Modern Slavery Policy Statement
Introduction
As part of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, all companies with a turnover in excess of £36 million are required to publish a statement about our commitment to ensure there is no modern slavery in our business or supply chains.
We know that we’re successful as a business because of our fantastic people, helping everyone feel part of the Access family through one of our core values in “The Access Way.” We believe it’s important that everyone feels at home here and knows they are valued for what they do, how they do it and for who they are.
We’re committed to ensuring that our company is free from slavery and human trafficking and that all members of the Access family are kept safe.
Our Company Structure and Mission and Purpose
We’re a leading provider of business software, predominantly serving the UK mid-market. We support over 55,000 customers across many commercial and not for profit sectors in the UK and worldwide.
By combining our technology with tailored customer support we help transform the way organisations work, enabling colleagues to work more effectively together and connecting the right people with the right data to boost productivity.
We have over 6,300 colleagues and are one of the fastest growing UK software businesses.
Our 2022 Mission is to be a ‘UK top 10 software company’ and we aim to achieve that by delivering on our ‘Company Purpose’, To provide solutions that free our customers to do more of what’s important.
Employees at Access
We want everyone at Access to have a job that makes them smile. This is at the
heart of everything we do here. Physical, mental and financial health are the focus of our approach to Wellbeing with all of our colleagues having access to comprehensive wellbeing support. This includes our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which is also available for our colleagues’ families too.
Our robust recruitment processes include “right to work” document checks and providing clear contracts of employment.
In line with our open culture, we provide guidance on how people can raise any concerns they have and the channels of support available. Our network of Wellbeing and Diversity & Belonging Champions providing additional support and a friendly ear for anyone who needs it.
As we continue to grow globally, we aim to be reflective of the communities and customers we are supporting, bringing to Access even richer diversity of thought, experience and backgrounds.
Our Supply Chain
Although, due to the nature of our business, we have a lower risk of modem slavery occurring in our supply chain compared to businesses in other sectors, we’re continuing to focus on policies and procedures that make sure slavery and human trafficking doesn’t take place in that chain.
We design and build the software we provide to our customers, so we’re effectively the ‘first link in the chain’. Furthermore, the majority of our third-party support is for IT, marketing, real estate, facilities and professional services and is subject to thorough legal contracts.
We carry out a Modern Slavery assessment as part of our supplier on-boarding process and as our major suppliers are large, multi-national companies we also ask for details of their ethical operating standards through our formal tendering process.
What we’ve done / will do in the next 18 Months
We will continue to enhance how we engage with new suppliers:
- If they’re subject to the Modern Slavery Act 2015, we require them to provide a link to their own website statement.
- Utilising our newly established Procurement and Vendor Management team, will we assess our most at risk ESG initiatives and introduce mitigation to support our commitments to Modern Slavery
This has been approved by the Group’s board, Chris Bayne – September 2023.
