Modern Slavery Policy

V&A Dundee Modern Slavery Statement

To enrich lives through design and promote the public’s enjoyment and understanding of art, craft and design, V&A Dundee contracts with a number of suppliers to facilitate its various activities.

Whilst the V&A Dundee does not believe that its business and supply chains are especially susceptible to slavery and human trafficking the V&A Dundee is committed to conducting its affairs and acquiring goods and services without causing harm to others. In furtherance of this aim the V&A Dundee makes this statement pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) to set out the steps that it has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within its own operations or its supply chain.

1. The V&A Dundee will often procure goods and services through framework agreements that require suppliers to respect high ethical standards (such as the Base Code of the Ethical Trading Initiative) when engaging with international supply chains and which identify and audit supply chains which represent a medium- to high-risk of modern slavery, human trafficking, forced and bonded labour, and labour rights violations.

2. As part of its due diligence the V&A Dundee will be seeking assurances from its key suppliers to ensure that they are observing acceptable ethical standards in relation to modern slavery and human trafficking. We will expect all suppliers to be compliant with the MSA and to give us assurances that they themselves enforce acceptable ethical standards both within their own business and within their supply chains. If we discover that any of our suppliers (or potential suppliers) are, or have been, involved in modern slavery the V&A Dundee’s policy is to do one or more of the following:

• report any unlawful behaviour to the relevant authorities;
• take reasonable steps to encourage the supplier to remedy any unlawful or unethical behaviour;
• take reasonable steps to require the supplier to provide further assurances that all unlawful or unethical behaviour has ceased and will not recur; and
• where possible, to refrain from providing any further business to those suppliers.

3. The V&A Dundee will be notifying relevant staff of the law in this sector and on the consequences of modern slavery, human trafficking, forced and bonded labour, and labour rights violations.

4. The V&A Dundee and its subsidiary companies have introduced clauses into their standard contracts requiring suppliers and other contractors to ensure that modern slavery, human trafficking, forced and bonded labour, and labour rights violations do not occur in their supply chain.

5. The V&A Dundee operates a robust recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.

6. The V&A Dundee operates a Public Interest Disclosure policy so that all employees know that they can raise concerns about how colleagues are being treated, or practices within our business or supply chain, without fear of reprisals.