Modern Slavery Transparency Statement

The Doctors Laboratory Group Modern Slavery Transparency Statement

This is TDL’s first Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement under Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act. The statement will be reviewed and published annually on our websites. 

Modern slavery is a broad term that encompasses slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking.

About our business

The Doctors Laboratory (TDL) Group is a medically-led laboratory, established in 1987. It is the largest independent provider of clinical laboratory diagnostic services in the UK. We provide our customers with the laboratory information required for diagnosis and treatment of medical disorders. 

TDL's parent company, Sonic Healthcare Ltd (Sonic), is an Australian clinical diagnostic organisation employing over 31,000 people, with a turnover (in 2016) of approximately AU$5 billion per annum.

Policies and due diligence on modern slavery for our business and our supply chain

TDL is committed to trading ethically, with zero tolerance for modern slavery (including forced labour or human trafficking of any kind), human rights violations, and child labour. As a healthcare company, this respect and commitment to respecting human rights and upholding labour standards is central to the success of our business in all the communities in which we operate.

We adhere to Sonic’s global Labour Standards & Human Rights Policy, which is aligned with the principles established within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in combination with Sonic’s Core Values and Code of Ethics, reinforces the commitment to ensuring all internal and external stakeholders are treated with dignity and respect.

As part of due diligence when entering into acquisitions, new operations and other contractual arrangements, we seek to abide by the requirements set out in this document to ensure any labour standards and human rights issues are identified and assessed. Sonic’s Supplier Policy applies to all supplier relationships and sets out a similar set of expectations for suppliers, including:

·       adherence to all relevant laws and regulations in relation to non-discrimination, equal opportunity, sexual harassment and human rights;

·       not using any form of bonded, slave or child labour;

·       maintaining a blame-free work environment where employees are encouraged to report misconduct, illegal or inappropriate behaviour free from any threat of reprisals or other adverse consequences;

·       providing and supporting freedom of association for employees to join trade unions and other employee representative groups and for those groups to bargain collectively on behalf of employees;

·       employing only those individuals with a legal right to work in that jurisdiction;

·       complying with all relevant laws and regulations in relation to legal minimum rates of pay and other conditions of

·       employment for workers, such as fair working hours, meal and rest breaks and other conditions designed to enhance employee health and safety;

·       prohibiting physical abuse, the threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation in both the workplace and in relationships with customers;

·       treating staff fairly and equitably, including providing written confirmation of their terms and conditions of employment; and

·       ensuring all employee entitlements and prescribed conditions of employment under relevant laws and regulations are adequately implemented and accounted for.

Assessing and addressing the risk of modern slavery

TDL is committed to a detailed response of identifying and mitigating modern slavery risks in our supply chain, with updates to policies, due diligence processes and training all being rolled-out in the first half of 2018. Training has already been provided to key executives who are engaged with this response.

While there have been no identified incidence of modern slavery in our own business, or in our supply chain, TDL is undertaking a detailed risk assessment of our supply chain to understand our suppliers’ approaches to identifying and addressing modern slavery. The outcomes of this process including identified areas of modern slavery risk will be published in an updated Modern Slavery Transparency Statement on our website in mid-2018.