freelancers, consultants or intermediaries to work on behalf of the Group must seek to ensure that these parties are aware of this policy. Such third parties may also be required to commit contractually to observe this policy when working on our behalf if they do not have an adequate policy of their own.

Raising concerns

Employees are encouraged to raise questions or concerns at the earliest possible stage about:

  • the scope and application of the Act generally or of this policy;
  • any instance or suspicion of slavery or human trafficking or any action which could be construed as or may be a breach of this policy or of the Act.

Such concerns will be treated in the utmost confidence and should be raised with your Line Manager in the first instance. If your Line Manager is not available, please contact the Legal Department (“Group Legal”) on 01753 785157, 01753 785762 or legal@pinewoodgroup.com.

If you suspect slavery or trafficking, you can also report it to the authorities in a number of ways:

MONITORING AND REVIEW

This policy is supported by the Board of Directors of Pinewood (the "Board"). The designated director with overall responsibility for this policy is Andrew Smith.

Pinewood will periodically review the implementation of this policy in respect of its suitability, adequacy and effectiveness and is committed to making improvements as appropriate. Andrew Smith will be responsible for reporting the results of this process to the Board. Employees and business partners who are obliged to comply with this policy will be notified of any change.

In compliance with the Act, Pinewood publishes its Modern Slavery Statement annually on its website (available at www.pinewoodgroup.com). Pinewood’s Modern Slavery Statements are also available on the Government registry at https://modern-slavery-statement-registry.service.gov.uk. The annual Modern Slavery Statement is approved by the Board and signed by a director.

Next review date: May 2024.

POLICY

(i)    Key Principle

The Group prohibits slavery and human trafficking in any form whether direct or indirect through third parties.

(ii)    Risk areas for the Group

Pinewood has identified the following areas as vulnerable to allegations of modern slavery or human trafficking in its supply chain and operations:

  • dealings with Associates (particularly international Associates) (as defined below);
  • activities undertaken by joint ventures; and
  • use of consultants and/or freelancers

Screening and due diligence procedures

The Group therefore requires certain screening and due diligence procedures to be carried out in respect of its agents, advisers, contractors, suppliers, intermediaries, joint venture partners and other representatives ("Associates") to ensure that the highest ethical standards are maintained and to protect the Group from the risk of it being associated with modern slavery or human trafficking (“New Supplier Process”). All tender documentation includes mandatory questions on compliance with the Act and bidders who have been convicted of an offence under the Act are automatically excluded from the tender process.

In order to determine which Associates may present a risk for the Group, Pinewood will require an upfront risk assessment to be carried out on all potential Associates as part of the New Supplier Process, which includes completion of a ‘New Supplier Request Form’ (available on Pinewood’s intranet) whereby employees are required to confirm whether they are aware of any allegation, prosecution or conviction for slavery or human trafficking involving the Associate or any of its employees, including being debarred from tendering for any private or public contract. The employee must further warrant that they have no suspicion that the Associate is engaged in slavery or human trafficking and that their appointment or engagement will not give rise to any slavery or human trafficking or reputational risks. Any concerns or queries relating to or risks in engaging the Associate must be raised prior to their engagement. If you are unsure whether someone is an "Associate" for these purposes, please consult Group Legal. You may be required to carry out, or assist with, further due diligence enquiries in relation to any Associate where the answers given on the New Supplier Request Form are unsatisfactory in any way, or raise any particular concerns.

The Group requires that Associates are made aware of this policy. Associates may also be required to commit contractually to observe this policy if they do not have an adequate policy of their own. Appropriate slavery and human trafficking language for inclusion in the contractual terms can be obtained from Group Legal. If the Associate is found to be in breach of such terms, the relevant Group company may terminate the contract.

Monitoring procedures

Employees must keep compliance by Associates under review and report any suspected breaches of contractual obligations or unlawful conduct as set out below.

The New Supplier Request Form (and any follow-up due diligence) is designed to reduce slavery and human trafficking risks posed by Associates at the pre-contract stage. However, it is also the responsibility of every employee to monitor the activities of those with whom they have direct contact.

In dealings with Associates, the following non-exhaustive list of "red flags" should put employees on notice of possible risks and should be reported to the relevant Line Manager and Group Legal:

  • dealings in jurisdictions with a history of slavery or human trafficking;
  • poor or non-existent slavery and human trafficking policies or a reluctance to co-operate with the New Supplier Process;
  • refusal to accept slavery and human trafficking language or attempts to substantially modify the language included in their contractual terms;
  • poor or non-existent records of monitoring compliance with its own slavery and human trafficking policy;
  • extensive use of third party agents and intermediaries, particularly in jurisdictions with a history of slavery or human trafficking;
  • false or misleading documentation; and
  • adverse press comment on business dealings.

(iii)       Use of Consultants and Freelancers

From time to time, the Group uses consultants and freelancer staff to facilitate new business opportunities. The Group recognises that reliance on consultants and freelancers and, in particular, difficulties in due diligence checks and KYC in foreign jurisdictions, is a potential source of risk of slavery and human trafficking. The Group therefore requires that due diligence is carried out prior to the engagement of consultants or freelancers. The Group also requires slavery and human trafficking language to be included in the contractual arrangements with consultants and freelancers. Appropriate language for inclusion in the contractual terms can be obtained from Group Legal. If the consultant or freelancer is found to be in breach, the relevant Group company may terminate the contract.

(iv)       Activities undertaken by joint ventures

The Group may enter into contractual joint venture arrangements in overseas territories from time to time, as well as other contractual arrangements with commercial partners, for example with Pinewood-branded studios. It also has corporate joint ventures in the UK. If the counterparties to these joint venture arrangements (and any future joint venture arrangements) do not have adequate slavery and human trafficking policies of their own, the Group may require such business partners to commit contractually to observe this policy. The business partners will be notified by letter of the Group's policies on preventing slavery and human trafficking.

(v)      Auditing activities and reporting

The Group will look to reserve the right to periodically audit counterparties in order to verify compliance with the Group’s contracts, with this Policy and with the Act.

The Legal and Procurement teams will periodically report to the Board on compliance with this Policy.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Employees are required to confirm that they have read and understood this policy, whether by signing and returning an acknowledgement to HR or “clicking to accept” when prompted to do so following receipt of a “Mandatory Read” notice from the Group intranet. If anyone does not fully understand any aspect of this policy, please contact Group Legal for further assistance and guidance before signing.