Modern Slavery Statement

Overview

We have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and do not tolerate it in any part of our business, including our supply chains. We have policies and procedures in place to reduce the risk of modern slavery in all parts of our business.

Modern slavery includes:

• slavery
• human trafficking
• forced labour
• domestic servitude

We deal with any form of modern slavery as a high priority.

Our structure and business

Gentoo Group is the parent Gentoo Group Limited and its subsidiaries.

Gentoo Homes is a subsidiary of Gentoo Group Limited and is a profit-for-purpose business. Profit is reinvested back into Gentoo.

We are a housing association and own or manage more than 30,000 properties. We are one of the largest employers in Sunderland and landlords in the North East.

We put people first so we can:

• build great homes
• create strong communities
• inspire people
• focus on giving our tenants, leaseholders and residents an outstanding service

We work with important partners and other housing associations to make a difference for our staff and tenants.

Our staff training

To reduce the risk of modern slavery among our tenants, we train staff who work with and visit tenants to:

• recognise and identify signs of modern slavery and abuse
• report concerns
• remain vigilant

This includes:

• neighbourhood co-ordinators and support co-ordinators
• tradespeople
• inspectors and surveyors

We also train staff who manage our relationships with contractors and suppliers to reduce the risk of modern slavery in our supply chain.

Modern slavery is part of our regularly updated safeguarding training that is mandatory for all staff.

Our housing and safeguarding policies

These policies work alongside our training to reduce the risk of modern slavery among our tenants. They help staff recognise signs of modern slavery and abuse and how to report it.

We complete customer surveys to confirm that the:

• legal tenant and their household live in the property
• property is not used for illegal activities, like human trafficking

Our employee policies and code of conduct

We recognise modern slavery may affect people who work for Gentoo.

Employee policies

Our regularly audited human resources terms and conditions, policies and procedures help to reduce the risk of modern slavery among employees, contractors and suppliers. The terms and conditions, policies and procedures make sure:

• staff are treated with dignity and respect
• we follow employment legislation
• we prevent unethical working
• everybody receives fair pay
• all agencies and other bodies we use as part of our recruitment process have procedures to prevent modern slavery

Code of conduct

Everyone who works for Gentoo, including contractors and suppliers, sign and agree to follow our code of conduct. This includes following relevant legislation like the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Whistleblowing Policy

We encourage our staff, contractors and suppliers to confidentially report their concerns about potential modern slavery. For more information, read Gentoo Group's Whistleblowing Policy (PDF, 294KB).

Our supply chains

We buy goods and services through a diverse supply chain, including:

• property-related services and materials, like developing, constructing and maintaining new and existing homes
• facilities management, like cleaning services
• information technology
• recruitment agencies
• office equipment and supplies

Contractor and supplier due diligence

We communicate our zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery with all contractors and suppliers. We do this from the beginning to the end of our contract with them. This helps to reduce the risk of modern slavery within our supply chains and people we do not directly employ.

Our Supplier Management Framework addresses all aspects of our suppliers’ due diligence. This includes their commitment to prevent modern slavery, which we review once a year and discuss in regular meetings.

We work with contractors who have Advanced or Elite accreditation under the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme. This makes sure that their commitment to preventing modern slavery has been assessed.

Effectiveness

We review our contractors’ and suppliers’ commitment to preventing modern slavery. We will either address any areas of concern or stop working with them.

Before we work with them again, we need to satisfy ourselves that their commitment to preventing modern slavery meets our zero-tolerance approach.