Modern Slavery Act 2015

This statement is made pursuant to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out what steps Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK Ltd has taken and continue to take in order to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking from taking place within our business and our supply chain. 

Structure and Business

Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK Ltd (“the Company) is part of the Daimler Truck Group under Daimler Truck AG.  The Company’s principal activities relate to importing, storage, marketing and distribution of Mercedes-Benz Truck and Fuso products in the United Kingdom.  For the Company, the respect for human rights is a fundamental component of responsible corporate governance. We are committed to ensuring that human rights are respected and upheld in our business and by our suppliers.

Policies

We are committed to our social responsibilities, which include respecting human rights, respecting the rights of employees and their representatives, protecting the environment, enabling fair competition and fighting against corruption.

Our company Integrity Code sets out our corporate responsibilities as well as the rules and values by which all employees should be behave.  Examples include but are not limited to:

• Treating one another with fairness and respect.  This is applicable for our employees, customers and business partners alike, which includes suppliers.
• Working with integrity and transparency such as protecting human rights.
• Compliance with legislation, including fundamental rights at work - in particular freedom of association and elimination of discrimination throughout employment.

Employee Training

Training is carried out on both a Group level and local level with a selection of subjects from integrity in general to compliance in procurement and sustainability.

• We conduct on-line and face-to-face training for all employees to emphasise the importance of acting with integrity in line with ethical business practices.
• Social compliance training is completed by those employees in relevant functions.
• Suppliers and Business Partners have access to a Compliance Awareness Module web training which provides an overview of various governance topics including selection of business partners through due diligence, values, corruption risk awareness and business partner responsibilities.

The Company disciplinary policies permit the termination of employees found to be involved in any breach of the law banning forced labour, slavery and human trafficking.  Policies and procedures will continue to be updated as required to ensure that appropriate safeguards are maintained against any mistreatment of persons involved in the supply chains or own businesses.

Supply Chain and Due Diligence

The Company maintains written policies that strictly prohibit the use of slavery or human trafficking in the direct supply chains.  The company brochure Daimler Business Partner Standards sets out ethical principles and associated expectations and is communicated to the supply chain. The supplier code of conduct requires all suppliers to the Company to sign up to a sustainability clause, which details the requirements around forced labour, slavery and human trafficking.   More information can be found on the Supplier portal including the Daimler Supplier Sustainability Standards. 

When a supplier signs up to the sustainability clause, it receives official certification to this effect. By this certification, the suppliers that the Company interacts with confirm they will adhere to the guidelines and expectations set out, focusing on but not limited to “Child Labour Avoidance”, “Freely Chosen Employment”, and “Freedom of Association” in line with the Modern Slavery Act. This agreement is mandatory and the Company does not deal with suppliers who do not sign up to this clause.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK Ltd has a zero tolerance policy towards violations of the laws banning forced labour, slavery and human trafficking. Our contractual agreements give us the right to audit suppliers at any time for compliance with the sustainability clause and permit the termination of suppliers for a single violation.

The Daimler Truck Group entities periodically undertake Human Rights Compliance Assessments to ensure that all areas of the business are compliant with the ethical practises and international human rights standards, and that all employees are treated in a fair and transparent manner. This includes adherence to the Working Time Directive and the Minimum Wage.