Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
Introduction
Lenham Storage Company Ltd is committed to improving our practices to combat any kind of slavery and human trafficking.
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.
Lenham Storage Company Ltd has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships by 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.
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA 2015) requires large businesses, with turnover over £36 million, to be transparent about their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking. This statement therefore explains the steps we have taken to ensure slavery and trafficking is not taking place in any of our supply chains or any part of our business.
Organisation Structure
Lenham Storage Company Ltd employs over 548 people in the UK. We have an annual turnover of £58.09 million.
Overall responsibility for modern slavery compliance sits with the Leadership team, with operational responsibility delegated to senior management and the HR and Procurement teams.
Our Business
Established in 1946, we’re a medium sized family-owned and run business with major customers, operating in the large and competitive market place of logistics. We hold our own against far bigger logistics names because of our specialist knowledge and focus, excellent delivery and concentration on customer relationships.
We are a major employer in Lenham, Kent and also have locations in Sittingbourne and Aylesford. We operate a specialised food-grade distribution network with a daily nationwide service to major multiples, cash and carry outlets, food service outlets, wholesalers, independent outlets, high street retailers and restaurants, hotels, farm shops and garden centres with an excellent track record of meeting On Time In Full (OTIF) targets.
The logistics and warehousing sector is recognised as a higher-risk industry for modern slavery due to the use of agency labour, migrant workers, subcontracted transport, and manual roles. Lenham Storage Company Ltd recognises these risks and takes steps to mitigate them. We operate using primarily employees. However, we also use the services of the following to aid business continuity and performance:
- Agency labour
- Migrant workers
- Temporary / seasonal work
- Subcontracted transport
Our Supply Chains
Our supply chains include the purchase of equipment and services relating thereto, consumables and packaging. We source these items globally from many vendors.
We promote action to ban slavery and human trafficking from our supply chain.
We ask our suppliers to commit to the ethical business principles set out in our Supply Chain Agreement on Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking. We ask our suppliers to be transparent and accountable by confirming in a written statement that they, and their own supply chain, are free of slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking.
We apply a risk-based approach to supplier due diligence, taking into account factors such as geography, sector, labour intensity, and use of subcontracting. Higher-risk suppliers may be subject to additional checks, contractual assurances, or audits.
Our Policies on Slavery and Human Trafficking
We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business. We comply with our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy and our Equal Opportunity & Dignity at Work Policy which reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and promoting this approach in our supply chains.
Breaches of our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy may result in disciplinary action, termination of contracts, or referral to appropriate authorities.
Our Processes to Prevent Slavery and Human Trafficking
All Lenham Storage Company Ltd staff are required to abide by all of our published policies and procedures in order to ensure that Lenham Storage Company Ltd exhibit and promote ethical business activities. As a company, we strive to inform all our staff and supply chain of their responsibilities to report on any activity that is or has the potential to be in breach of our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy.
For the services that we sell, Lenham Storage Company Ltd procurement staff are expected to identify and assess potential risk areas in the supply chain and work with suppliers in those areas in order to seek to establish that those suppliers act in accordance with our Supply Chain Agreement on Antislavery and Human Trafficking. The following related policies and procedures are in place at Lenham Storage Ltd:
- Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy
- Code of Conduct Policy
- Equal Opportunity & Dignity at Work Policy
- Public Interest Disclosure Policy
We prohibit recruitment fees, retention of identity documents, and coercive working practices. All workers are informed of their rights and how to raise concerns confidentially.
Supplier Adherence to Our Values and Ethics
We promote action to ban slavery and human trafficking from our supply chain. Lenham Storage Company Ltd aims to reflect its standards and actions for tackling this subject in cooperation agreements with suppliers and business partners.
For products that we source ourselves and for services, we ask our suppliers to be transparent and accountable by confirming in a written statement that they, and their own supply chain, are free of slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking.
Training
To ensure an understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and our business, training forms part of the induction process for all individuals who work for us, and regular training will be provided as appropriate thereafter.
Further Steps
Lenham Storage Company Ltd intends to continue strengthening its commitment to important human rights matters such as the elimination of slavery and human trafficking by increasing awareness in its workforce. Following the issuing of our Supply Chain Agreement on Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking to Lenham Storage Company Ltd.’s current supply chain, the Company will continue to roll out the Supply Chain Agreement on Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking to all new members of Lenham Storage Company Ltd Supply Chain during the current financial year.
Following a review of the effectiveness of the steps we have taken to ensure that there is no slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains we intend to take the following further steps to combat slavery and human trafficking.
- Monitoring the effectiveness of our approach through measures such as completion of training, supplier compliance rates, and the use of our reporting mechanism.
- Increase awareness of slavery and human trafficking in and outside the workplace through documentation and noticeboard information.
- Create clear instruction on reporting lines in the event evidence of slavery and human trafficking is identified.
Over the next financial year, we will conduct a formal review of modern slavery risks across our labour supply chain and strengthen reporting guidance for all workers
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes the slavery and human trafficking statement for Lenham Storage Company Ltd for the financial year ending August 2026.
