Young’s Seafood Modern Slavery Statement

This statement is published by Young’s Seafood Ltd in accordance with section 54(1) of the Modern-Day Slavery Act 2015. Young’s Seafood Ltd is a proud subsidiary of the Sofina Foods Group and forms part of a global food business that has operations in the UK, Europe and Canada.

We are committed to tackling and preventing modern day slavery, human trafficking and hidden labour exploitation, in the network and supply chains in which we operate. This statement sets out the progress we have made to this commitment for the financial year ending 31st March 2023.

Organisational Overview

We are a privately owned food manufacturing business that specialises in the production of seafood and shellfish. We are recognised as one of the leading seafood manufacturers in the UK and have built our reputation on doing the right things for our customers, colleagues and communities. We work with hundreds of suppliers and have a global supply chain that includes ethically farmed seafood, wild caught seafood and sustainably sourced raw materials, such as soya and palm oil.

We tackle and prevent exploitation through several key areas:

• Organisational structure & accountability
• Policies & procedures
• Due diligence & risk assessment
• Training & awareness
• Monitoring & measuring

The development of these areas is managed and monitored through our tailor-made exploitation prevention plan.

Organisational Structure & Accountability

Our board of directors take up accountability for our corporate governance and our broader commitments to social and ethical development. The prevention of modern- day slavery is a fundamental part of our social commitments and business values. Our commitments are underpinned by a progressive culture that promotes openness, honesty, integrity and continuous improvement. As an organisation, we are active members of several relevant industry groups such as F-Net, Stronger Together and the Ethical Seafood Action Alliance. These memberships ensure that we can create a positive social change across our entire industry.

Policies & Procedures

We have a range of policies that are designed to prevent, minimise and respond to exploitation in our business and our wider supply chain. These policies include, modern-day slavery, whistleblowing, human rights, child labour, remediation and responsible recruitment. Our policies are based on recognised social standards such as Stronger Together, ILO and the ETI base code. Our policies are a critical part of our exploitation prevention plan and ensure that we have the proper controls in place to manage and monitor ethical compliance.

Due Diligence & Risk Assessment

Suppliers are assessed and reviewed on a regular basis in terms of service levels, vulnerability and risk. We work closely with suppliers to ensure that we develop service levels, risk prevention and working conditions across our entire supply chain. Suppliers are obliged to report and monitor working conditions through an industry platform known as Sedex. Sedex is reviewed regularly as part of our due diligence process and forms a part of our assessment procedure.

Training & Awareness

We conduct modern-day slavery training as standard. It forms part of our induction and refresher programmes. Employees are trained specifically on how to spot and report cases of suspected exploitation. Employees in roles of added responsibility, such as in HR and Procurement, undertake specialist training in areas related to modern day slavery such as Stronger Together, Gangmasters Licensing and Auditing.

Monitoring

We monitor and measure for signs of exploitation through several key indicators:

• Number of whistleblowing reports concerning exploitation
• Number of reports through our exploitation reporting procedure
• Number of non-conformances on audits
• Number of GLAA alerts
• Number of social, ethical and compliance control point breaches
• Number of SEDEX alerts

Our monitoring this year is positive, with no cases reported of exploitation, modern day slavery or trafficking.

Exploitation Prevention Plan

Across these main areas of focus, we have an ongoing prevention plan in which we define, develop and implement practical actions to prevent exploitation and modern-day slavery. These actions work alongside our written statements to ensure that we are doing everything we can to prevent harm. Our improvements this year include but are not limited to:

• Consolidating modern-day slavery accountability across our broader operations into one operating board
• Consolidating whistleblowing reporting into across our broader operations into operating board.
• Introducing new social policies such as remediation & responsible recruitment policies.
• Introducing a universal modern-day slavery reporting procedure.
• Establishing an approved list of labour providers across our broader operations.
• Introducing a new audit standard for labour providers that includes over 250 critical checks.
• Introducing exploitation screening as part of starters process.
• Establishing a single training standard for modern-day slavery and exploitation across our broader business operations.
• Completing SMETA ethical audits across several of our sites.

Subsidiary Commitment

As part of the Sofina Foods Group, Young’s Seafood Ltd is committed to the declarations set out in this statement. We (Young’s Seafood Ltd) have a proud and rich history within the communities and supply chains in which we operate. We have built this reputation by doing the right things in the right way. Our commitment to preventing modern day slavery is no different and we are proud to be part of a Group that takes these things as seriously as we do.

Subsidiary Approval

On behalf of Young’s Seafood Ltd, I approved this statement on 1st April 2023.

Dominic Kerrigan
Group HR Director

Group Commitment

The social and ethical progress we have made across our UK operations is built on an unwavering commitment to prevent exploitation in the network and supply chains in which we operate. This commitment will not falter. We are an upstanding organisation that operates a zero-tolerance policy on exploitation. I am enthusiastic about continuing our work in this area and enriching the working conditions for our colleagues across the Sofina Foods Group.

Group Approval

On behalf of the European operating board of Sofina Foods Ltd, I approved this statement for the subsidiary of Young’s Seafood Ltd on 1st April 2023

Michael Latifi
Chairman & Founder

1st April 2023

This statement is declared by Young’s Seafood Ltd in co-ordination with a number of other subsidiaries of the Sofina Foods Group.

Download a copy of Young’s Seafood Modern Slavery Statement here

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