MATALAN RETAIL LTD. modern slavery statement summary (2022)
Organisation address
Matalan Head Office Perimeter Road,
Knowsley Industrial Park,
Liverpool,
L33 7SZ
Knowsley Industrial Park,
Liverpool,
L33 7SZ
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 (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
- Legal requirement to publish
- Statement period and sign-off details
- Recommended areas covered by the statement
- The organisation’s sectors and turnover
- Number of years producing statements
- Policies
- Training
- Monitoring working conditions
- Modern slavery risks
- Finding indicators of modern slavery
- Demonstrating progress
Legal requirement to publish
MATALAN RETAIL LTD. has confirmed it is required to publish a 2022 statement by law.
Statement period and sign-off details
The statement covers the following period:
1 March 2021 to 28 February 2022
The statement was signed off by:
Stephen Johnson (Chairman)
It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
15 March 2022
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 | Not 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
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 | Yes |
| Executive-level staff | Yes |
| Procurement staff | Yes |
| Your suppliers | No |
| The wider community | No |
| Other |
From Q4 2021 all new starters & HO Staff are required to complete our new Modern-Day Slavery E-Learn Module and understand our Anti-corruption & Bribery Policy as part of their on-boarding induction.
|
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 | No |
| 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 | No |
| Businesses in your industry or sector | No |
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 | 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:
- Enforcement of a Supplier Code of Conduct as a condition of doing business with our Group.
- Membership of SEDEX.
- Using anonymous whistle-blowing services (Helpline & Confidential In-Box).
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)
UK Factory
Mid-2021, an issue was raised with us via our whistle-blowing channel expressing concerns of misconduct in a factory that was producing goods for Matalan
| Questions we asked about this risk | Organisation’s response |
|---|---|
| Where it was most likely to occur |
Organisation’s response:
Within your supply chains.
|
| Who was it most likely to affect |
Organisation’s response:
|
| In which country | Organisation’s response: United Kingdom |
| Actions or plans to address this risk | Organisation’s response: - This factory was not on Matalan’s approved list. - Factory visited & an inspection carried out against our Ethical and Code of Conduct. - We found no evidence of misconduct, nor did we find any evidence of the factory producing product for Matalan. however, we take all issues raised through our whistleblowing channel very seriously. - We shared findings of our investigation with the relevant authorities, the Unseen Modern-Day Slavery Helpline & the GLAA. |
Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)
Fire Hazards, Turkey
In 2021, an audit of a factory found that a new building that was being used to produce goods did not meet fire safety standards and, as a result, posed a risk to workers
| Questions we asked about this risk | Organisation’s response |
|---|---|
| Where it was most likely to occur |
Organisation’s response:
Within your supply chains.
|
| Who was it most likely to affect |
Organisation’s response:
|
| In which country | Organisation’s response: Turkey |
| Actions or plans to address this risk | Organisation’s response: - In line with our policies, production at the factory was put on hold and no new orders could be placed until we were satisfied that the issues we identified has been resolved. - We worked with our supplier and the factory to make necessary changes so that employees could resume their work safely. - We found that engagement was very effective, and we received the assurance we need that safety of employees is a priority for the factory. The factory will be audited again on our annual cycle. |
Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)
Falsified Reports, Turkey
We received an audit report from a 3rd party audit company that was not approved or recognized by the Matalan team. We were concerned about the validity of this report
| Questions we asked about this risk | Organisation’s response |
|---|---|
| Where it was most likely to occur |
Organisation’s response:
Within your supply chains.
|
| Who was it most likely to affect |
Organisation’s response:
|
| In which country | Organisation’s response: Turkey |
| Actions or plans to address this risk | Organisation’s response: - Checking the validity of an audit with a non-approved 3rd party company, we found that they didn't carry out audits in this region & that report is false - Factory was put immediately on hold pending investigation & it was found that a 3rd party consultant for the factory had falsified the report - Factory cut ties with the consultant and arranged new audit which was quickly approved - We now check the validity of all reports being received from Turkey before issuing approval |
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
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us its statement does not refer to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) 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:
Matalan is committed in preventing modern slavery at all levels within our value chain. We believe this strengthened by a collective approach with not only our supply chain but other stakeholders.
In 2021 we have improved our risk assessments, due diligence and remediation processes to work towards a preventive approaching within our supply chain.
Start of 2022, Matalan have brought in a new Head of ESG to further review the effectiveness of our policies, procedures & systems.