Modern Slavery Statement

Introduction

Modern slavery is an umbrella term encompassing slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. In Scotland, the legal definition of these offences is set out in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015; hence where we refer to ‘human trafficking’, this includes the group of offences covered by this Act. The significant characteristic of all forms of human trafficking is that it involves one person depriving another person of their freedom: their freedom to leave one job for another; their freedom to leave one workplace for another; their freedom to control their own life.

Terms and conditions of employment

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is committed to providing a fair and equitable working environment and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce. Our employees already have safeguards incorporated into their terms and conditions of employment that assist in preventing some of the activities characteristic of human trafficking. Salaries, for example are paid into individual bank accounts, hourly rates are above the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage, annual leave entitlements are above the statutory minimum detailed in the Working Time Directive, and employees have the opportunity to apply to work flexibly to help achieve a better work/life balance.

In addition to favourable employee terms and conditions, we have other measures in place that assist in preventing human trafficking. We require all potential permanent and short-term post employees to complete pre-employment checks.  Such checks include ensuring the individual is of legal age to work, has the right to work in the UK, verifying the individual’s ID to check identity, the provision of references, and disclosure/PVG checks where relevant. All offers of employment are subject to these checks.

As a Sponsor Body for UK visas we follow strict adherence to Home Office instructions for recruiting and appointing those who meet the criteria of the Tier 2 and Tier 5 General Licence.

Additionally, we work in partnership with our two recognised Trade Unions to ensure our employee voice is heard:

• Unite the Union
• Prospect

Our Partnership Agreement with the trade unions outlines our joint approach to the management of employment relations, and reinforces the relationship between the organisation and trade unions within the employment landscape.

Our people policies and procedures are developed in consultation with trade union representatives and take account of our legal responsibility as an employer to take steps to prevent human trafficking.

Structure

RBGE is a global centre for biodiversity science, horticulture and education. We conserve one of the world’s richest botanical collections at our four gardens around Scotland, employing over 300 staff and with around 300 volunteers.

We are also a charity (Charity number SC007983) and a Non-Departmental Public Body, established under the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985. RBGE also has legal status as an academic institution.

We are governed by a Board of Trustees . Day to day running of RBGE is delegated to the Executive Leadership Team.

RBGE owns two subsidiaries:

• The Botanics Trading Company Limited
• The Botanics Energy company Limited

The Botanics Trading Company Limited (BTC) carries out non-core trading activity, including retail sales, event planning and catering and environmental consulting activities.

The remit of the Botanics Energy Company Limited is to build and operate a sustainable energy centre to generate and supply energy to RBGE.

The activities of RBGE are distinct from the Botanics Foundation (Charity no. SC027758) and the American Friends of the Botanics Foundation (Charity number EIN: 92-1336746). These organisations have been set up as independent charitable trusts to accept donations, gifts and legacies to support the care of our botanical collections as a global resource and enable our scientists, horticulturists and educators to do their vital work.

Our supply chain includes a broad spectrum of third-party suppliers and contractors. There are also a number of organisations providing RBGE with goods that could have either direct or multi-tier supply chains ranging from, but not limited to, clothing, furniture, hardware, scientific chemicals and equipment, horticultural equipment and services, media and printing services, and hard and soft facilities management services. A full list of our contracts is available on the Public Contracts Scotland portal.

Our finance and procurement team plays a key role in making sure these wider corporate activities are undertaken correctly and that our contracts and supply chains are risk assessed in respect of human trafficking, with appropriate mitigations taken to address these risks within our supply chains, as far as possible.

In compliance with the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, RBGE’s Corporate Procurement Strategy 2024 - 2028 sets out our principles and approach to ensuring responsible and sustainable procurement practices. These include:

• Adoption of Fair Work First principles and our expectations in connection with this from suppliers.
• The requirement to adhere to the public sector equality duty.
• Seeking future opportunities to use the Supported Businesses framework.
• Continuing to work with small and medium sized organisations.
• Seeking community benefits for relevant contracts.
• Environmental benefits.
• Modern slavery.
• Fair and ethically traded goods and services.
• Animal welfare.
• Climate emergency considerations.

Policies

Our commitment to anti-slavery builds upon our existing framework of ethical policies. We believe the following policies help us minimise the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in our organisation.

• Staff handbook - guidance covering employee rights, responsibilities and duties while at work including equal opportunities, anti-bullying and harassment, gifts reward and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and safeguarding.
• Code of conduct - a framework within which staff are expected to conduct themselves. RBGE strives to maintain a work environment for its staff in which honesty, integrity and respect for fellow employees, volunteers, students, and visitors to the garden is constantly reflected in personal behaviour.
• Whistleblowing policy - provides a framework for employees to raise any concerns about wrongdoing, malpractice or impropriety in the organisation that would be in the public’s interest.
• Theft, fraud and corruption – outlines RBGE’s approach to the prevention, detection, reporting and handling of fraud or fraud.
• Grievance policy and procedures - provides employees with a clear framework for raising grievances / disputes and outlines how the cases will be managed.
• Ethical Investment Policy - our commitment to ensuring that our investments are not complicit in any human rights violations,

Risk Assessment

The risk of modern slavery in RBGE’s activities is considered low. However, we recognise the potential risks linked to the extended and indirect supply chain of goods and services. For RBGE, such risks are reduced as procurement of goods and services are increasingly sourced through framework agreements such as Scottish Procurement and APUC, the Centre of Procurement Expertise for Universities and Colleges in Scotland.  

In our standard procurement documentation we state an expectation all suppliers take proactive measures to prevent and disrupt any instances of modern slavery or human trafficking. Suppliers are also required to audit their supply chains, contractors, and employees to ensure compliance with these requirements. All our potential suppliers and contractors are also required to complete a questionnaire which includes a question on child labour and other forms of trafficking in human beings, to gain assurances that these crimes are not present in their business, as set out in our Best Practice Guidance Note on Modern Slavery in Procurement.

We believe that our recruitment policies and processes mitigate the risk of our directly employing any person that has been trafficked or coerced into working. However, we remain vigilant to the risk. We will also, as existing employee policies come up for review, continue to consider the requirement to incorporate anti-modern slavery or human trafficking requirements.

Training

We also provide extra training and guidance to employees involved in procurement exercises. This training helps us to make sure employees follow our policy and procedures, which we believe lessens some of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Our Procurement Manager undertakes annual Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply refresher training on ethical procurement and supply. This includes topics such as human trafficking, forced labour, bribery and corruption.

We are committed to reviewing how we can improve training provided to employees with roles most likely to encounter risks of modern slavery and human trafficking, with the aim of developing and providing appropriate training to those employees.

Measuring Effectiveness

We use the following to measure how effective we have been to prevent the risk of slavery and human trafficking taking place in any part of our business or supply chains:

• Effective use of appropriate pre-employment checks in all instances.
• Supplier selection checks
• Continuing to scrutinise our supply chains and review more of our Supply Chain for Modern Slavery Risks.
• Increasing awareness of human trafficking and exploitation amongst employees.
• Reviewing this Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement annually and updating it as necessary

This statement is made voluntarily pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2025.

Simon Milne MBE

Regius Keeper

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

September 2024