JOHN WOOD GROUP LIMITED modern slavery statement summary (2022)

Organisation address
Sir Ian Wood House Hareness Road,
Altens Industrial Estate,
Aberdeen,
Scotland,
AB12 3LE

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)

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

Statement period and sign-off details

The statement covers the following period:
12 August 2020 to 17 August 2021

The statement was signed off by:
Robin Watson (Chief Executive)

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
17 August 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:

  • Construction, civil engineering and building products
  • Defence and aerospace
  • Mining, metals, chemicals and resources (including oil and gas)
  • Professional and administrative services and supplies, including legal, consulting and accounting services

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:
More than 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 Yes
Human resources No
Executive-level staff No
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 Yes
Civil society organisations Yes
Professional auditors Yes
Workers within your organisation Yes
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 No
Audit conducted by your supplier’s staff No
Third party audit arranged by your supplier No
Announced audit No
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 Yes
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:
Wood is a founding member of the industry led and funded initiative Building Responsibly. Using a self assessment tool we continue to assess our operations against the 10 worker welfare principles.

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)

Direct and temporary staff - Delivering strong leadership and governance where we have the most control over the risk of modern slavery and/or human trafficking.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your own operations.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Women
  • Migrants
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • China
  • Germany
  • United Kingdom
  • Italy
  • Kuwait
  • Mexico
  • Malaysia
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Singapore
  • United States
  • South Africa
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: he social restrictions applied as a result of the global pandemic, impacted our ability to deliver our desired level of in-person leadership oversight, assurance and on-the-ground due diligence. Through the agility of our workforce, we have found remote methods to connect with our projects, contractors and suppliers, but recognise we must do more in this area to improve. As social restrictions ease, we will seek to return to in-person assurance activities and relationship building.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Indirect employment - where we employee third party labour, in particular regions such as Kuwait, where we operate a migrant workforce and rely on third party labour supply.
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:
  • Women
  • Migrants
  • labour only workers (non-skilled)
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • China
  • Germany
  • United Kingdom
  • Iraq
  • Italy
  • Kuwait
  • Mexico
  • Malaysia
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Singapore
  • United States
  • South Africa
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Wood has in place: - Pre-qualification - Standards for suppliers - Supplier Code of Conduct (inclusive of human rights standards) - Whistle blowing line - Operational assurance audits - Human Rights Working Group - Targets to address improvements - Building Responsibly Membership - On-site monitoring Using our membership of Building Responsibly we will seek to strengthen our assessment of compliance with the 10 worker welfare principles.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Supply Chain - We recognise where we procure services, we need robust controls and processes to ensure we do not import risk or become complicit in our operations to human rights violations.
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:
  • Women
  • Migrants
  • Refugees
  • Children
  • labour only workers (non-skilled)
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • China
  • Germany
  • United Kingdom
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Kuwait
  • Mexico
  • Malaysia
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Singapore
  • United States
  • South Africa
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Wood has in place: - Pre-qualification - Standards for suppliers - Supplier Code of Conduct (inclusive of human rights standards) - Whistle blowing line - Operational assurance audits - Human Rights Working Group - Targets to address improvements - Building Responsibly Membership We will also look at significant consolidation and contraction, that will better enable us to screen out ’at risk’ suppliers on several factors including human rights-based risk.

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
Actions we asked about Organisation’s response
Financial remediation, including repayment of recruitment fees No
Change in policy No
Change in training Yes
Referring potential victims to government services No
Supporting victims via NGO No
Supporting investigations by relevant authorities No
Other
-

Demonstrating progress (optional)

We asked the organisation how its statement demonstrates progress over time in addressing modern slavery risks. They provided the following answer:
In line with our work with Building Responsibly and in response to risk in the supply chain we have, as part of our sustainability targets, incorporated worker welfare: • Ensure 100% of our labour suppliers comply with the Building Responsibly Principles by 2025. • Ensure 100% of our suppliers have Building Responsibly Principles into their supply chains by 2030.