Introduction
Bournemouth Airport’s modern slavery and human trafficking statement is made under Section 54 of The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) and outlines steps taken to prevent modern slavery and ensure it does not take place in our business and supply chains.
At Bournemouth Airport we carry out our work in a manner that respects the human rights of others. This means we do not accept any form of forced or involuntary labour, human trafficking, and modern slavery anywhere in our business or supply chain.
Bournemouth Airport is committed to taking swift and robust action in the event that any evidence relating to slavery or human trafficking in our business or supply chain is identified & thoroughly investigated.
Organisation’s Structure
Bournemouth Airport is owned by Regional & City Airports (RCA) – one of the UK’s leading regional airport operators.
Bournemouth Airport operates in the highly regulated UK airport sector. All work is carried out in accordance with UK Government tax regulations and the UK health and safety regime. Employees and our contractor supply chain are subject to security verification of their identity and a criminal record check. The recruitment and vetting processes ensure that we do not employ any victims of modern slavery or human trafficking. We use only specified, reputable employment agencies to source labour and always verify the practices of any new agency before accepting workers from that agency. All direct employees are on full written conditions of employment that have been checked for compliance with the Act.
As a matter of policy, Bournemouth Airport will not pay earnings into an account in the name of any individual other than the employee or into a bank account held outside of the UK. The Directors believe that this significantly reduces the risk of contravention of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
As a well-established business, our relationship with our employees allows a high degree of engagement with senior management, both directly and through recognised trade unions, which would allow concerns over slavery and human trafficking to be raised should they occur.
We reserve the right to terminate supplier contracts where a supplier engages in any activity, practice or conduct that would constitute an offence under sections 1, 2 or 4 of the UK Modern Slavery Act. However, in the first instance we would work with our suppliers to identify the issues and remedy the situation.
We carry out our work in a manner that respects the human rights of others. This means we do not accept any form of forced or involuntary labour, human trafficking, and modern slavery anywhere in our business.
Our policies on slavery and human trafficking
Bournemouth Airport is fully committed to tackling slavery and human trafficking and embraces the principles of transparency that underpins the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Our Equality & Diversity policy supports this commitment and intended to address, and eliminate discrimination and promote equality of opportunity regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
We also have an established Whistleblowing policy, including a free confidential independent helpline number managed by Safecall. Our whistleblowing channels have not received any reports relating to modern slavery. We promote this service through posters across the Airport site and during the onboarding process for new employees.
We provide a wide range of resources for employees to support their mental, physical, and financial wellbeing, and to help limit the likelihood of exploitation during periods of uncertainty and stress. This includes access to the Employee Assistance Programmes and, where needed, access to counselling through our Occupational Health programme.
We have introduced a compulsory e-learning module to all employees. This training includes:
- how to assess the risk of slavery and human trafficking in relation to various aspects of the business, including resources and support available;
- how to identify the signs of slavery and human trafficking;
- what initial steps should be taken if slavery or human trafficking is suspected;
- how to escalate potential slavery or human trafficking issues to the relevant parties;
- what external help is available, for example through the Modern Slavery Helpline.
This training is compulsory for all new starters as a part of their onboarding process and refresher training will be issued on a regular basis, taking into account any changes to legislation or company policy.
We recognise the continuously evolving nature of modern slavery and that we have more work to do. We will continue to review our policies, processes, and training to ensure our colleagues and suppliers understand the risks associated with modern slavery and have the confidence to always speak up and report if something does not feel right.
Supplier adherence to our values and ethics
We will continue to work to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking within our supply chains by working to influence behaviours within directly contracted organisations. Any failure to address these issues that results in a contravention of the Act, a possible contravention, or a perceived contravention of the Act that could impact the reputation of Bournemouth Airport may be investigated and result in a variety of actions, up to and including removal, from our supply chain, or exclusion from procurement exercises.
We expect all our suppliers to undertake their own due diligence on their supply chains and business partners, and to ensure that any contracts with their sub-contractors have similar obligations. If we have any concerns a full investigation will be carried out and, if appropriate, they will be removed from our supply chain.
To mitigate any further risks, we plan to progress the following:
- To work in collaboration with our onsite partners in raising awareness and preventing slavery and human trafficking;
- Introduce obligations into commercial contracts with business partners and suppliers.
- To obtain Slavery and Human Trafficking Statements from all suppliers within our supply chain and who are appointed to provide goods and services to the Airport.
- Carry out a review and amendment of standard terms of contract to incorporate the requirements of the Act as contracts are placed or renewed.
- Procurement exercises that are undertaken in accordance with EU Procurement Directives will contain specific reference to the Modern Slavery Act. This will permit the Airport to exclude companies, at pre-qualification / selection stage, from procurement exercises should they not explicitly state their organisation fully complies with the Act.
- In the next financial year, we will continue to assess key risks to contravention of the Act within our own business, our contractor and equipment/material supply chains. If this identifies areas of concern, we will develop mitigations that we will carry out in future to manage the risk as effectively as possible.
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes the Company’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2025.
Steve Gill, Managing Director
Date: 28.02.2025
