Ecctis Ltd is ultimately owned by an Employee Ownership Trust. It provides solutions and services in international education, training, and skills, and in the development and recognition of globally portable qualifications. Ecctis also delivers contracts for central Government.

The contracts it delivers includes, but is not limited to:

• UK ENIC - the UK National Information Centre for global qualifications and skills, formerly UK NARIC, Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, the NARIC national agency function is now known as UK ENIC
• UK Visas and Nationality - services are provided on behalf of the UK Home Office

This is our Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 December 2023. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (act) was introduced to help eradicate slavery, forced labour and human trafficking in the operations and supply chains of companies. This statement is made pursuant to Section 54, Part 6 of the Act and includes information about Ecctis Limited, its own operations and supply chains, and how we are approaching the eradication of slavery and human trafficking within our business.

The statement sets down Ecctis’ commitment to preventing slavery and human trafficking in our business activities and the steps we have put in place with the aim of ensuring that there is no slavery or human trafficking in our own business and supply chains. We all have a duty to be alert to risks, however small. Employees are expected to report their concerns and management are expected to act upon these.

Ecctis is committed to preventing and mitigating exploitation, bribery and corruption. We will not accept modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking anywhere within our operations or supply chain. We have committed to undertaking a risk analysis of our supply chain to inform a plan to improve transparency and accountability in our supply chain.

Ecctis is owned by GRS (Holdings) Ltd, which in turn, is owned by GRS (EOT) Limited. The governance structure in place to govern the organisation is shown below:

• GRS (EOT) Limited – oversees the governance of the group.
• GRS (Holdings) Limited – the holding company that owns Ecctis.
• Ecctis Ltd Board of Directors – responsible for the performance and success of Ecctis

Ecctis is based in Cheltenham, employing approximately 220 people. Ecctis does not receive any direct financial support from the government, so its commercial activities help ensure that any surplus generated is invested back into the business for the benefit of its employees and the local community.

Our commercial customers

Our commercial customer base spans a multitude of sectors. They include but are not limited to education providers, professional bodies, awarding organisations, immigration professionals, employment agencies, Government departments and agencies in the UK and overseas.

Our policies, priorities and vision

We have a range of employment policies in place which ensure that our employees are fairly treated, supported, remunerated and understand the behaviour expected by the organisation.

Supply chain and risk areas

Our supply chain network is largely service driven to benefit our customers and member organisations. The services provided by our suppliers include venue hire, agency labour and contractors. Support supply chains incorporate IT equipment, facilities management, cleaning, catering, security, office furniture and office materials etc.

We are committed to ensuring that the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking occurring within our supply chains, or any part of our business, is kept to an absolute minimum

Our procurement policies and processes reflect our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective and proportionate safeguards and controls.

Potential suppliers (for the majority of contracts over a specified threshold) are required to complete a bidder questionnaire providing confirmation that they have a programme to assure that modern slavery does not exist in either their operations or those of their supply chains, and also that all relevant employees are trained to understand what slavery and human trafficking are and how to mitigate the risk of them.

Our policies and processes

Ecctis is committed to providing an environment where employees can flourish, perform, achieve and belong. We have a variety of supporting documentation to guide employees on how to work in an honest and ethical manner, along with providing appropriate channels to give the confidence to report any suspected unethical conduct in Ecctis.

We oppose harsh or inhumane treatment of workers and expect our business partners to ensure that there is no slavery or human trafficking in their business or supply chains. All our business partners are expected to act in accordance with these principles and values.

This Statement affirms its intention to act ethically in our business relationships.

Due Diligence Processes for Slavery and Human Trafficking

The Company undertakes due diligence when considering taking on new suppliers, and regularly reviews its existing suppliers. The Company’s due diligence process includes but is not limited to review of UK organisations on Companies House, review of organisations with Dunn and Bradstreet, review of a supplier’s Modern Slavery policy and working with suppliers with ongoing analysis of high-risk areas.

Training and awareness raising

In the last year, all employees have been required to confirm they have read and understood our core compliance policies.

To ensure a good understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chains, the Company requires all employees to complete online training which specifically covers Modern Slavery.

Responsibilities for the Company’s anti-slavery initiatives is as follows:

• Human Resources are responsible for creating and reviewing HR related policies and are responsible for risk assessments in respect of human rights.
• The Contracts and Procurement Manager is responsible for the due diligence of Suppliers - this is set out in the Procurement Policy.
• This Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement will be regularly reviewed and updated as necessary.

This is the first year Ecctis Limited has put in place a Modern Slavery Statement. Over the next year we aim to:

• Review how to engage with our suppliers about modern slavery.
• Continue the risk analysis of our supply chain as we gather more data through new business and continue ongoing reviews of our existing supply chain to identity areas for improvement.
• Review supplier’s modern slavery statements to assess existing suppliers.
• Continue to raise awareness of modern slavery within Ecctis via our e-learning platform.
• Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate the effectiveness of our modern slavery compliance. For example, number of employees trained in the last year, number of suppliers subject to modern slavery due diligence.

This statement was signed on behalf of the Ecctis Limited Board under its delegated authority on 30 May 2024 by Catherine Winter, Chief Executive, Ecctis Limited.