Modern Slavery and human trafficking statement for financial year ending 31 December 2022
September 18, 2023
Global Risk Partners Limited (“GRP”) is registered in England and Wales under company registration number 8613882. Registered office: 7th Floor 55 Mark Lane, London, EC3R 7NE.
GRP has a number of subsidiaries and is one of the largest independent insurance intermediaries in
the UK – details of all subsidiaries can be provided on request (together, the “GRP Group”).
This statement covers the activities of the GRP Group which is headquartered in London and has over 2600 teammates in subsidiaries within the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. As at the financial year end 31 December 2022 GRP did not have any subsidiaries or teammates based in other territories.
In July 2022, GRP was acquired by Brown & Brown, Inc. Brown & Brown, Inc. delivers risk management solutions to help protect and preserve what customers value most. Its four business segments – Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage and Services – offer a wide range of insurance solutions and services for businesses, government institutions, professional organisations, trade associations, families and individuals. They have a strong deeply rooted cultural foundation built on integrity, innovation, superior capabilities ands discipline.
The GRP Group is committed to conducting its business in a fair, honest and open manner in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. We seek to promote appropriate behaviour across all aspects of our business operations whilst ensuring fair and consistent outcomes for our stakeholders.
Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain.
We endorse the implementation and promotion of ethical business practices to protect workers from being abused and exploited. The GRP Group is committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in its corporate activities and to ensuring that its supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking.
The GRP Group performs an important role in the insurance distribution chain dealing with its end customers, brokers, underwriting agents, insurers and other insurance market participants. We also deal with providers of other services necessary to run our business effectively such as IT providers.
We believe that we are at low risk of human trafficking and slavery occurring within our business or supply chain. Our operations are primarily office based requiring skilled teammates, in a heavily regulated sector and mostly in the UK. We do not have a supply chain that is reliant on factories or other entities that would normally be associated with slavery or forced labour. As a general rule, contractors and suppliers used by us are also not considered likely to be susceptible to this risk.
Teammates responsible for managing suppliers and other firms involved with the GRP Group ensure that our values and ideals are upheld in third parties. We continue to ensure that our contracts include appropriate protections and serious violations by suppliers would lead to the termination of the business relationship.
The GRP Group operates a number of policies that mitigate the risk of modern slavery and set out steps to be taken to prevent slavery and human trafficking in its operations.
GRP Group prides itself on being open and informative with regards to employment. We are intent on advancing equality and diversity within all our key activities and believe this to be ethically right and socially responsible. Equality and diversity are essential factors that contribute to the strength and continued growth of any business. Our Code of Conduct is contained within the colleague handbook and is accessible to all teammates.
We aim to ensure that all individuals working within the business feel comfortable to raise concerns and challenge poor practices and behaviours related to direct activities or in our supply chains.
This includes any circumstances that may give rise to an enhanced risk of slavery or human trafficking. The Whistleblowing Policy is designed to make it easy for individuals to make disclosures, without fear of reprisal and includes reference to external bodies. We provide our teammates with access to an independent confidential helpline for those that wish to raise a concern. Whistleblowing posters are displayed in all premises.
All teammates undertake training on Whistleblowing.
We use only specified, reputable employment agencies to source labour. All subsidiaries ensure appropriate controls are in place to ensure teammates have the right to work and are therefore protected by employment legislation. This includes checking right-to-work documents, visas and passports.
We do not employ individuals that would be considered to be ‘child workers’. Young and inexperienced workers may be employed or given work experience, but they are subject to the rights and protections that we afford all workers.
Basic rights which we expect all workers to enjoy, include:
All teammates undertake a Modern Slavery training course when joining GRP and then at least every 18 months to ensure that there is appropriate awareness within the business.
All GRP Group subsidiaries are subject to periodic audits. Core audit work will include an assessment of the basic working conditions of our teammates.
We recognise that our business doesn’t exist in isolation nor is it simply a way of making money. We recognise that our teammates depend on our business being successful, that customers, suppliers and the local community are all affected by our business and what we do and the way in which we do it.
We work to understand the impact that the GRP Group has on the wider world and consider at all times, how we can use this impact in a positive way. We adopt a responsible attitude, often going beyond the minimum legal requirements and working to minimise any negative impact our business may have.
We have in place a Colleague Assistance Programme (including access to GP and counselling services). A number of Wellness surveys have been conducted during the last 12 months focusing on the wellbeing of our teammates and identifying areas for improvement. We have created a network of trained Mental Health First Aiders and launched a new flexible benefits platform including various benefits to support the mental and physical health of our teammates and their families.
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes the GRP Group’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2022. This statement has been approved by the Global Risk Partners Limited board of directors, who will review and update it annually.
Mike Bruce
Chief Executive