THE DOCTORS LABORATORY LIMITED modern slavery statement summary (2021)

Organisation address
The Halo Building,
1 Mabledon Place,
London,
England,
WC1H 9AX

We asked the organisation a series of questions about its modern slavery statement. Its answers are published on this page as a statement summary.

This statement provides information for all 6 recommended topics

What is a modern slavery statement?
UK law requires certain organisations to publish an annual modern slavery statement on their website, setting out the steps they are taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read more in the government guidance on publishing modern slavery statements.
Link to full statement
Go to full modern slavery statement on organisation’s website

PDF version of the statement (optional)

Warning The file has been uploaded directly by THE DOCTORS LABORATORY LIMITED and has not been reviewed, assessed or moderated by the Home Office for suitability and accessibility.
If you need an accessible version of this PDF file, please contact THE DOCTORS LABORATORY LIMITED for further assistance.
Download

sonic-healthcare-modern-slavery-statement-2021.pdf

File uploaded: 22 December 2024 at 7:55am
PDF | 4.71 MB

Download file

About this statement summary

All answers relate to the financial year covered by the statement. The organisation is responsible for all the information it provided. Some of our questions are optional, so organisations may not have answered all of them. The statement summary does not replace the full modern slavery statement – below we provide a link to the full statement on the organisation’s website.

Contents

Organisations covered by the statement

THE DOCTORS LABORATORY LIMITED modern slavery statement for 2021 is a group statement covering 4 organisations. See the full list of organisations covered by this statement

Statement period and sign-off details

The statement covers the following period:
1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021

The statement was signed off by:
Colin Goldschmidt (CEO)

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
1 November 2021

Recommended topics covered by the statement

Government guidance encourages organisations to cover a range of topics in their modern slavery statements, setting out the steps they’re taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read about the recommended topics in the statutory guidance.

We asked the organisation to tell us which topics its statement covers.

Topics recommended by government guidance Organisation’s response
The organisation’s structure, business and supply chains Covered
Policies Covered
Risk assessment Covered
Due diligence (steps to address risk) Covered
Training about modern slavery Covered
Goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of the organisation's actions and progress over time Covered

The organisation’s sectors and turnover

Sectors

The organisation operates in the following sectors:

  • Healthcare and pharmaceuticals

Turnover

Its turnover in the financial accounting year of this statement was:

Over £500 million

If the organisation is a public body, this amount is based on the organisation’s budget for the year of the statement.
What does 'turnover' refer to in group statements?
If this is a group statement, this includes the total turnover for all the organisations covered by the statement.

Number of years producing statements

The organisation has been producing modern slavery statements for the following number of years:
1 to 5 years
How does this work for group statements?
If the statement is for a group of organisations, this answer applies to the organisation with the longest history of producing statements.

Policies (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its policies include the following provisions in relation to its domestic and international supply chains, as well as its own operations.
Policy provisions we asked about Organisation’s response
Freedom of workers to terminate employment Included
Freedom of movement Included
Freedom of association Included
Prohibits any threat of violence, harassment and intimidation Included
Prohibits the use of worker-paid recruitment fees Included
Prohibits compulsory overtime Included
Prohibits child labour Included
Prohibits discrimination Included
Prohibits confiscation of workers' original identification documents Included
Provides access to remedy, compensation and justice for victims of modern slavery Included
Other
Not included

Training (optional)

We asked the organisation whether it provided training on modern slavery, and who it was for.
What counts as training?
We explained that by ‘training’ we meant anything designed to increase knowledge and skills around identifying, addressing or preventing modern slavery risks. This could range from formal training courses to broader awareness-raising activities such as workshops or webinars.
We asked who the training was for Organisation’s response
Your whole organisation Yes
Your front line staff No
Human resources Yes
Executive-level staff Yes
Procurement staff Yes
Your suppliers No
The wider community No
Other
No

Monitoring working conditions (optional)

Engaging with others

We asked the organisation to tell us who it engaged with to help monitor working conditions across its operations and supply chains.
We asked who the organisation engaged with Organisation’s response
Your suppliers Yes
Trade unions or worker representative groups No
Civil society organisations Yes
Professional auditors Yes
Workers within your organisation Yes
Workers within your supply chain No
Central or local government No
Law enforcement, such as police, GLAA and other local labour market inspectorates No
Businesses in your industry or sector Yes

Social audits

We asked the organisation to tell us about any social audits it used to look for signs of modern slavery.
What are social audits?
A social audit is a review of an organisation’s working practices from the point of view of social responsibility, and should include an evaluation of working conditions in the organisation’s operations and supply chains. By their nature, audits of supplier workplaces represent a snapshot in time.
Social audits we asked about Organisation’s response
Audit conducted by your staff Yes
Third party audit arranged by your organisation Yes
Audit conducted by your supplier’s staff No
Third party audit arranged by your supplier No
Announced audit Yes
Unannounced audit Yes

Grievance mechanisms

We asked the organisation how workers in its operations or supply chains could raise concerns or make complaints.
We asked if workers could raise concerns this way Organisation’s response
Using anonymous whistleblowing services, such as a helpline or mobile phone app Yes
Through trade unions or other worker representative groups No

Other ways of monitoring working conditions

We asked the organisation whether it had any other ways of monitoring working conditions across its operations and supply chains:
Completed a global audit of all Sonic Healthcare companies. Assessed a group of key suppliers in the first round (Phase 1) of a due diligence process.

Modern slavery risks (optional)

Warning Identifying modern slavery risks is a vital step towards eradicating it. The government encourages organisations to be as open and transparent as possible, to improve understanding, collaboration and best practice around tackling this worldwide problem.
We asked the organisation to describe up to 3 priority risks it focused on during the period of the statement, including details of the affected workers, the activity involved, and the location.

Priority risks for this organisation (1 of 3)

Medical supplies and equipment: Tier 2 suppliers may be medium risk depending on country of manufacture. Suppliers of products such as PPE and custom laboratory products in Asia Pacific region
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Tier 2 suppliers
    Provide products and services to your organisation via your Tier 1 suppliers.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Women
  • Migrants
In which country Organisation’s response: Malaysia
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: The Sonic Healthcare Modern Slavery Working Group (MSWG) was established in 2020, comprising senior executives from key areas of the business. Working within the Board approved risk-management framework, the group is tasked with overseeing and managing Sonic’s actions and responsibilities related to identifying, remedying and removing instances of modern slavery and human rights abuse from our operations as well as our supply chains.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Couriers and freight: Freight and transport services including shipping, distribution and storage. Groups include seafarers, drivers, port and other workers.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Tier 1 suppliers
    Provide their products and services directly to your organisation.
  • Tier 2 suppliers
    Provide products and services to your organisation via your Tier 1 suppliers.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Migrants
In which country Organisation’s response: United Kingdom
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Where instances of supplier misconduct are identified, Sonic’s approach is to engage with the relevant supplier to discuss possible breaches and ultimately to provide a positive outcome for affected workers. Sonic has developed a number of processes to enhance positive engagement with suppliers, such as site audits, communication forums, contractual undertakings to abide by the requirements of the Sonic Supplier Policy, other relevant policies and the Modern Slavery legislation.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Facilities management: Possible migrant labour exploitation and/or underpayment of wages in subcontracted labourers through labour hire companies. Also possibility of bonded labour.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Tier 1 suppliers
    Provide their products and services directly to your organisation.
  • Tier 2 suppliers
    Provide products and services to your organisation via your Tier 1 suppliers.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Migrants
In which country Organisation’s response: United Kingdom
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Ongoing engagement with our supplier network to increase participation in risk assessment questionnaires and audits Interaction with Tier 2 suppliers, via Tier 1 suppliers, to more effectively assess the risk of forced labour and human rights violations Further encouragement for suppliers to report on and remedy breaches within their operations and supply chains

Indicators of forced labour (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its statement refers to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.
What are ILO indicators of forced labour?
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has produced a list of the most common signs of forced labour. They’re based on the definition of forced labour as ‘all work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.’ More details and guidance are available on the ILO website, and in their publication ILO indicators of forced labour
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us its statement does not refer to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.

Demonstrating progress (optional)

We asked the organisation how its statement demonstrates progress over time in addressing modern slavery risks. They provided the following answer:
The statement shows a timeline of key milestones of progress from 2020 to 2022, as well as KPIs for supplier engagement and assessment.