Human Rights Policy

Protect, respect and remedy

Edward Vinson Ltd is a large fresh produce supplier. We are dedicated to the adoption of internationally recognised human rights standards in all our operations. As an employer, a procurer of services and producer we have a responsibility to respect, protect and uphold the human rights of those who may be impacted by our activities and use our influence to drive positive change.

We are committed to performing our business to the highest standard of ethics and in accordance with our values. We are open and fair in dialogue with all our stakeholders and commit to communicate effectively and courteously with external parties.

Our policy has been created by using the global business practice standards of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and the UN Global Compact (UNGC) guide on human rights policies.

 

The purpose

The purpose of the Edward Vinson Ltd Human Rights Policy is to communicate to our employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, and the communities we serve, the ethical and social values we respect and our commitment to uphold human rights.

 

What are Human Rights?

Human Rights are the universal rights that every human being is entitled to enjoy and to have protected. They are most appropriately defined as those rights that require us to treat others as we ourselves would want to be treated, and which protect us – as individuals and groups – from abuses of power.

 

Employee relations

We employ over 520 people in Kent, UK. We support the right of all our people to be treated with respect and dignity, which includes promoting positive employee relations and inclusion, and respecting our people’s right to freedom of association.

We promote the benefits of diversity and equality and support a culture that values fairness, transparency and doing the right thing. Our Equal Opportunities policy prohibits any form of discrimination in any area of our business including, recruitment, compensation, promotion, training, termination or retirement based on race, colour, ethnic origin, gender, age, religious

beliefs, disability, marital status, social class, nationality, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or employment status.

We recognise our employee’s rights to join trade unions. All our employees shall conduct themselves in accordance with the highest ethical standards.

We are committed to ensuring that our employees are able to work in an environment free of physical, psychological or verbal abuse, the threat of abuse and sexual or other harassment and, accordingly such actions are forbidden.

In accordance with legislation, best practice and a prevailing knowledge of our industry we shall take all reasonable steps to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, associated with or in the course of work, by minimizing so far as is reasonably practicable the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.

All employees shall receive an appropriate level of training to enable them to perform their duties.

 

Our supply chain

Protecting and respecting human rights, providing safe places to work and complying with all applicable laws and regulations are key factors we consider when choosing our suppliers. Suppliers’ approach to their human rights responsibilities are taken into account during the sourcing process and form part of our relationship management discussions.

 

Communication

Edward Vinson Ltd undertakes to ensure that its Human Rights Policy and those policies which derive from it are communicated effectively to Directors, Management, Employees and Suppliers effectively including but not limited to: induction Packs and days, notice boards, emails, employee handbooks and a program of training courses aimed at ensuring acceptable levels of understanding within management.