Tower Hamlets GP Care Group (THGPCG) is fully aware of our responsibilities towards patients, service users, employees and the local community and expects all suppliers to the organisation to adhere to the same ethical principles. The THGPCG is committed and will not tolerate modern slavery in any of its forms of slavery and servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking within our activities or our supply chains.
The THGPCG continues to fully support the government’s objective to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking and we acknowledge our role in both combating it and supporting victims. We are committed to ensuring our supply chains and our business activities are free from ethical and labour standards abuse.
Currently, all awarded suppliers sign up to our terms and conditions of contract which contain a provision around Good Industry Practice to ensure each supplier’s commitment to anti-slavery and human trafficking in their supply chains; and that they conduct their businesses in a manner that is consistent with our stance on anti-slavery.
People - Human resources policies provide processes and procedures to ensure that our employees and those employed in our supply chains are treated fairly at all times; these include:
- Confirming the identities of all new employees and their right to work legally in the UK.
- To have assurance from approved agencies that pre – employment clearance has been obtained for agency staff and to safeguard against human trafficking.
- All staff appointed are subject to references, immigration and identity checks, this is to ensure staff have the legal right to work in the UK.
- THGPCG has a set of values and behaviours that staff are expected to comply with, and all candidates are expected to demonstrate these attributes as part of the recruitment selection process.
- THGPCG has various employment policies and procedures in place designed to provide guidance and advice to staff and managers and also to comply with the relevant legislation. These are accessible on the intranet.
- We are committed to creating and ensuring a non – discriminatory and respectful working environment for all staff, this is in line with its corporate social responsibilities.
- GPCG Grievance and Whistleblowing policies and procedures give a platform for all employees the Freedom to Speak Up and to raise concerns about poor working practices.
- Ensuring appropriate mechanisms to regularly review and monitor progress on promoting and supporting diversity and inclusion within THGPCG.
- All staff are required to undertake mandatory training in relation to diversity and inclusion and safeguarding.
Whistleblowing (Freedom to Speak Up) – The Organisations Whistleblowing policy gives a platform for employees to raise concerns for further investigation and offers support to individuals that have suffered fiscal or professional detriment as a result of whistleblowing.
Safeguarding – THGPCG is committed to the principles setup in our safeguarding adults and children policies.
We ensure clear safeguarding guidance so that employees, contractors, patients and the public are able to raise safeguarding concerns about how they are being treated or/ and about working practices at THGPCG.
Our approach to procurement and our supply chain includes:
- Ensuring that our suppliers are carefully selected through our robust supplier selection criteria/processes;
- Requiring that the main contractor provides details of its sub-contractor(s) to enable the organisation to check their credentials;
- Random requests that the main contractor provides details of its supply chain;
- Ensuring invitation to tender documents contain a clause on human rights issues;
- Ensuring invitation to tender documents also contain clauses giving THGPCG the right to terminate a contract for failure to comply with labour laws;
- Staff must contact and work with the finance department when looking to work with new suppliers so appropriate checks can be undertaken.
- Supplier adherence to our values: the organisation has zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking and thereby expect all our direct and indirect suppliers/contractors to follow suit.
- Where it is verified that a subcontractor has breached the child labour laws or human trafficking, then this subcontractor will be excluded in accordance with Regulation 57 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The organisation will require that the main contractor substitute a new subcontractor.
