H&M HENNES & MAURITZ UK LIMITED modern slavery statement summary (2021)

Organisation address
Uk House 1st Floor,
164-182 Oxford Street,
London,
England,
W1D 1NN

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 5 of 6 recommended areas

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)

There is no PDF version of this statement.

PDF statements were first introduced to the registry for the 2023 statement year.

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

H&M HENNES & MAURITZ UK 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 December 2019 to 30 November 2020

The statement was signed off by:
Dorota Sawaryn (Director)

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
6 May 2021

Recommended areas covered by the statement

Government guidance encourages organisations to cover a range of areas 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 areas in the statutory guidance.

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

Areas 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:

  • Fashion, textiles, apparel and luxury goods

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 No
Your front line staff No
Human resources No
Executive-level staff Yes
Procurement staff Yes
Your suppliers No
The wider community No
Other
Key roles within supply chain, managers within warehouse operations, construction and facility management.

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 Yes
Civil society organisations Yes
Professional auditors Yes
Workers within your organisation No
Workers within your supply chain No
Central or local government Yes
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 Yes
Announced audit Yes
Unannounced audit No

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 No
Through trade unions or other worker representative groups Yes

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:
Organisation’s response
The organisation did not answer this question.

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)

Increased risk against the back-drop of the pandemic, e.g. workers who have lost or risk of losing their employment, seafarers etc.
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:
  • Women
  • Migrants
  • Temporary or agency workers
In which country Organisation’s response: No details provided
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: -We have honoured our order commitment and worked hard to uphold our responsible purchasing practices throughout the pandemic to mitigate negative impacts on workers. - All our shipping partners have signed the Neptune Declaration on Seafarers Wellbeing and Crew Changes, and many of them have been outspoken and active to improve the situation of seafarers.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Risk of forced labour for workers in our manufacturing, material and fibre production supply chain, especially in Asia and connected to migrant work.
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.
  • Tier 3 suppliers and below
    Provide products and services to your organisation via your Tier 2 suppliers or the next higher level in the chain.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Migrants
  • Minority groups
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • China
  • India
  • Italy
  • Pakistan
  • Portugal
  • Turkey
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: All of our suppliers globally were reminded about our policy and that we do not accept any form of forced labour, and we continuously take actions to further strengthen our due diligence. As part of this, our updated Migrant Workers Fair Recruitment and Treatment Guidelines was shared via our supplier portal and as witness to the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee, we shared further details on our efforts publicly

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Risk of forced labour in material production and spinning mills in Tamil Nadu, India. Special vulnerability of young women and certain social groups, with links to poverty and cultural norms.
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.
  • Tier 3 suppliers and below
    Provide products and services to your organisation via your Tier 2 suppliers or the next higher level in the chain.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Women
  • Ethnic and social groups with increased risk of discrimination
In which country Organisation’s response: India
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Since 2013, we have been involved in various multi stakeholder initiatives to combat bonded labour and exploitative practices Initiatives include ETI /TNMS initiative and our involvement in the Amsterdam Coalition (AMCO) supported by OECD. The initiatives combine factory and community outreach, as well as policy and public affairs. Discussions are ongoing with various brands, NGOs, unions, CSOs and other actors to align activities for greater leverage.

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
ILO indicators we asked about Organisation’s response
Abuse of vulnerability Yes
Deception Yes
Restriction of movement Yes
Isolation Yes
Physical and sexual violence Yes
Intimidation and threats Yes
Retention of identity documents Yes
Withholding of wages Yes
Debt bondage Yes
Abusive working and living conditions Yes
Excessive overtime Yes
Other
-

Actions taken in response to finding ILO indicators

We asked the organisation to tell us whether its statement refers to any actions it took after finding indicators of forced labour
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us its statement does not refer to actions it took after finding 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:
We have structured the report to both account for Ongoing (or past) efforts, as well as Updates in the most recent reporting period. Looking ahead we are also assessing what to measure and to track progress over time via data points and KPIs.