Our Policies On Slavery And Human Trafficking

Apricot has a range of policies in place to protect the public and our employees. One of the risks these policies addresses is the prevention of modern slavery and human trafficking in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Apricot is committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships, enforcing successful systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking are not taking place within the business or in our supply chain.

 

Our Supply Chains
Whilst it is acknowledged that risk factors are present in all global supply chains across all industries, we believe Apricot’s exposure to slavery, human trafficking and forced labour is very low, given the nature of our business.

Apricot operates from its office headquarters in the Isle of Man and its extended network of professional intermediaries and suppliers.

Practices are reviewed at least annually, which is fundamental to ensuring that any issues relating to money laundering or other criminal enterprises such as modern slavery and human trafficking are immediately identified. If we discovered that a supplier was in any way involved in modern slavery or human trafficking practices, we would take immediate action, notifying the relevant government bodies and ceasing our commercial relationship with the supplier.

 

Recruitment and Employee Training
Apricot’s robust recruitment process ensures appropriate checks on new recruits are carried out prior to the relevant staff member starting employment. Our employees are also protected by our internal policies which are intended to reflect and uphold the business’s commitment to a high standard of ethics and integrity.

Additionally, all staff are provided with compulsory training on any relevant policies and procedures to prevent money laundering, to counter financing of terrorism and to ensure that Apricot’s services are not exploited by those wishing to conduct criminal enterprises.

 

Governance and Due Diligence
We invest significant time into implementing appropriate processes, policies and governance structures that guide us in everything we do. Apricot recognises that modern slavery in all its forms is a complex problem which requires a holistic range of preventative measures. Our governance and diligence measures to mitigate the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking therefore include the following:

  • Our Whistleblowing Policy
  • Recruitment and Selection Policy

We have also recently invested in further compliance resource more generally to enable us to continue to review and enhance our policies and procedures across our global operations.

 

Future Commitments
Apricot is aware that there is more we can do in this area, and so we have committed to the following:

  • to review and update our modern slavery statement every year in line with our commitment to ensuring that our business and supply chain remain free from any association with breaches of the Modern Slavery Act;
  • to continue to develop our policies and processes to ensure our approach aligns with our risk profile; and
  • to monitor changes in our business and in the environments in which we operate to capture and manage any new or evolving risks so that our zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery is maintained.

 

Date of next review:
February 2025