MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION

Bauer Media Group sets high ethical standards for all of its business activities. We believe that all people in the world should be treated with dignity, fairness and respect. We are seriously committed to the health and safety of our employees. Bauer Media Group has zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking and condemns any degrading treatment of individuals or unsafe working conditions and opposes child and forced labour. We value fair working conditions and are committed to complying with applicable health and safety regulations. We support diversity and equal opportunities and respect the legal rights of employee representatives.

Slavery and human trafficking remain a hidden blight on our global society. We all have a responsibility to be alert to the risks, however small, in our business and in our wider supply chain. 

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our Group's slavery and human trafficking statement for the current financial year.

ORGANISATION’S STRUCTURE

Bauer Media UK is an entertainment network of iconic, multi-platform brands. Bauer Media UK is part of the Bauer Media Group, one of the world's largest privately owned media business with media assets all over the globe.

Founded in Hamburg in 1875 and now in its fifth generation of family ownership, the Bauer Media Group operates in 13 countries including the UK, Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Slovakia and Ireland and has more than15,000 employees across Europe.

In the UK we reach over 25 million consumers.

Our portfolio includes heat, KISS, Grazia, Empire, Motor Cycle News, Parkers, TV Choice, Take a Break, Bella, Magic and Absolute Radio.

This statement is made on behalf of Bauer Media UK, the trading name for our UK operations undertaken by H Bauer Publishing, HBVB and their respective subsidiaries including Bauer Consumer Media Limited and Bauer Radio Limited.

OUR BUSINESS

Our Bauer Media UK business is organised into three main divisions: audio, publishing and digital. In the UK we reach over 25 million consumers. Our portfolio includes heat, KISS, Grazia, Empire, Motor Cycle News, Parkers, TV Choice, Take a Break, Bella, Magic and Absolute Radio.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANTI-SLAVERY INITIATIVES 

The primary responsibility for understanding modern slavery risks and putting in place process and training lies with our Legal and Compliance Director and is responsible for the production of the Modern Slavery Statement. Any identified instances of slavery will be reported to the Legal and Compliance Director.

Department heads are directly responsible for ensuring that new suppliers in areas identified as being a risk are audited prior to use.

OUR SUPPLY CHAINS

Our UK supply chain includes:

·       Print and logistics suppliers

·       Freelance editorial suppliers

·       Freelance audio suppliers

·       Technology suppliers

·       Event and award suppliers

·       Professional services

·       Facilities services.

OUR POLICIES ON SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business. Our Supplier Conduct Policy reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our supply chains.

Our objective is to ensure that we only work with suppliers who treat their obligations towards modern slavery with the same importance as we do.

DUE DILIGENCE PROCESSES FOR SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

As part of our initiative to identify and mitigate risk we have systems in place to:

·       identify and assess potential risk areas in our supply chains.

·       mitigate the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our supply chains.

·       monitor potential risk areas in our supply chains.

·       protect whistle blowers.

SUPPLIER ADHERENCE TO OUR VALUES

We have zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking. We expect contractors and all those in our supply chain to comply with our Supplier Conduct Policy.

We send annual Supplier Code of Conduct questionnaires to all our suppliers

In addition, our supplier terms and conditions require suppliers to comply with our Supplier Conduct Policy thereby reducing the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chain. In the case of high-risk suppliers, the contracts include audit and termination rights to enable more effective monitoring of those suppliers and to enable us to take the relevant action.

SPEAK UP

We value ‘speaking up’ as a key part of our code of conduct. We encourage anyone who has a concern about our conduct or our relationships with third parties to report it without delay via Speak Up. Our Speak Up reporting service is managed independently by a third party. It allows individuals raising a concern to report confidentially or anonymously (where permitted by local law) if they are uncomfortable reporting concerns openly.

TRAINING AND POLICIES

We have policies in place to ensure that we meet our responsibilities to respect and protect human rights, including in relation to modern slavery, including policies covering: economic governance; access to information; engagement with young people; safety security and wellbeing; access to grievance and remedies; discrimination and human rights.

To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and our business, we will communicate our Anti- Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy and provide mandatory annual training to all members of staff.

Updated April 2024