Modern Slavery Remediation Policy

POLICY STATEMENT

Coverage 

Responsibility 

Basic Principles 

Remediation Procedures 

Step One: Definition of a complaint 

Step Two: Designing a remediation procedure 

Step Three: Dealing with a case of modern slavery 

Step Four: Ongoing support and monitoring 

 

POLICY STATEMENT

Lush recognises the responsibility that we share with our suppliers to provide remedy to victims of slavery. Successful remediation is not easy to achieve and requires a victim-led, consultative and multi-stakeholder approach. The policy below is drawn from best practice guidance on remediation and builds on the requirements of International Labour Organisation Conventions, Protocols, Recommendations and Instruments such as the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The policy is intended to provide a practical framework for us as a businesses to apply remedy, should we encounter victims of slavery in our business or in our supply chains. 

Coverage

This policy applies to all our supply chains and any LUSH staff. 

Responsibility

The Lush board of directors have overall responsibility for ensuring this policy complies with our legal and ethical obligations, and that all those under our control comply with it. Our Ethical Compliance Manager has day-to-day responsibility for implementing this policy, monitoring its use and dealing with any queries about it.

Management at all levels are responsible for ensuring those reporting to them understand the issue of modern slavery and comply with this policy.

 

Basic Principles

These principles apply to all workers regardless of their employment status or length of service. This includes permanent, temporary or casual labour, whether directly or indirectly employed. The response to a situation of forced labour will depend upon the scale of the issue identified. 

Remediation Procedures

If modern slavery is found, it is vital to act quickly and to protect the victim. 

Step One: Definition of a complaint

Lush defines a complaint as a report of violation against Lush’s Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking policy or Lush’s People Care, Earth Care and Fair Share Policy that has occurred in Lush’s supply chain and internal business and has a direct adverse human rights impact. The complainant should be able to produce sufficient information to demonstrate the relevance and seriousness of the complaint.

Step Two: Designing a remediation procedure

Lush recognises that it is important to identify and establish a remediation team in order to develop the business’s remediation procedure. This should be made up of representatives from the workforce, managers, trade unions (if active in the workplace) and local Non-Governmental organisations with expertise in modern slavery and forced labour where available. If there is an existing government or civil society-backed organisation, process or project providing remedy for victims of modern slavery, these should be identified and involved in the development of the remediation procedure. 

Protecting the victim of slavery must be the first priority of the remediation programme. The remediation team must seek to understand the specific needs, circumstances and aspirations of each victim and what it was that pushed them into modern slavery. 

Lush will take the following steps in designing its remediation procedure:

1. Identify a remediation team, including local experts where available. 
2. Define the roles and responsibilities of each party.
3. Record the incident in the serious incident log.
4. Decide who will be funding the remediation programme.
5. Document what would constitute a grievance and what information the complainant should be able to provide to demonstrate the relevance and seriousness of the complaint.
6. Document what channels are available to workers and relevant third parties for raising grievances.
7. Ensure that workers and relevant third parties are aware of all of these channels.
8. Document how the Company will carry out an investigation, should an incident of modern slavery be identified.
9. Ensure any investigation involves a consideration of cultural and local factors, risks and sensitivities.
10. Identify and document what remedy the business will offer to victims of modern slavery, including restitution (restoring victim to original situation before abuses occurred), compensation (financial or otherwise), rehabilitation (medical, physiological or psychological care) and satisfaction and guarantee of non-repetition.
11. Identify and document relevant government and/or civil society-backed support mechanisms that victims of slavery can access.
12. Ensure that the procedure acknowledges that victims have the right to pursue other forms of remedial action at any stage beyond internal remedy mechanisms.
13. Decide and document how the business will contribute to programmes to assist victims of modern slavery, e.g. through vocational training or other appropriate measures.
14. Decide and document how the outcomes of any investigation will be communicated, bearing in mind the need to protect victims.
15. Establish a review procedure to ensure that the remediation policy is effective and to review the root causes of any incidents of modern slavery.
16. Share the remediation procedure with all workers on site. 
17. Ensure all actions comply with any laws and regulations which apply including international labour and human rights.

Step Three: Dealing with a case of modern slavery

Protecting victims of slavery is the most fundamental principle of any remediation policy. Lush acknowledges that, once an allegation of modern slavery is made, victims should be:

• Taken to a place of safety with appropriate security;
• Vulnerabilities considered for example, gender, disability, age.
• Supported by a colleague or trade union representative if possible;
• Provided with reassurance and welfare (food, drink, medical assistance); 
• Informed of what third parties are involved (if any);
• Informed of the business’s remediation procedure and the support that is available to them;
• Asked what remediation they are looking for, e.g. financial, psychological support; and
• Lush will help to provide access to relevant government or third-party remediation services such as the police (if it is safe to do so) or other recognised remediation authority within the relevant country.

At all stages, Lush will take steps to protect personal data, ensure strict confidentiality and collect evidence including:

• Ensuring that suitable managers are responsible for running the investigation without links to the allegations;
• Securing evidence;
• Recording what the victim says and making full notes of all the circumstances;
• Keeping multiple victims separate, speaking to them individually and noting signs of suspects trying to make contact; and
• Having an independent/telephone interpreting service ready to use.

The Lush process for responding to violations will be to:

• Conduct an initial assessment of the allegations to ensure that there is sufficient information to understand the exploitation discovered and remedy it.
• Ascertain if a supplier or labour provider is implicated.
• Report the allegations to relevant authorities.
• Capture evidence about the violations, using an independent third party if necessary. 
• Gather information from those affected.
• Take immediate steps to correct the situation for the worker, which will need to be tailored to their individual circumstances. This could include provision such as housing support, legal assistance, medical care or psychological support. 
• Compensate the victim or restore their situation to before their ordeal took place, including for those found to be a victim of modern slavery within the Lush network, internal colleagues or supply chain. This could be in the form of:
• Where possible, contribute to programmes and projects aimed at providing victim support.
• Work with local authorities and competent local organisations to provide assistance (on the express consent of the victim).
• Review progress over a suitable time period and verify that progress with local authorities and local organisations.
• Document remedial steps taken (see Remediation Reporting Tool).
• Build learnings into remediation procedures and operational procedures to prevent re-occurrence.

Step Four: Ongoing support and monitoring

It is important for Lush to monitor the progress of the remediation programme and to provide ongoing support for victims of slavery. Monitoring will include the following steps:

• Monitoring the victim’s progress if the victim has been referred to a government or civil society-managed referral mechanism or similar. 
• Evaluating how effective the remediation procedure was and amending it accordingly. 
• Reviewing internal policies and procedures to determine what needs to change to prevent slavery from re-occurring. 

Ongoing support required should be determined with the victim. It may take the form of a financial stipend whilst the victim is not working.