Modern Slavery Statement

This statement is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps Barking Healthcare Ltd has taken, and is continuing to take, to ensure that modern slavery and human trafficking are not taking place within our business or supply chains.

Our business

Barking Healthcare Ltd is a specialist healthcare staffing agency supplying nurses, healthcare assistants, and support workers to care homes across the United Kingdom. We operate from offices in London and Manchester and engage professionals across England, Scotland, and Wales.

Our supply chains

Our supply chains include: care home clients who book our staff; healthcare professionals who work shifts via our bank; and operational suppliers (payroll, cloud hosting, professional services, office services, DBS-check providers, and uniform suppliers). The vast majority of our suppliers are UK-based.

Our policies

We operate a suite of policies that reflect our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships:

• Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy
• Recruitment and Right-to-Work Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Supplier Code of Conduct
• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy

Due diligence

Our due diligence approach includes:

• Verifying right-to-work documentation for every professional we engage.
• Conducting enhanced DBS checks and reference verification.
• Paying at or above the Real Living Wage and providing transparent payslips.
• Maintaining a confidential whistleblowing route via our Head of Compliance.
• Reviewing our key suppliers annually for their own modern-slavery posture.

Risk assessment

We consider the risk of modern slavery within our own workforce to be low, given the regulated nature of the UK healthcare sector and the proactive vetting steps we take. We consider the risk in our wider supply chain to be low-to-medium and we review it annually.

Training

All employees and contractors receive modern-slavery awareness training as part of induction, and our compliance and recruitment teams receive enhanced annual training on identifying potential indicators of exploitation.

Reporting concerns

Anyone with concerns about modern slavery in connection with our business may report them in confidence to compliance@barkinghealthcare.co.uk or directly to the Head of Compliance. Concerns may also be reported to the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700.

Approval

This statement was approved by the Board of Directors of Barking Healthcare Ltd and signed by the Managing Director.

Status: Draft template intended for launch. Final statement must be reviewed and signed by a director of the company before being published as the official Section 54 statement for the financial year.