WESTERN DIGITAL (UK) LIMITED modern slavery statement summary (2024)

Organisation address
280 Bishopsgate,
London,
United Kingdom,
EC2M 4AG

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 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

WESTERN DIGITAL (UK) LIMITED modern slavery statement for 2024 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:
1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024

The statement was signed off by:
David Goeckeler (Chief Executive Officer & Director)

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
19 November 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 Not covered

The organisation’s sectors and turnover

Sectors

The organisation operates in the following sectors:

  • Information technology and telecommunication

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 Not included
Other
https://www.westerndigital.com/company/corporate-responsibility/people/global-human-rights

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 Yes
Your front line staff Yes
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 No
Civil society organisations Yes
Professional auditors Yes
Workers within your organisation Yes
Workers within your supply chain No
Central or local government No
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 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 No

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:
We regularly audit our supply chain through our partnership with the RBA. We conduct audits of labor brokers and providers of on-site services such as cafeteria, janitorial cleaning and security.

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)

Labor issues in certain manufacturing locations – Malaysia, Thailand and China.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Don't know
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Migrants
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • China
  • Malaysia
  • Thailand
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: The assessment conducted by the BSR and our periodic enterprise-wide risk assessment considered the risk associated with the types of operations we have and identified Malaysia, Thailand and China as more susceptible to labor issues such as forced and child labor, so we closely monitor those location. We have worked with our supply chain to map their labor sources and give suppliers in these countries enhanced attention and scrutiny based on the common use of foreign workers in those countries.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Recruitment fees
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Don't know
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Migrants
In which country Organisation’s response: No details provided
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: We engage in dialogue with employees and suppliers while also working with third parties to audit ours and our suppliers’ practices. When we found issues regarding recruitment fees, we worked quickly to remediate them. We ensure suppliers are following appropriate recruiting practices and that reimbursements are provided to impacted employees. In 2024 we worked with RBA and other member companies to see that over $88,000 USD was reimbursed to affected employees within the supply chain.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Human right issues
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Don't know
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response: No details provided
In which country Organisation’s response: No details provided
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: We regularly remind employees and suppliers about the availability of our global ethics helpline, an anonymous service managed by an independent third party, for reporting misconduct or other problems. The helpline is available 24 hours a day in all of the major languages spoken by our employees and is available to suppliers’ workers and their legitimate representatives. When we receive reports of misconduct, we promptly investigate and correct any confirmed problems.

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:
The key performance indicator used is the RBA audit scores for our own operations and our suppliers. We regularly audit our supply chain through our partnership with the RBA, and in some instances we use our own staff. Suppliers are required to perform periodic self-assessments, and many are required to undergo independent RBA audits. Suppliers must give Western Digital access to their completed self-assessment questionnaires (SAQs) and any completed RBA audit reports.