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Owner Driver Anti-slavery and Human Trafficking Policy

1. Introduction

About this Policy:-
The United Nations Charter of Human Rights says that:-
  o No one shall be held in slavery or servitude;
  o No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.
Despite the terms of the Charter, slavery still exists. Modern slavery is a hidden crime that
affects every country in the world – including the UK.
What is modern slavery? it refers to situations where:-
  o victims are exploited/taken advantage of for someone else's benefit;
  o victims cannot refuse to work or cannot leave a situation because of threats,
violence, bullying, lies, and/or abuse of power.
We have promised to act ethically and with integrity in our business and to put in place
systems and controls to make sure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our
business or in the business of any of our suppliers.
We set high standards for ourselves and expect the same high standards from all our
suppliers and other business partners including our Owner Driver Franchisees and
Workers.
If you, your Driver or any other Personnel break the terms of this Policy, we will end your
Franchise Agreement/Worker Contract.
We may change this Policy at any time and we will review it regularly.

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2. What does Modern Slavery Look Like?

You may have read about Modern Slavery online or in the papers. Some of the situations you
will have read about will not apply to your work with DPD. We have set out a description of
something that has happened outside DPD so you can see an example of Modern Slavery. This
is a serious example, but you need to look at situations and ask yourself questions about
whether someone is being exploited.


Example

  • Workers were recruited in Country A by an English labour agency. The agency had promised the minimum wage, good accommodation for £50 per person per week, and lots of overtime

  • The Workers did not receive work or wages in their first week.

  • The Workers signed contracts, but the contracts were in English and they did not speak or read English so they did not know what they were signing.

  • Although the Workers were sleeping on the floor in the kitchen and sitting-room (and the legal maximum rent for those on the minimum wage is £58.52), they were told they must pay rent of £75 each. This was deducted weekly from their pay.

  • Several of the Workers were given the same National Insurance number. They had tax deducted at a high emergency rate. The Tax Office said it had not yet received payments for them.

  • After deductions, they were getting just £115 a week for 40 hours (£2.88ph). Another £15 disappeared without explanation. Most had not registered with the Home Office because they could not afford the fee, but this made them vulnerable to deportation. The Workers finally managed to escape.

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3. Your Requirements

1. Keeping to this policy
1.1. You must make sure that you, your Drivers and your Personnel read, understand and
keep to this policy.
1.2. You must not do anything that might lead to, or suggest, that this policy has been
broken or might be broken.
1.3. You must tell Dan Turner (dan.turner@dpdgroup.co.uk), Rob Cheeseman
(rob.cheeseman@dpdgroup.co.uk) and Sund Paul (sund.paul@dpdgroup.co.uk), as
soon as possible if you believe or suspect that the terms of this policy have been
broken, or may be broken in the future.
1.4. You are encouraged to raise concerns about any issue or suspicion of modern slavery
in any parts of our business or any supplier tier as soon as possible.
1.5. If someone does something or treats their workers in any way which you think is not
right, but you do not know if it is modern slavery, please tell Dan Turner, Rob
Cheeseman and Sund Paul in confidence, as soon as possible.
1.6. We will support anyone who tells us in good faith about something under this policy,
even if they turn out to be mistaken. No one will be treated any differently if they make a
report in good faith. If you believe that you have treated any differently because of an
issue you have raised, please tell Dan Turner, Rob Cheeseman and Sund Paul in
confidence, as soon as possible.


2. Communication
This Policy is available through the DPD Academy. Each Driver has access to the DPD
Academy through their own log in details. It is your responsibility to make sure that all of
your Drivers and other Personnel read, understand and keep to this policy.

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3. If you, your Driver or any other Personnel break the terms of this Policy, we will terminate
your Contract for Services.

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