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Kingfisher Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement 2024/25


Introduction


Suppliers & customer offer


Governance


Policies


Risk assessment


Working with suppliers GFR


Working with suppliers GNFR


Going beyond audit


Whistleblowing & escalation


Employee training


Partnership & collaboration


Looking to the future


Addressing cases of modern slavery


Any potential instances of modern slavery or child labour identified via ethical audits are considered business critical – the most serious breach of our standards. We take immediate action to resolve such cases, working with suppliers to ensure they understand our requirements, the corrective actions needed, and how to implement them.


Where adverse media checks have identified ongoing cases in the public domain, which has happened a few times, we follow up with suppliers.


The following examples are cases identified in 2024 through the ongoing ethical audit programme:


Right to work checks B&Q Ethical Sourcing team


A SMETA 4-pillar audit identified a critical risk at a B&Q supplier due to a failure to carry out Right To Work (RTW) checks on site. The supplier was notified, and a Corrective Action Plan was put in place.


The supplier’s HR department set up an in-person meeting with the relevant agencies to agree new processes and verify documents. All RTW documents were checked for current workers, and a follow-up audit was booked.


In the meantime, the factory established a new process in which agencies send RTW documents prior to the worker’s first day. These are then verified by the supplier’s HR department as part of the day- one induction. The department has also created agency files for all RTWs and age verifications.


The follow-up confirmed appropriate actions had been taken and RTW documentation for agency workers was found to be in order. The issue was closed.


Holiday pay calculations B&Q Ethical Compliance team


A SMETA audit found that a supplier’s agency worker contracts did not contain holiday pay calculation statements. This was raised as a critical issue.


The supplier was notified, and a Corrective Action Plan was completed. This involved them meeting with the agency to resolve the issue and agree a new process. The agency drafted a holiday pay statement which was approved by the supplier. This is now included in all contracts, added to internal noticeboards, and an explanation forms part of agency workers’ induction. The supplier agreed to conduct audits on their labour providers every six months and will do noticeboard checks to confirm the holiday pay statement is being communicated to workers.


A follow-up audit confirmed the issue had been resolved.


Withholding identification documents and wages Far East Office O&S/Ethical Compliance team


A SMETA 4-pillar audit identified that a supplier was withholding the passports of 29 migrant workers and 50% of the workers’ monthly salary. Our Responsible Sourcing team, in collaboration with the buying office and the supplier, implemented an improvement programme.


We worked closely with the supplier to ensure they understood our requirements, the necessary corrective actions, and how to implement them effectively. As a result, all passports and wages were returned to the migrant workers, and a proper procedure for handling passports was established. A follow-up audit, conducted by an independent third-party auditor, confirmed that the corrective actions had been satisfactorily implemented.


Withholding passports Far East Office O&S/Ethical Compliance team


During an ethical audit at a production site in Malaysia, it was discovered that the site management was keeping the passports of its migrant workers, who were a mixture of production workers and third-party security guards. These workers travelled from Nepal and Indonesia to work in Malaysia.


Upon reviewing the audit, the Kingfisher Ethical Compliance team met with the supplier and explained the severity of the non-conformances raised in the audit and agreed a Corrective Action Plan with the site.


The passports were returned to the workers, and all workers were given access to lockers to keep their personal documents in. After receiving their passports and attending a training session on safe keeping, they were asked to sign a form in their native language acknowledging they had received them. The site has now established a new monitoring process for its external security contractor to ensure the security guards have access to their passports. This was verified by a follow-up audit in December 2024.


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