Introduction

This statement sets out the steps that Flight Centre (UK) Limited has taken in the prior financial year to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains.

Modern slavery is an overarching term encompassing forced labour, child labour, domestic servitude, bonded labour and human trafficking. The International Labour Organisation estimates that there are 24.9 million people in forced labour across the world. We recognise that no industry is immune to thisshocking reality.

 

Our Business

Flight Centre (UK) Limited is part of the Flight Centre Travel Group, one of the world’s largest travel agency groups. The Group has operations in 23 countries and a corporate travel management network that spans more than 90 countries. It employs more than 19,000 people globally and has a total of 2800 businesses.

Our purpose is "to open up the world for those who want to see". We work closely with a pool of preferred suppliers to develop and promote responsible and sustainable holiday and business travel options. Our business and our supply chains include tour operators, hotel and accommodation providers, airlines, cruise, coach, rail and car rental operators – and, in turn, all suppliers to these sectors.

We have adopted a risk-based approach to the assessment of our business and supply chains, which has involved taking geographical and functional factors into account in order to identify categories of supply that may present a higher risk of modern slavery.

 

Our values

We remain committed to responsible and sustainable travel and tourism, including the identification and prevention of all forms of modern slavery in our business and supply chains. Our people have a shared commitment to maintain the highest standards of personal and professional ethics, to comply with all relevant laws and regulations and to personify and represent Flight Centre's values in everything we do.

 

The steps we’ve taken

• Flight Centre has set up formal structures and procedures to underpin its corporate social responsibility platform. Flight Centre proudly supports and advocates responsible travel, positive diversity practices, empowered giving, and conservation of natural resources and sustainability. Flight Centre is also a contributing member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The UNGC initiative was created to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies and practices. To learn more about our progress on the delivery of our commitments to the UNGC, please see our first Communication On Progress lodged, May 2018.
• Flight Centre has also harnessed all its global corporate social responsibility activities into one program – FCTG Brighter Futures. Please see fctgl.com/about-us/corporate-socialresponsibility/ to see how Flight Centre’s people are building brighter futures where they work, live and travel.
• Code of Conduct – all employees are required to read and comply with Flight Centre’s global Code of Conduct, which includes a description of modern slavery and human trafficking and which highlights key risk areas that employees are encouraged to monitor for signs of human rights violations.
• Supplier and client commitments – Flight Centre will not conduct business knowingly with anyone engaged in modern slavery or human trafficking or knowingly permit such conduct to be carried out in any of its supply chains. Our contracts with suppliers and clients include antislavery and anti-human trafficking provisions to reflect this zero-tolerance position.
• Travelife – Flight Centre has renewed its membership with Travelife for the third year running. Travelife is an internationally-recognised sustainability certification programme operated by ABTA. Travelife audits hotel and accommodation providers on a range of sustainability matters, including compliance with labour practices and human rights. Any hotel that is Gold certified by Travelife will have demonstrated compliance with these international standards.

We will continue to review, develop and promote our policies and practices to identify and mitigate risk areas for modern slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chains.

 

Awareness and reporting

We aim to make sure that our employees, subcontractors and suppliers understand Flight Centre’s commitment to human rights and are able to identify and report indications of exploitation. In our Code of Conduct, employees are encouraged to raise any concerns they might have in relation to the treatment and working conditions of any person in our business or supply chains. Flight Centre also operates a whistle-blower resource to confidentially report issues.

We will continue our work in this area through internal training and external communication.

 

Endorsement

This statement has been published pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (UK) for the financial year ending 30 June 2018.