Published: 26th March 2017
Introduction
SYNLAB Group is committed to the UK Government’s objectives of eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking. SYNLAB Group is committed to ensuring that the supply chains of its subsidiaries and their business activities are free from ethical and labour standards abuse.
The Organisational Structure
SYNLAB Group are market leaders in Europe for medical diagnostic services for practising doctors (GPs), individual patients, clinics, hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry.
SYNLAB Limited (“SL”) is the ultimate parent company of all the subsidiaries that belong to the SYNLAB group of companies (“SYNLAB Group”). SL provides head office support activities to its subsidiaries by way of providing guidelines, advice and assistance.
In the UK, the SYNLAB Group operates through Labco UK Group Limited (“LUKGL”).
LUKGL is the main operating group of businesses, ultimately owned by SL, which delivers high quality pathology testing and imaging services.
The rest of this statement will focus solely on SL’s steps in complying with Modern Slavery Act 2015.
SYNLAB Limited’s Compliance to the Modern Slavery Act 2015
SL supports all its subsidiaries in ensuring that there is full compliance with local labour and employment legislation. SL provides quarterly reporting on relevant HR, Social and Environmental related performance indicators to the SYNLAB Group’s Head of HR and Organisation and to the Board of Directors. SL drives the local management of its subsidiaries, including LUKGL, to ensure that specific supply chain policies are adopted, which have, as one of their main objectives, supplier due diligence for both new and existing suppliers.
SL has also supported its subsidiaries to continuously improve their systems and procedures to detect potential modern slavery and human trafficking risks arising around particular products and geographical areas.
SL will procure that its subsidiaries will conduct an overall review of the SYNLAB Group’s existing supply chains in various countries, including the UK, in order to harmonize local sourcing practices in accordance with SL’s guidelines and specific tasks, and relevant performance indicators will be introduced. These measures will embed verifications and checks into the supply chain, ensure early detection of potential critical situations and enforce actions to reduce, mitigate and eliminate any modern slavery and human trafficking risks, as well as preserve and improve SYNLAB’s reputation on the global market.
SL will ensure that its subsidiaries raise awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking issues among the wider workforce at all SYNLAB locations and operations globally. SL will work through its subsidiaries’ HR and the organisation is committed to ensuring that appropriate training and awareness initiatives are put in place to meet this goal.
SL will review its actions in relation to the above annually.
This statement is made pursuant to Section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes SL’s Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement for the financial year 2016/2017.
This statement has been approved and authorised by the SYNLAB Limited board of directors.
