Modern Slavery

George P. Johnson (UK) Limited

Modern slavery statement for financial year ending 31 December 2018

Background

This statement has been prepared on behalf of George P. Johnson (UK) Limited (collectively referred to as “GPJ” and “we”) for the purposes of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. References in the statement to “forced labour” mean any conduct which is an offence under Part I of that Act including slavery, servitude, and any type of forced or compulsory labour and trafficking for the purposes of exploitation.

The issue of forced labour

According to the International Labour Organisation, more than 20 million people worldwide are subjected to forced labour. We do not tolerate forced labour either within our business itself or within our supply chain. We expect our supply chain (whether direct suppliers or those that directly or indirectly supply our direct suppliers) to share the same values.

Our structure and business

GPJ is an experience marketing agency. Every office, service area and account team within the GPJ organisation works collaboratively in real-time across the globe through shared systems, infrastructure and processes. Account teams report upwards to general managers who report to global operations and sales leads. This layer reports to C- level management and the Board of Directors.

The principle nature of our business is delivering the execution of live brand experiences internationally for our clients.

Our policies

In our Corporate Responsibility policy we make clear to all of our employees that we will not use forced or involuntary labour of any type.

We comply, at a minimum, with workers’ wages and hour regulations, including those related to minimum wages, overtime hours, piece rates and other elements of compensation. We provide all legally mandated benefits.

As a Project Worldwide agency we are subject to Project’s Code of Ethics, under which we are obliged to engage only with suppliers who comply with laws regarding eradication of human trafficking and slavery. In our suppliers’ vetting process we simply do not engage with a supplier which does not agree to adhere to these laws; if we are in doubt, we simply do not engage. In our Code of Ethics all employees are encouraged to report suspected violations of the Code and our policies to their local supervisor, or any member of local management, including human resources or their office’s agency lead, as appropriate.

When on boarding suppliers we make them contractually agree to our Terms and Conditions for Purchase under which both we and our suppliers aim to comply with the Directives of the UN Initiative Global Compact as well as the principles and rights set out in the International Labour Organisation’s “Declaration of fundamental principles and rights at work” – and, in particular, to the principles of preserving dignity at work, human rights, bans on child and forced labour, and the maintenance of adequate social working conditions. When agreeing to our Terms and Conditions for Purchase our suppliers also agree to aim to bind contractually their sub-contractors to similar provisions.

We have reviewed our business and our supply chain. Neither we nor, to the best of our knowledge, any organisation within our supply chain (whether a direct or an indirect supplier) makes use of forced labour. We have taken the following steps to assess and manage any risk in this regard:

  • We expect our suppliers to comply with the Terms and Conditions for Purchase and to impose similar requirements on their suppliers.
  • New suppliers undergo a supplier approval process in which we assess them from a qualitative and economic perspective. As part of that assessment, we are alert for any indicators of forced labour. We take our suppliers’ credentials in terms of sustainability and equal opportunity very seriously. They are evidence of their quality, consistency and work ethic, and we always make sure that they match our core values.
  • As far as possible we impose contractual obligations on suppliers under which they:
    • undertake to comply with our Terms and Conditions for Purchase;
    • on request by us warrant that their business and, to the best of their knowledge, participants in their own supply chain do not use forced labour;
    • agree to provide us on request with responses to a self-assessment questionnaire regarding use of forced labour and steps they have taken to ensure it is not used by them or any participant in their supply chain.
    • impose equivalent obligations on their own suppliers.

Dated: 19 February 2019

Signed by Laurence S Vallee, Director