Fighting Modern Slavery

Here at Cardium Law we recognise that modern slavery is a heinous crime. It deprives a person’s liberty, dignity and right to a living wage to satisfy the greed of others.
We also recognise this is a very real issue around the world, including developed countries, for millions of people who are exploited and have no voice to protest.

Every organisation is at risk of becoming involved in this crime, often indirectly and without their knowledge, through its own activities and those of the organisations with which it engages.

Cardium Law abhors modern slavery in all its forms and is committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking whenever it occurs in relation to our activities or those of our supply chain.

This statement details the steps taken to understand the risks of modern slavery as they relate to our business and our efforts to prevent slavery and human trafficking.

Cardium Law supply chain

We work hard to develop mutually beneficial relationships with organisations that supply the services on which our activities rely, built on trust and integrity.

The recruitment of suppliers is based on more than just cost. Our process reflects their references, their reputation and their compliance with legal, environmental and health & safety regulations in all their business operations.

A risk assessment of our supply chain considers: the risk profile of individual countries, the services delivered and the likelihood of vulnerable demographic groups. The risk profile is constantly informed by analysis of the news and developments raised by human rights groups.

Policies

Cardium Law operates the following policies to help us identify and prevent modern slavery and human trafficking as it may relate to our activities as a law firm dealing with clients across a broad range of sectors, advising commercial organisations and private individuals:

Code of Conduct – we encourage our people to act with integrity at all times, in all situations. We have made it clear what behaviour is expected of them when representing Cardium Law, whether directly employed by us or not and everyone understands the standard of conduct and ethical behaviour required when abroad or managing organisations within our supply chain.

In addition, we encourage all our people, customers and suppliers to report their slavery or human trafficking suspicions without fear of reprisal. As a business we are committed to protecting the identity of whistle-blowers.

Supplier due diligence – Cardium Law conducts due diligence on its new suppliers prior to appointment and also on existing suppliers at regular intervals. We assess risks in the provision of particular services and audit suppliers’ health and safety standards, labour relations, employee contracts and their attitude to slavery and human trafficking.

We ensure our suppliers declare they do not use forced, compulsory or slave labour and their employees work voluntarily and can terminate their employment when they choose. They must also state they do not require employees to provide a bond, salaries are never withheld and they do not hold passports or work permits as a condition of employment.

When a suppliers fails to provide this reassurance or fails to improve standards once notified, we will cease any relationship with that supplier and if appropriate report their activities to the authorities.

Issue awareness

Cardium Law has raised awareness of modern slavery issues by notifying all our people about the issue, explaining our determination to fight all forms of modern slavery and exploitation of vulnerable people, what they should look out for and what to do if they have suspicions.

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act and constitutes Cardium Law’s slavery and human trafficking statement for 2020-2021 and has been approved by the firm’s senior management team.