Modern Slavery Statement

GovCats and the Modern Slavery Act

GovCats welcomes the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the duty it places on large organisations to disclose publicly the steps they are taking to prevent modern slavery organisationally and in their supply chains. This statement is made on behalf of GovCats.

The GovCats business model and supply chain

GovCats is a company registered in England and Wales. It is governed by its directors and its objective is to provide consulting services in design, data, digital and technology to support the transformation of Government and the public sector in providing human-centred services.

GovCats reaches out to a large number of individuals, and micro- and small-sized agencies across all of its functions, to enable it to carry out its work. These range from specialist freelancers with technical experience of delivering Government transformation, to companies which employ groups of specialists in user research, service design, app development and project management.

Strategy for addressing the risk of modern slavery

GovCats recognises that the key to addressing modern slavery is to uphold high standards of assessment in its recruitment and subcontracting processes. In pursuit of this, we meet and interview all potential subcontractors, and take up verbal as well as written references from previous employers wherever possible. We do not see our status as a company without direct employees as a barrier to our responsibilities under the Act. Should we have any concerns about the human rights of anyone we work with at an agency, we will raise it with their Directors. We are particularly conscious of the responsibilities we have to apprentices and younger people at the start of their careers who may have less awareness of their working rights in the UK.

As and when GovCats begins to take on employees of its own, including apprentices, our policies will incorporate awareness of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 from their inception.