This statement sets out the steps The Autism Service has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our supply chains or in any part of our business.

What is modern slavery?

Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain. 

Organisational structure

The Autism Service is a private limited company, incorporated in England and Wales. We provide private healthcare via a network of regulated professionals, all of whom are UK based. We have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains.

We are also committed to ensuring there is transparency in our own business and in our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply chains, consistent with our disclosure obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We expect the same high standards from all of our contractors, suppliers and other business partners, and as part of our contracting processes, we include specific prohibitions against the use of forced, compulsory or trafficked labour, or anyone held in slavery or servitude, whether adults or children, and we expect that our suppliers will hold their own suppliers to the same high standards. 

Policies

To combat modern slavery, we have implemented a modern slavery policy that sets out the key issues and how we should respond including a process for raising concerns internally. Alongside this, the following employment policies that protect people from unfair treatment and promote a fair and inclusive workplace are in place:

1. Equal opportunities
2. Whistleblowing
3. Grievance
4. Harassment

Steps taken to assess and manage risk

The risk of modern slavery in our business and supply chains is low. In addition to our modern slavery policy, as part of our efforts to address modern slavery risk, our specific procedures include:

1. Robust recruitment and onboarding processes in line with relevant employment laws
2. A process for handling complaint raised by people outside of the company
3. Wellbeing strategy and initiatives to support our people’s physical and mental wellbeing

Effectiveness

The Autism Service takes responsibility for this statement and its related objectives and will review and update it in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Written 05/02/2025.