Social Compliance & Ethical Trading

The main business activity of Henbrandt Limited is to import products manufactured in Eastern and Southeast Asia, and supply them to our customers throughout the UK and Ireland.

It is our aim that all products supplied to our customers come from manufacturing sources that comply with ethically acceptable circumstances, hence this Code of Conduct which applies to our manufacturing suppliers.

Please carefully read this document and its content.

A.      Code of Conduct

Henbrandt Limited applies this Code of Conduct as a minimum requirement to all of our suppliers, and the suppliers of our suppliers.  The Code of Conduct aims to enforce ethical and social good standards within all production, manufacturing, administration, storage and delivery facilities, of our suppliers.  All suppliers of Henbrandt must comply fully with the national and regional laws of the country and area in which they are based. In the event of a conflict, these laws should always be enforced before our Code of Conduct. If this is the case, the supplier should inform Henbrandt Limited.

B.      Modern Slavery

Henbrandt Limited does not tolerate any form of modern slavery. For the purpose of this document, we use the term ‘modern slavery’ as defined by the Modern Slavery Act 2015, where it encompasses human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour in any form – including child labour, slave labour, prison labour, indentured servitude, or bonded labour.

We have zero-tolerance towards slavery and human trafficking violations, and under no circumstances should any supplier, in any area of their business, make use of practises that constitute modern slavery (e.g. child labour).

We are committed to ensuring that the products we provide are produced in a way that respects human rights, including the right to freely chosen employment. Therefore, we require that our suppliers comply with our values:

  • Suppliers must not engage in or tolerate violence, harassment, abuse, or coercion, including physical, verbal, sexual, or psychological, or any form of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
  • All work must be voluntary, and workers must be free to leave work and terminate their employment or other work status with reasonable notice, without penalty.
  • Suppliers must not cause workers to lose possession of or access to their personal documents.
  • Before they enter into employment or prior to departing their country of origin, workers must be given clear, understandable documentation that defines the terms and conditions of their employment in a language and manner they understand, with preference for each worker’s native or best understood language and/or visual images for workers with lower literacy levels.
  • Our suppliers must follow national laws and regulations. 
  • Our suppliers should follow international Labour Organisation Regulations 138 and 132.

We continually monitor our risk of modern slavery within our business practises. We recognise that, while there is no risk of modern slavery occurring within our direct business operations in the United Kingdom and European Union, we could be indirectly exposed to the risk of modern slavery through our supply chains in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. As such, our Leadership makes regular visits to our manufacturing partners in Eastern and Southeastern Asia to ensure the business practises of said partners comply with Henbrandt Limited’s values and moral standards. Furthermore, we partake in annual internal audits of our manufacturing partnerships, and we are continuously assessing the risks posed to specific groups that may be more vulnerable to exploitation (including women, children, indigenous peoples, and temporary or migrant workers) within and adjacent to our supply chain.

At Henbrandt Limited, our approach is one of diligence and engendering continuous improvement across all areas of business, and we are always working to better our existing business practises, including in actions we take to address and prevent modern slavery risks.  We encourage the same in our suppliers.

C.      Safety at Work

All local and national safety at work regulations must be adhered to and documented at all times.  All areas of the suppliers business must prioritise health and safety of all workers at all times.  First aid equipment must be available in every building within the factory environment and a minimum of one piece of first aid equipment (one kit) must be available to every thirty workers.  Personal protective equipment and clothing must be provided and used where appropriate by all workers.  Fire extinguishers and fire safety materials must be available in all buildings within the factory environment, they must be regularly maintained and labelled, and staff must be regularly trained in the use of such materials.  Exits and emergency exits must be clearly marked, and there must be sufficient of them within the factory environment.  They must be unlocked and unobstructed.   An evacuation plan must be available for all workers and regular evacuation drills must be carried out.  Machinery must be tested to be safe and workers must be trained in safe use of machinery. Any hazardous materials must be carefully stored and labelled.  Lighting, temperature and ventilation within all buildings within the factory must be adequate.

D.      Working Conditions and Regulations (including accommodation within the factory environment where appropriate)

A clean environment throughout must be maintained.  Clean toilet and washroom facilities, segregated for male and female, must be available for all workers and must be accessible at all times.  No physical or psychological violence of any nature must be applied to any worker.  No sexual harassment of any nature must be applied to any worker.  An individual bed per worker plus the surrounding space meeting the minimum legal requirements, must be provided to workers who are accommodated on site.  Separate sleeping rooms as well as separate toilet and washroom areas must be provided to men and women.  These areas must be clean environments, well ventilated and secure. Workers are to be in a position to come and go from sleeping rooms as they wish in non working hours.

E.       The Rights of Workers

International Labour Organisation regulations must be followed, in particular 29, 87, 98, 100, 105 and 111. Please refer to www.ilo.org for full details.

F.       Working Hours

For all workers, daily, weekly and monthly maximum working hours must be adhered to in accordance with local and national law, or if in doubt refer to International Labour Organisation.

G.     Remuneration, Wages and Pay

For all workers, daily, weekly and monthly pay per time worked (including overtime) must be adhered to in accordance with local and national law, or if in doubt refer to International Labour Organisation.  In particular local legal minimum wage must be paid as an absolute minimum.  All overtime must not be forced and workers have the right to choose overtime or not to work overtime.  Maternity leave, sick leave and holiday leave is an entitlement of all workers in accordance with local and national law.