HIGH SPEED TWO (HS2) LIMITED modern slavery statement summary (2022)

Organisation address
Two Snowhill,
Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham,
England,
B4 6GA

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

Statement period and sign-off details

The statement covers the following period:
1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021

The statement was signed off by:
Mark Thurston (Managing Director )

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
1 April 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 Not covered
Working on this area for next years statement

The organisation’s sectors and turnover

Sectors

The organisation operates in the following sectors:

  • Transportation, logistics, and storage

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:
This is the first time
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 Not 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 Not included
Prohibits child labour Included
Prohibits discrimination Included
Prohibits confiscation of workers' original identification documents Not included
Provides access to remedy, compensation and justice for victims of modern slavery Not included
Other
Living Wage and avoidance of Blacklisting

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 Yes
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.
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us it did not engage with any of the people we asked about during the period of the statement.

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.
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us it did not carry out any social audits during the period of the statement.

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:
Introducing formal ethical labour assurance this year.

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)

Many suppliers, many of whom have complex global supply chains. Finding instances of modern slavery in our supply chains, especially in lower tiers of subcontracting, requires sustained effort.
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:
  • Migrants
  • Refugees
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • Bulgaria
  • Poland
  • Romania
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: One of our principle suppliers is asking their workers to provide additional evidence to prove their identity as they are inducted onto the site. On day one on site, we ask workers for proof of address, evidence of a contract to be in place, a bank account in their name, and evidence of the ability to access a phone with credit. We also check to ensure that they did not pay fees to obtain work and ask them to confirm their rate of pay.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

There are potential risks to workers’ conditions due to purchasing practices such as aggressive pricing, short lead times and late payments.
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:
  • Migrants
  • Refugees
In which country Organisation’s response: No details provided
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Our pre-contract process is used to verify that our potential supplier base meets our required standards and criteria. This includes questions on Ethical Labour, Financial propriety and adherence to the Modern Slavery Act 2015, as applicable.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Construction News revealed that during 2021 modern slavery in Construction surpassed other industries.
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:
  • Migrants
  • Refugees
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • Bulgaria
  • Nigeria
  • Poland
  • Romania
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Companies who bid for public contracts, and who have failed to meet their legal obligations in the last three years in relation to the Modern Slavery Act 2015, risk being excluded from procurements, in line with other government bodies, unless they can demonstrate that they have taken measures to remedy the failures and prevent recurrence. .

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 No
Deception No
Restriction of movement No
Isolation No
Physical and sexual violence No
Intimidation and threats Yes
Retention of identity documents No
Withholding of wages Yes
Debt bondage No
Abusive working and living conditions Yes
Excessive overtime No
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 Yes
Supporting victims via NGO No
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:
KPI's are under development