Modern Slavery Mission Statement

At Rise Technical Recruitment, as a supplier of recruitment services for multiple clients in the United Kingdom and internationally, we recognise our duty as a supplier and employer to provide services and a working environment free from slavery, human trafficking and illegal working. We operate as a recruitment consultancy placing permanent and temporary workers across a range of sectors and geographies. Our business model is based on sourcing, vetting and placing candidates with client organisations, and, in respect of temporary assignments, engaging workers via umbrella companies and other third-party suppliers (our “supply chain”).

Our Organisation, Business and Supply Chains

As part of our operations, we maintain offices in the United Kingdom and provide recruitment services to clients in the UK and overseas. We source candidates through our own databases, advertising channels and referrals, and place them directly with client organisations or, in the case of temporary and contract roles, via umbrella companies and other payroll providers. As part of our due diligence, we undergo thorough pre-employment checks, supported by ISO 9001, alongside implementing ethical working practices which we streamline across the whole business, ensuring that all workers can legally obtain work and that our key suppliers meet appropriate legal and ethical standards.

Our Commitment and Zero-Tolerance Approach

We recognise our vital role in tackling and preventing modern slavery, in an industry that can be more open to the risks of modern slavery through dealings with thousands of candidates each year. Rise is against any form of slavery and has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation in all aspects of our business and business interactions. We take sustained, concerted action to prevent these practices within our own operations and to seek to prevent them within our supply chains and the services we provide to clients.

Modern slavery can take various forms, including, but not limited to: abuse of power and exploitation of vulnerable people for profit, labour exploitation, sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, domestic servitude and organ harvesting. Our internal policies and training materials use these definitions to help our people identify and report risk indicators.

We maintain and periodically review policies that underpin our zero-tolerance stance on modern slavery and human trafficking. These include our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy, Recruitment and Selection Policy, Whistleblowing and Speaking Up Policy, and Supplier Charter. These policies set clear expectations that all employees, workers, contractors and suppliers must act ethically and with integrity, prohibit any form of forced or child labour, and require that any concerns or suspected breaches are reported immediately through designated reporting channels, including confidential whistleblowing routes, without fear of retaliation.

Standards Within Our Company

Within our business, we have zero-tolerance to child labour, and all of our employees are of a legal working age, which is checked at pre-employment via ID and residence checks. Our employees are always paid at least the national minimum wage, which is paid into an account in their name only, with no employee being subject to forced overtime and always able to resign from our employment at their own will, with no repercussion. Furthermore, we operate a staff referral scheme, which is monitored to prevent any potential form of exploitation or modern slavery.

We acknowledge that, despite our best efforts, the above may sometimes not be enough and we promote an open culture, whereby our employees are supported to speak to their manager, or our HR manager, about any concerns in their personal life and are encouraged to build workplace friendships so that employees feel able to discuss concerns. People are more likely to confide in individuals whom they trust, so we ensure our managers have that relationship with their teams. We also have trained Mental Health First Aiders and an external help provider so there are multiple options to approach someone in confidence. We believe that doing this provides an important platform to help our staff if they are the victim of modern slavery or have any concerns on this subject, and underpins our commitment to early identification and reporting of risks.

Due Diligence in Our Services and Business Operations

All our Directors and Managers are trained to spot signs of modern slavery and address any concerns. They are responsible for ensuring that due diligence checks on candidates, workers and clients are carried out consistently and for escalating any issues in accordance with our reporting procedures.

As part of our robust recruitment process, all staff must conduct a pre-screen interview with each candidate before they are put forward to a client, ensuring that they always interview and speak directly to the candidate and not someone else on their behalf (unless an alternative provision needs to be made to accommodate a person’s disability). All interviews are conducted by telephone, video call or face to face, with staff instructed to immediately report any concern raised by the call to their manager. We also encourage our clients to view any candidate’s ID at interview stage and to notify us of any concerns, so that we can investigate and, where appropriate, take corrective action.

We carry out additional ID, residence address and reference checks for our temporary workers and look for any inconsistencies and potential signs for concern. Where any anomalies or risk indicators are identified, these are escalated to management for investigation and, if necessary, reported to the relevant authorities or agencies.

As well as looking out for any potential signs of modern slavery in our interactions with candidates, we also conduct due diligence on clients; this is to ensure we are not putting candidates at risk by introducing them to a company who may not be tackling the issue. Prior to taking on a vacancy, we discuss the role with the client to ensure we know what the candidates will be doing, alongside carrying out credit checks and other appropriate background checks on each potential client. We also keep in touch with both candidates and clients following acceptance of a job offer and after start date to ensure that candidates are happy in their new role and there are no concerns, and we take appropriate steps where issues are identified.

Risk Areas in Our Supply Chain and Steps We Take

We engage many of our temporary workers via umbrella companies and therefore, before any umbrella company is added to our supplier list, we carry out strict compliance checks to ensure the candidate will not be taken advantage of and all laws will be complied with. This includes confirming accurate tax will be paid, no unlawful deductions will be made, and the candidate will be engaged on a PAYE basis. We also carry out ad-hoc spot checks once the candidate has started, focusing on high-risk sectors, geographies or roles where we assess there may be an increased vulnerability to exploitation.

We also carry out due diligence on all other suppliers to ensure they comply with relevant laws, including modern slavery and human trafficking legislation. As part of this process, we identify and assess the parts of our business and supply chains where there is a risk of slavery and human trafficking, including temporary worker engagement, umbrella company arrangements, payroll providers, high-volume recruitment activity, higher-risk sectors and jurisdictions, and any services involving lower-paid or potentially vulnerable workers. We consider jurisdictional risk (including whether suppliers operate in or source from countries or sectors assessed as higher risk for modern slavery), the nature of the services being provided and the supplier’s own policies and controls. We do not use suppliers from countries or sectors where there is a material risk that individuals will be subjected to slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour or human trafficking while performing the services for us, unless we are satisfied that robust mitigation measures are in place.

We also carry out due diligence on all other suppliers to ensure they comply with relevant laws, including modern slavery and human trafficking legislation. As part of this process, we consider jurisdictional risk (including whether suppliers operate in or source from countries or sectors assessed as higher risk for modern slavery), the nature of the services being provided and the supplier’s own policies and controls. We do not use suppliers from countries or sectors where there is a material risk that individuals will be subjected to slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour or human trafficking while performing the services for us, unless we are satisfied that robust mitigation measures are in place.

We will also require all suppliers to sign up to our Supplier Charter, confirming their commitment to anti-slavery and human trafficking. Our Supplier Charter sets out the minimum labour, human rights and ethical standards we expect, requires suppliers to cascade equivalent standards through their own supply chains, and gives us the right to request information, conduct audits or terminate relationships where we identify non-compliance or an unacceptable level of risk.

Whilst we have implemented ways to reduce the risk of modern slavery, we will never become complacent and will always comply with any new legislation, alongside seeking feedback from our candidates and employees to understand if there are any other measures we could take. We monitor the effectiveness of our approach in ensuring that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our business or supply chains through a range of indicators, which may include: the number of modern slavery concerns raised and how they are resolved; completion rates for staff training; the proportion of key suppliers that have signed our Supplier Charter; the outcomes of spot checks and audits; the number and outcome of candidate, worker, client and supplier due diligence escalations; and any breaches identified in our own operations or supply chains. Insights from this monitoring are used to inform updates to our policies, procedures and training.

Monitoring, Review and Approval

This statement will be reviewed at least annually, in consultation with key stakeholders, to log our improvements, assess the effectiveness of the steps we are taking, and identify areas to address. The review will consider our performance against the indicators described above, feedback from employees, candidates, clients and suppliers, and any changes in our risk profile or applicable law. Following each annual review, this statement will be approved by the Rise Technical Recruitment Board (or an authorised senior director on its behalf). Once approved, the statement will be published on our website and made available to employees, candidates, clients and suppliers, including by providing a link in relevant onboarding and contractual documentation.

Training and Capacity Building

We recognise that training, awareness and capacity building are critical to preventing modern slavery in our business and supply chains. All new employees involved in recruitment, HR, supplier management or leadership roles receive induction training on our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy, relevant legal obligations, our due diligence and escalation procedures, and the practical signs and indicators of modern slavery. We provide periodic refresher training to these groups and make guidance and awareness materials available to all employees, including mental health first aiders and managers, to support early identification and escalation of concerns. Managers and relevant operational teams receive additional guidance on how to discuss concerns sensitively with candidates, workers, clients and suppliers, how to record and escalate potential indicators, and how to apply our supplier and candidate due diligence processes in practice. Training content is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in legislation, best practice guidance and lessons learned from our own experience and that of our industry.

We recognise that training and awareness are critical to preventing modern slavery in our business and supply chains. All new employees involved in recruitment, HR, supplier management or leadership roles receive induction training on our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy, relevant legal obligations and the practical signs and indicators of modern slavery. We provide periodic refresher training to these groups and make guidance and awareness materials available to all employees, including mental health first aiders and managers, to support early identification and escalation of concerns. Training content is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in legislation, best practice guidance and lessons learned from our own experience and that of our industry.