Modern Slavery Statement

MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT - FINANCIAL YEAR 2024

This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that Tican (Chilled) Limited has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain.

Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. Tican (Chilled) Limited has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our supply chain.

Our business
Tican (Chilled) Ltd specialises in the wholesale and distribution of own brand Danish bacon and pork, other high quality bacon, cooked meats, fresh meats and dairy products, supplying in the main manufacturers, wholesalers and butchers. Product is sourced from over a hundred mainly UK and EU based suppliers. We employ 92 permanent staff and approximately 3 temporary staff, operating from two depots and a number of remote sales offices.

Our high-risk areas
o Supply chain – as part of our due diligence Tican (Chilled) Limited pre-approve all suppliers. This includes performing background checks on all suppliers prior to approval.
o Temporary Staff – Tican (Chilled) Limited aim to keep temporary agency workers to a minimum and only use reputable suppliers who comply with all UK laws and regulations applicable to their operations including taking appropriate steps to eradicate modern slavery within their own businesses.

Our policies
We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:

Anti-slavery policy - This policy sets out the organisation’s stance on modern slavery and explains how employees can identify any instances of this and where they can go for help.
Recruitment policy - We operate a robust recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
Whistleblowing policy - We operate a whistleblowing policy so that all employees know that they can raise concerns about how colleagues are being treated, or practices within our business or supply chain, without fear of reprisals.
Code of business conduct - This code explains the manner in which we behave as an organisation and how we expect our employees and suppliers to act.

Our suppliers
Tican (Chilled) Limited operates a purchasing approval policy which includes the maintenance of an approved supplier list, currently holding 68 product suppliers. We conduct due diligence on all suppliers before allowing them to become a preferred supplier. This due diligence includes an online search to ensure that particular organisation has never been convicted of offenses relating to modern slavery, as well as supplier auditing questionnaires. Where site audits are carried out these also include a review of working conditions.

In addition to the above, as part of our commitment to improve supply chain compliance we will be asking suppliers in the future to confirm to us that:

They have taken steps to eradicate modern slavery within their business
They hold their own suppliers to account over modern slavery
They pay their employees any prevailing minimum wage applicable within their country of operations
They shall comply with all laws and regulations applicable to their business operations (including those relating to human rights and employee rights at work).

We may terminate supply arrangements at any time should any instances of modern slavery come to light.

Training
We conduct training as required for all staff with procurement responsibility so that they are aware of modern slavery and what to do if they suspect that it is taking place within our supply chain.

Our performance indicators
We will know the effectiveness of the steps that we are taking to ensure that slavery and/or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain if:

No reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified.

None of our suppliers are implicated in such practices based on internet searches.

Approval for this statement
This statement was approved by the Tican (Chilled) Limited Board of Directors on 13th of February 2024, and is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 constituting our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31st of December 2023.

Name & Position: Richard Burke (Chief Executive Officer) 13th February 2024