JOHN LEWIS PLC modern slavery statement summary (2020)

Organisation address
1 Drummond Gate,
Pimlico,
London,
United Kingdom,
SW1V 2QQ

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 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

Organisations covered by the statement

JOHN LEWIS PLC modern slavery statement for 2020 is a group statement covering 3 organisations. See the full list of organisations covered by this statement

Statement period and sign-off details

The statement covers the following period:
27 January 2019 to 25 January 2020

The statement was signed off by:
Sharon White (Partner and Chairman )

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
9 April 2020

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 Not covered
Working on this area for your next statement

The organisation’s sectors and turnover

Sectors

The organisation operates in the following sectors:

  • Fashion, textiles, apparel and luxury goods
  • Financial, insurance and real estate activities
  • Food and beverages, agriculture and fishing

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 Yes
Human resources No
Executive-level staff No
Procurement staff Yes
Your suppliers Yes
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 Yes
Central or local government No
Law enforcement, such as police, GLAA and other local labour market inspectorates Yes
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 No
Third party audit arranged by your organisation Yes
Audit conducted by your supplier’s staff Yes
Third party audit arranged by your supplier Yes
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 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:
Self-assessment questionnaires, deep dive risk assessments in supply chains, in country supply chain programmes, the Better Jobs programme, Unseen business portal, industry knowledge and networks.

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)

Agencies workers in our own UK operations, particularly distribution and farming.
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 Kingdom
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Robust due diligence via a third party risk management system ensures we only procure labour from agencies who uphold our Responsible Sourcing Code of Practice. A pilot with Slave-Free Alliance in 2019 trained 35 JLP warehouse-based Partners on ‘spotting the signs of modern slavery’, in 2020 it will be expanded. In Feb 2020, the Partnership hosted the UK’s first industry wide event focused on Tackling Labour Exploitation Supply Chain Risks in warehousing and distribution supply chains.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Forced labour in the UK manufacturing industry
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.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Women
  • Migrants
In which country Organisation’s response: United Kingdom
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Moving beyond standard factory audits which only give a snapshot of working conditions at a particular moment in time, the Partnership developed the UK Better Jobs Programme. An online portal provides workers with an anonymous voice on their experiences at work including areas such as job security, health & wellbeing and respect. Since 2019 over 2,600 employee responses have been collected. The results are used to address key concerns and determine what improvements employers should prioritise.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Migrant Labour in Italy, used to harvest fresh produce, predominantly tomatoes.
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:
  • Migrants
In which country Organisation’s response: Italy
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: There is no official registration system for labour agencies and illegal migrants are often recruited to work the busy harvest. We have undertaken deep dive investigations in these supply chains to address underlying issues. Systemic issues include the role of organised crime in labour recruitment. We are supporting the ETI to adopt an approach which engages growers on a bottom up solution to address associated risks, whilst also supporting advocacy work at government level.

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 No
Isolation No
Physical and sexual violence Yes
Intimidation and threats No
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 Yes
Change in training Yes
Referring potential victims to government services No
Supporting victims via NGO Yes
Supporting investigations by relevant authorities Yes
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:
Our strategy is aimed at prevention. We monitor progress via three key areas: Training: The number of Partners or stakeholders trained on relevant topics and monitoring the learnings. Identification: We use compliance programmes to identify forced labour indicators, set KPIs regarding audit numbers and track whistleblower reports. We set goals to undertake in-depth investigations and resolve issues raised. Remediation: We ensure a feedback loop which supports victims and shares learnings.