Modern Slavery
Modern slavery statement for financial year ending 31 March 2024
Lewis Silkin works with leading businesses to protect and enhance what really matters to them — their ideas, their people, their brand and their future. We call it: Ideas. People. Possibilities.
With offices across the UK, Ireland and Hong Kong, and with strategic alliances across the globe, the firm is recognised by clients and industry alike as being distinct for our unique culture and for providing solutions to complex, multi-jurisdictional business challenges with a pragmatic and human touch. The firm has two things at its core: people – yours and ours, and a focus on creativity, tech and innovation. So whether it is providing international employment law advice, managing a global IP portfolio or leading on a cross-border corporate transaction, Lewis Silkin can support you with the right people, in the right places, at the right time.
We are a Firm with a culture of having strong values and we take legislation and compliance seriously. We have a Modern Slavery Policy which sets out our obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We are committed to opposing modern slavery and forced labour in all forms and 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.
We have supplier relationships with organisations providing office services such as cleaning and catering, consultancy services, technological solutions and products including IT equipment and office fittings and furniture.
Neither we nor, to the best of our knowledge, our supply chain make use of forced labour. Lewis Silkin is an accredited Living Wage Employer and pays all its staff, including contracted workers, a living wage based on the real cost of living.
We have taken the following steps to assess and manage any risk that our supply chain may use forced labour:
Our latest Modern Slavery Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct require all significant suppliers to implement the principles in the Policy and Code relating to forced labour and to impose equivalent principles on their respective suppliers.
When entering into arrangements with suppliers, they undergo a due diligence process in which we assess them from a qualitative and economic perspective. We work collaboratively across the firm to prioritise high-risk suppliers such as those in catering, cleaning and I.T. This financial year, we have appointed a Head of Workplace Operations who will oversee our supply chain management to ensure compliance and mitigate risks. In addition to this, everyone at the firm is now required to complete modern slavery training.
As part of our supplier questionnaire, we ask questions in relation to compliance with the Modern Slavery Act, due diligence processes and modern slavery risks within the supply chain. For further risk mitigation, a clause on our supplier code of conduct is included in our service contracts.
We now require suppliers we consider significant to:
- Undertake to comply with our Modern Slavery Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct;
- Warrant that their business and, to the best of their knowledge, their own supply chain do not use forced labour; and
- Agree to provide us on request with responses to a self-assessment questionnaire regarding modern slavery and steps they have taken to ensure it is not used by them or their supply chain. We expect our direct suppliers to impose equivalent obligations on their own suppliers.
Where possible, we have reviewed statements published by our suppliers on the use of forced labour to ensure that they in turn are taking what appears to us to be appropriate steps.
We have prepared this statement for the purposes of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It will be reviewed annually. References in the statement to forced labour mean any conduct which is an offence under Part I of that Act including slavery, servitude, any type of forced or compulsory labour and trafficking for the purposes of exploitation.
Approved by the Members of the Operations Board on behalf of Partners
Signed by Richard Miskella and Jo Farmer, Joint Managing Partners