Ethical Trading Statement

British Bakels endorses and is committed to ethical trading and adheres to the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code.  The company’s commitment is communicated throughout the company via the Managing Director and Senior Management team.

The Managing Director is responsible for the implementation of compliance with the code and will ensure human and financial resources are made available.

Bakels are registered with SEDEX – our group membership number is ZC1061166, British Bakels site number is ZS1074400

British Bakels will only deal with suppliers who are aware of the code and are committed to the standards of the code.

Signed  Date 25/10/2024

Paul Morrow

Chairman

Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code

1. EMPLOYMENT IS FREELY CHOSEN

• There is no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour.
• Workers are not require to lodge “deposits” or their identity papers with their employer and are free to leave their employment after reasonable notice.

2. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND RIGHT TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ARE RESPECTED.

• Workers, without distinction, have the right to join or form trade unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively.
• The employer adopts an open attitude towards the activities of trade unions and their organisational
• Workers representatives are not discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative functions in the workplace.
• Where the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted under law, the employer facilitates, and does not hinder, the development of parallel means for independent and free association and bargaining.

3. WORKING CONDITIONS ARE SAFE AND HYGIENIC

• A safe and hygienic working environment shall be provided, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards. Adequate steps shall be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, associated with, or occurring in the course of work, by minimizing, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.
• Workers shall receive regular and recorded health and safety training, and such training shall be repeated for new or reassigned workers.
• Access to clean toilet facilities and to potable water, and, if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage shall be provided.
• Accommodation, where provided, shall be clean, safe, and meet the basic needs of the workers.
• The company observing the code shall assign responsibility for health and safety to a senior management representative.

4. CHILD LABOUR SHALL NOT BE USED

• There shall be no new recruitment of child labour.
• Companies shall develop or participate in and contribute to policies and programmes which provide for the transition of any child found to be performing child labour to enable her or him to attend and remain in quality education until no longer a child.
• Children and young persons under 18 shall not be employed at night or in hazardous conditions.
• These policies and procedures shall conform to the provisions of the relevant ILO standards.

5. LIVING WAGES ARE PAID

• Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmark standards, whichever is higher. In any event wages should always be enough to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.
• All workers shall be provided with written and understandable information about their employment conditions in respect to wages before they enter employment and about the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned each time that they are paid.
• Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure shall not be permitted nor shall any deductions from wages not provided for by national law to be permitted without the expressed permission of the worker concerned. All disciplinary measures should be recorded.

6. WORKING HOURS ARE NOT EXCESSIVE

• Working hours must comply with national laws, collective agreements, and the provision of 6.2–6.6 below, whichever affords the greater protection for workers. Sub clauses 6.2 – 6.6 are based on International Labour standards.
• Working hours, excluding overtime, shall be defined by contract and shall not exceed 48 hours per week*.
• All overtime shall be voluntary. Overtime shall be used responsibly, taking into account all of the following: the extent, frequency and hours worked by individual workers and the workforce as a whole. It shall not be used to replace regular employment. Overtime shall always be compensated at a premium rate, which is recommended to be not less than 125% of regular rate of pay.
• The total hours worked in any 7-day period shall not exceed 60 hours, except where covered by clause 6.5 below.
• Working hours may exceed 60 hours in any 7-day period only in exceptional circumstances where all of the following criteria are met:
• This is allowed by national law.
• This is allowed by collective agreement freely negotiated with a workers’ organisation representing a significant portion of the workforce.
• Appropriate safeguards are taken to protect the worker’s health and safety; and
• The employer can demonstrate that exceptional circumstances apply such as unexpected production peaks, accidents or emergencies.
• Workers shall be provided with at least one day off in every 7-day period or, where allowed by national law, 2 days off in every 14-day period.

7. NO DISCRIMINATION IS PRACTISED

• There is no discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership or political affiliation.

8. REGULAR EMPLOYMENT IS PROVIDED

• To every extent possible work performed must be on the basis of recognized employment relationship established through national law and practice.
• Obligations to employees under labour or social security laws and regulations arising from the regular employment relationship shall not be avoided through use of labour-only contracting, sub-contracting, or home-working arrangements, or through apprenticeship schemes where there is no real intent to impact skills or provide regular employment, nor shall any such obligations be avoided through the excessive use of fixed-term contracts of employment.

9. NO HARSH OR INHUMANE TREATMENT IS ALLOWED

• Physical abuse or discipline, the threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation shall be prohibited.
• The provisions of this code constitute minimum and not maximum standards, and this code should not be used to prevent companies’ from exceeding these standards.  Companies applying this code are expected to comply with national and other applicable law and, where the provisions of law and this Base Code address the same subject, to apply that provision which affords the greater protection.

10. ENTITLEMENT TO WORK

• Only workers with a legal right to work in the country are employed
• Original documents are reviewed and then returned to workers to verify their right to work

11. LABOUR AGENCIES

• Labour Agencies only supply workers registered with them
• Relationship with labour agencies are covered by a Service Level Agreement which    meets all national legal Requirements
• Labour Agencies are audited every 6 months to ensure compliance with national requirements

     12. HUMAN RIGHTS

• Bakels Ltd commits to protecting Human rights in the workplace as documented in the Human Rights Act 1998

      13. MODERN SLAVERY ACT 2015

• No forced or slave labour is accepted either at Bakels or within our supply chain.
• Human trafficking is not permitted either at Bakels or within our supply chain.
• All employees are freely employed and not exploited in any way as defined within section 3 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
• All suppliers to British Bakels are required to be registered with SEDEX or complete an Ethical questionnaire based upon the ETI base code.
• A copy of our Modern Slavery statement is available here.