1. Our Commitment

Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes many forms, including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. ASHA Healthcare Limited has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our business or our supply chains.

As a provider of specialist nursing and mental health care, we recognise our particular responsibility to protect people who may be vulnerable, including the people we support and the workers who deliver and supply our services.

2. Our Organisation and Business

ASHA Healthcare Limited provides specialist nursing and mental health care for adults aged 18 and over across residential services in England, supporting people with complex mental health needs, dementia and nursing needs. Our registered office is at Chapel House, 65 The Hill, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, NG17 8JS. We employ care, nursing, administrative, catering, domestic and maintenance staff across our homes.

3. Our Supply Chains

We recognise that the greatest modern slavery risks in our sector typically arise in relation to labour supply and lower-paid, outsourced services. Our supply chains include:

• Recruitment agencies and agency (bank) care and nursing staff
• Catering, food and beverage suppliers
• Laundry, linen and cleaning products and services
• Care and medical consumables and equipment
• Building maintenance, facilities and contractors
• IT, utilities and professional services

4. Relevant Policies

The following policies support our commitment to identifying and preventing modern slavery, and are available to staff:

• Safer recruitment policy: Ensuring all staff are recruited lawfully, with verified identity and right to work.
• Safeguarding (adults and children) policy: Enabling staff to recognise and report exploitation and abuse.
• Whistleblowing policy: Enabling staff to raise concerns, including about modern slavery, without fear of reprisal.
• Anti-slavery and human trafficking policy: Setting out our zero-tolerance position and reporting routes.
• Equal opportunities and dignity at work policies: Promoting fair and respectful treatment of all workers.

5. Due Diligence and Risk Assessment

We take steps to identify and manage the risk of modern slavery, including:

• Assessing the risk profile of suppliers and labour providers, giving particular attention to agency labour and outsourced services.
• Seeking to work with recruitment agencies and suppliers who can demonstrate their own compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
• Verifying the right to work of everyone we employ, and requiring the same of labour providers.
• Encouraging staff, residents, families and visitors to report any concerns, and acting on them promptly.

6. Recruitment and Labour Practices

We are committed to ethical recruitment. We verify the identity and right to work of all employees, carry out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks appropriate to each role, and pay all staff at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage. We do not charge workers fees to obtain work, and we take steps to ensure that workers supplied to us are treated fairly and lawfully.

7. Training and Awareness

We raise awareness of modern slavery among our staff, including how to recognise the signs of exploitation and how to report concerns, as part of our safeguarding and induction training. Managers responsible for recruitment and procurement are supported to understand modern slavery risks relevant to their roles.

8. Measuring Effectiveness

We keep our approach under review and use the following as indicators of the effectiveness of the steps we take:

• Completion rates for safeguarding and modern slavery awareness training.
• The number and nature of any concerns raised and how they were handled.
• Confirmation that right-to-work and recruitment checks have been completed.
• Review of key suppliers and labour providers for modern slavery compliance.

9. Approval

This statement was approved by the Senior Management Team of ASHA Healthcare Limited and relates to the financial year ending 2027. It will be reviewed and updated annually.