Modern slavery is the severe exploitation of other people for personal or commercial gain and can take various forms including forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking. It is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights.
Our firm has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and we ensure we take steps to identify whether there is any action we need to take to comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 or other relevant legislation or guidance.
City Legal Services Limited is committed to operating responsibly and establishing high ethical standards across our firm. We will not tolerate modern forms of slavery or human trafficking in our business.
City Legal Services Limited trading as City Legal Solicitors is an immigration law firm that provides English law advice to a range of UK and International clients out of offices in North West London. The firm operates as a limited liability company owned by a single individual.
Risk Review
As a professional services organisation that is office based, we consider the risk of modern slavery, servitude or human trafficking existing within our business or supply chains to be relatively low. The goods and services we purchase to allow the delivery of our legal services is limited and primarily relates to professional services, property, facility management and maintenance and information technology.
We evaluate direct suppliers before they enter our supply chain. We expect our suppliers to operate fair and ethical workplaces.
Having regard to the size and nature of our practice, we have determined that we do not need to take any particular steps to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our own business or within our supply chain. We do not fall within the remit of Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which requires other larger commercial organisations that supply goods or services to prepare a Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement for each financial year.
In particular, we have reached this decision in light of the following:
we do not have a total annual turnover equal to or exceeding the amount set by the secretary of state, currently £36 million
the complexity of the firm and the types of supply chains in which we are involved do not raise particular levels of risk or exposure.
Our Commitment
We are, however, committed to:
acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and our internal procedures
being alert to risks, however small
promoting a culture of awareness and compliance by means of education and training and overseeing arrangements for the sharing of information on modern slavery. This may include, providing updates to staff members and informing staff members of relevant guidance
ensuring all staff members understand their responsibility to be alert and to raise suspicions of incidents of harm, abuse, neglect or exploitation or any similar concerns.
Policies & Procedures
The firm has set high ethical standards when dealing with suppliers that are set out in the policies below.
Use of External Supplier’s Procedures
Contractors Policy
Anti-Bribery Policy
Whistleblowing Policy
Modern Slavery Policy
Monitoring
Our COLP is responsible for implementing and monitoring progress of this and other related policies and their objectives. This policy will be reviewed at least annually to verify it is in effective operation.
If anyone in the firm becomes aware of an instance of modern slavery or human trafficking occurring in any of our supply chains, we will work to resolve the issue through legitimate and proportionate procedures. We may terminate a supply arrangement at any time should any instances of modern slavery come to light.
Any significant problems identified in relation to modern slavery should be immediately reported to our COLP, whose contact details can be found at the end of this statement.
We are fully committed to the highest possible standards of openness, honesty and accountability and actively encourage all of our staff members who have any concerns related to our activities or our supply chains to report them in accordance with our Whistleblowing Policy. We will treat all such disclosures in the strictest confidence and will endeavour to provide advice and guidance on any action to be taken.
Training
Targeted slavery and human trafficking training sessions will continue to be provided where necessary in order to educate on the importance of implementing and enforcing effective systems to prevent slavery and human trafficking from taking place in our supply chains.
Adarsh Girijadevi, COLP & Managing Director approved this statement on 10 October 2023. Please contact compliance@citylegalsolicitors.co.uk for any enquiries.
