Modern Slavery Statement 2025
Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement for the Financial Year Ended April 2025
This statement is made in accordance with Section 54, Part 6 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It constitutes our modern slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ended April 2025.
Structure
Wellocks is part of the William Jackson Food Group, a sixth-generation family business. The group owns a portfolio of five food businesses: Abel & Cole, Belazu, Jacksons Bakery, Lottie Shaw’s and Wellocks. These businesses supply consumers, leading supermarkets, food service businesses and food manufacturers nationwide and abroad with a range of organic and non-organic food products. The Group is headquartered in Hull, East Yorkshire and all manufacturing sites are based in England. We employ around 1,800 people within the group. The group sources over 7,900 different ingredients and packaging from c.1,000 suppliers from both the UK and overseas, together with c.1,000 suppliers for indirect goods and services.
Wellocks is a foodservice business supplying chefs with the finest ingredients nationwide with its Head office, warehouse and main Depot based in Nelson, Lancashire and four Depots in Harlow, Wescott, Tewksbury and Glasgow. Wellocks employs around 470 people and sources 4,500 different ingredients and packaging from 460 suppliers from both the UK and overseas.
Policy Statement
This statement reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to protect and safeguard those that works for us and with us.
We are fully committed to play our part in tackling modern slavery, this responsibility rests with the company’s leadership teams but is shared by everyone. The Executive Leadership Team has overall responsibility for ensuring this statement and its implementation comply with our legal, moral and ethical obligations. Leaders at all levels are responsible for ensuring those reporting to them understand and comply with this policy and are given adequate and regular training on it and the issue of modern slavery.
Training and Awareness
Raising awareness is central to our approach. We make sure all colleagues understand the risks of modern slavery and feel confident in recognising and responding to concerns. Modern slavery is covered in our induction programmes, and ongoing awareness is promoted through training courses, toolbox talks, our “Are you ok?” campaign, and our Commitment to Care initiative which encourages everyone to look out for the people next to them. Our leadership teams and colleagues in key functions, such as People, Procurement, Technical, and Operations, receive additional training and workshops to build capability in identifying and acting upon any concerns of modern slavery. We also reinforce awareness through regular internal communications, guidance materials, and structured workshops that encourage openness and responsibility.
Reporting and Whistleblowing
We are committed to encouraging openness and supporting anyone who raises genuine concerns in good faith, even if those concerns later prove to be mistaken. We are committed to ensuring no one suffers any detrimental treatment as a result of reporting in good faith their suspicion that modern slavery of whatever form is or may be taking place in any part of our own business or in any of our supply chains. Colleagues are reminded of the Group Whistleblowing Policy as the primary method of reporting any suspicions or evidence of slavery or human trafficking. This policy details how our people can safely raise any concerns they may have about possible instances of modern slavery or human trafficking within our own operations or our supply chains.
We accept and take seriously concerns communicated anonymously. We also encourage members of the public or individuals outside of our organisation to write confidentially to the Company Secretary or Group People Director if they have concerns about modern slavery within our business or related supply chain.
Tackling Modern Slavery
We take active steps to identify and address potential risks of slavery and human trafficking within our supply chains. In the coming year, we aim to further strengthen our processes of risk assessment for our direct suppliers, enabling us to focus efforts on those high-risk areas while maintaining established checks, supplier visits and engagement with suppliers through SEDEX or equivalent systems to assess compliance and mitigate risks. Risk assessments are carried out to help identify warning signs, and we only work with approved third-party labour providers who meet strict legal and ethical requirements. We monitor the effectiveness of our approach through performance indicators such as the number of direct suppliers on SEDEX, and risk assessments conducted. We review our processes annually to ensure they remain robust and continue to evolve as new risks emerge.
Future Priorities
We remain committed to strengthening our approach and building on the progress already made. In the year ahead, we will introduce a strengthened Group Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure, supported by an independent external whistleblowing service provider to give our people a safe and confidential channel to raise concerns. Through our Commitment to Care initiative, we will continue to foster greater vigilance and mutual support among colleagues. We will also promote our “Are you ok?” campaign across the business, embed and raise awareness of the updated Whistleblowing Policy & Procedure, and deliver targeted training for leaders and key functions to deepen expertise in identifying and addressing risks of modern slavery. In addition, we will integrate human rights considerations more consistently into our policies, supplier engagement, and business decisions, while strengthening our data gathering and reporting processes to better monitor risks and measure progress.
Conclusion
We believe that every individual deserves to work in safety, dignity and freedom from exploitation. Through strong governance, effective reporting channels, responsible supplier engagement, and ongoing awareness across our workforce, we are committed to preventing modern slavery and safeguarding human rights in our operations and supply chains.
Signed
Jill Martin
Managing Director