Hays, the global leader in workforce solutions and specialist
recruitment is supporting Anti-Slavery Week as a new corporate member of
Slave-Free Alliance, part of Hope for Justice.
In 2022, the International Labour Organization reported there are 49.6 million people in situations of modern
slavery and an estimated 27.6 million people in forced labour, which includes
over 16 million in the private sector including construction, manufacturing,
mining, utilities, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and domestic work.
Contributing to its value of ‘doing the right thing’, Hays began
its journey as a supporter of SFA this year, highlighting SFA’s strong history
of supporting and encouraging businesses, including those with global reach, to
enhance their approach and processes.
Joining the SFA signals Hays’ commitment to mitigating the risk
of slavery and human trafficking within its business and supply chain. Being a
member also provides the organisation with access to best practice resources
and allows it to benefit from the experience of SFA experts to provide guidance
to Hays. As a membership organisation, the SFA is positioned to help Hays
connect with other businesses, which is important given the relevance of supply
chains and industry sectors when it comes to mitigating risk.
Kirsty Green-Mann, Group Head of Sustainability at Hays said:
“In
becoming supporters, we have entered a formal agreement and partnership and are
pleased to now be part of a business network that is taking meaningful action.
Our initial focus as new members of the SFA will be to undertake a gap analysis
as well as focus on understanding more deeply our potential risks to inform our
action plan.
“As a
people business, treating people fairly and with respect is paramount. We want
to be above reproach in our address of human rights and therefore it is
incredibly important to access the right expertise. Becoming corporate
supporters of SFA demonstrates our commitment to improving and enhancing our
address of modern slavery and human trafficking. There is a challenge given the
global scope of the Hays business, and having the relevant expertise to hand is
important.
“We see
SFA as an important partner that will help us with our internal training and
awareness, process approach and controls, supplier engagement as well as taking
an advocacy role as part of our broader commitments in the respect of human rights.”
Marc Stanton, Director of Slave-Free Alliance, adds:
“We are
delighted to partner with Hays and are pleased they have taken this important
and proactive step in ensuring their business is at the forefront of protecting
human rights and mitigating risk in supply chains. SFA’s experts are looking
forward to working closely with the team at Hays to produce a gap analysis and
recommendations, and to help them with training, consultancy and to share our
years of experience in tackling this complex issue.”
About Hays
Hays
plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in workforce solutions
and recruitment, such as RPO and MSP. The Group is the expert at recruiting
qualified, professional, and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader
in the UK, Germany, and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental
Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The Group operates across the private and
public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary
assignments. As of 30 June 2023, the Group employed over 13,000 staff operating
from 252 offices in thirty-three countries. For the year ended 30 June 2023:
– the
Group reported net fees of £1,294.6 million and operating profit of £197.0 million.
– the Group placed around 76,800 candidates into
permanent jobs and around 245,000 people into temporary roles.
– Fifteen
percent of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 30% in
Germany, 21% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW).
–
the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent
placement business represented 43% of net fees.
– Technology
is the Group’s largest division, with 26% of net fees, while Accountancy &
Finance (15%) and Engineering (10%), are the next largest
–
Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany,
Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, the UK and the USA
About
Slave-Free Alliance
Slave-Free
Alliance is wholly owned by global charity Hope for Justice and all profits are
reinvested in charitable activities to help victims and survivors of human
trafficking and modern slavery across the world. Slave-Free Alliance works with
organizations of all sizes and complexity – from multinational companies to the
smallest businesses – to help them understand and mitigate the risk of modern
slavery and labour exploitation in their supply chains. There are more than 120
members globally, including Aldi, AstraZeneca, Experian, Schroders, Currys and
Sunbelt Rentals UK. These organisations recognise that they need to take a
long-term approach to embed best practice in their operations and supply chains
and to bring about lasting change. To learn more, visit https://www.slavefreealliance.org