SAINSBURY'S SUPERMARKETS LTD modern slavery statement summary (2024)

Organisation address
33 Holborn,
London,
EC1N 2HT

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 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

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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

SAINSBURY'S SUPERMARKETS LTD modern slavery statement for 2024 is a group statement covering 10 organisations. See the full list of organisations covered by this statement

Statement period and sign-off details

The statement covers the following period:
5 March 2023 to 2 March 2024

The statement was signed off by:
Simon Roberts (Chief Executive Office)

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
4 July 2024

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:

  • Cosmetics and toiletries
  • Durable consumer goods, including electronics and appliances, home furnishings and other accessories
  • Fashion, textiles, apparel and luxury goods
  • 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:
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 No
Human resources Yes
Executive-level staff Yes
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 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 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:
Working with industry collaborations such as the ETI, FNET and Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce. Worker surveys with suppliers. Worker voice channels with Issara.

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)

Seasonal migrant workers on SWS visa in the UK fresh produce sector. We co-fund and participate in the SWS Taskforce on industry solutions to safeguard workers coming into the UK through the scheme.
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: Working with industry in the Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce. Sainsbury’s contributes through workstreams that aim to improve worker access to information and grievance mechanisms and improve worker finances. We also work with our suppliers to address issues collaboratively when they occur.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Migrant workers in the seafood sector. We participate in the Seafood Ethics Action Alliance to collaborate with other businesses to work on human rights and labour standards in the seafood sector.
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
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • China
  • United Kingdom
  • Indonesia
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: We are part of the Seafood Ethics Action Alliance to collaboratively address human rights and labour standards in the seafood sector, improve human rights due diligence, advocate to governments and support projects. We continue to support development of a national grievance mechanism in the Maldives and resources that inform migrant workers of their rights. We partner with Issara Institute to tackle forced labour and human trafficking in Thailand and provide worker voice channels.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Cotton from high-risk regions. Suppliers must source cotton from an accepted independent programme and must not knowingly use any cotton fibre sourced from Turkmenistan or Xinjiang.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • 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
  • Religious minorities
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • China
  • Turkmenistan
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Our policy states that suppliers must source cotton through one of our accepted independent programmes and that they must not knowingly use any cotton fibre sourced from Turkmenistan or Xinjiang. We expect all reasonable efforts be made to identify fibre origin and the route of cotton through the supply chain and we collect this information through our supplier reporting platform.

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 Yes
Restriction of movement No
Isolation No
Physical and sexual violence Yes
Intimidation and threats Yes
Retention of identity documents No
Withholding of wages No
Debt bondage Yes
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 Yes
Change in policy No
Change in training Yes
Referring potential victims to government services Yes
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:
We report on number of training courses completed by our colleagues and suppliers that increase awareness and capacity to take action to address modern slavery. We also report on the numbers of critical non-compliances linked to third-party ethical audits. However, an increase in NCs doesn't necessarily mean there is an increase in the number of issues as this can be an indicator that detection has improved.