Modern Slavery Statement
Introduction
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.
We are opposed to such abuses in our direct operations, our indirect operations and our supply chain as a whole. Global Education Group (GEG) and its sister concerns, together with support from Procurement, are committed to the adherence and implementation of the GEG Modern Slavery Statement.
As an educational support service provider, we are committed to embedding sustainable development into our academic provision. This includes encouraging students to consider concepts of global citizenship, issues of social justice, ethics and wellbeing. We do this by including the principle in our recruitment & admissions plan and adopting a truly international approach to recruiting and building the student community. Students are encouraged to understand the consequences of actions which could impact on a community’s sustainable future (GEG’s Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development). We are committed to improving our practices to combat slavery and human trafficking.
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes the GEG’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 July 2021. It sets out the steps the GEG has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking do not take place in any part of our business or our supply chains.
Due Diligence in our Business and Supply Chains
Our supply chain is diverse and includes multinational companies to sole traders. As we develop a greater understanding of Modern Slavery, we are devoting greater resources to ensure that we can identify people at risk and carry out remedial and corrective action.
We have 8 global offices located in different countries and we also have permanent representative and freelancers who work for us. Some of these countries are ranked as high-risk countries by the Walk Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index 2018. Our interaction with high-risk countries is almost entirely related to student recruitment and the engagement of consultants.
Our suppliers are subject to scrutiny to ensure that they comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Even though we engage with a pre-approved supplier, we will continue to specifically ask for the suppliers’ commitment to our Modern Slavery Policy.
To raise awareness of modern slavery, new suppliers are required to provide signed confirmation of their undertaking to work alongside us in good practice. We have introduced an expanded Modern Slavery questionnaire to be completed as part of tender documentation.
All suppliers have been emailed to remind them of their responsibly and to reinforce our stand on slavery and human trafficking.
Training
Following a review in 2022, Global Education Group is committed as a matter of policy to provide targeted training in Modern Slavery and human trafficking, to prevent avoidance and heighten awareness.
An online training module with targeted training, is compulsory for all new staff. Going forward, in addition to being compulsory for all new staff the module forms part of a refresher programme for staff. Staff are required to complete the current module on a biennial basis.
Plans and commitment for the future
We are committed to continually developing and maintaining transparent working relationships with our suppliers (sub agent/partners/external organisation etc) and supply chains to ensure that there is no slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains.