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Outsource Philippines Pty Ltd Trading As Outdesk Policy for the Prevention of, & Reporting on, Modern Slavery

Statement for 2023-2024 reporting year

 

Introduction

Outsource Philippines Pty Ltd Trading As Outdesk ABN 63 620 507 897, registered PO Box 812  Manly NSW 1655 (‘Outdesk’), Australia’s leading outsource recruitment and agency worker/labour-hire company, recognises that all businesses have an obligation to prevent slavery, slavery-like practices and human trafficking and will do all in its respective power to prevent slavery, slavery-like practices and human trafficking within its business and within the supply chains through which it operates. 

This statement addresses Outdesk’s obligations and compliance in relation to the ‘Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth)’ and the ‘Modern Slavery Act (2018) (NSW) (together, ‘the Act’) and highlights the steps we take to ensure there is no slavery or human trafficking occurring within the organisation or its supply chains. One of our company’s most valuable assets has always been its reputation for integrity and fairness. Maintaining this reputation within our market is essential to our continued success.

Outdesk acknowledges that it is required to submit its modern slavery statement within 6 months from the end of each reporting period.

Outdesk’s structure & operations

Outsource Philippines Pty Ltd is an Australian company that wholly owns Outdesk (ABN 94 201 721 329) in Australia and Your Outdesk Solutions Corp (Company Reg. No.: 2021100029433-00) in The Republic of the Philippines.

Outsource Philippines is a leading specialist outsourcing recruitment and employment company and is an expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people. Outdesk operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. 

Our recruitment services can be broadly categorised as follows: 

 

  •   Permanent recruitment
  •   Outsourced permanent recruitment
  •   Executive search and selection
  •   Temporary recruitment
  •   Contingent recruitment solutions
  •   Volume hiring
  •   Sustainability recruitment 

 

We provide our recruitment and job agency/labour hire services in the following areas: Accountancy & Finance; Architecture; Banking; Construction; Contact Centres; Education; Energy; Engineering; Executive; Facilities Management; Healthcare; Human Resources; Insurance; Technology; Life Sciences; Logistics; Manufacturing & Operations; Marketing & Digital; Office Support; Oil & Gas; Policy & Strategy; Procurement; Property; Resources & Mining; Response Management; Retail; and Sales.

  

Modern slavery can take many forms including the trafficking of people, forced labour, child labour, servitude and slavery. As recruitment experts, we take our responsibility for supplying staff extremely seriously and are aware of the potential for being targeted by traffickers and unlicensed labour-hire providers, in local jurisdictions where licensing is a requirement.

Outdesk’s supply chains & risks of modern slavery

Recruitment & agency worker/labour hire supply

Our supply chains include sourcing candidates for our clients. This involves the introduction by Outdesk of candidates for onward supply to our clients, or the direct introduction of candidates to our clients by Outdesk.

With regard to labour hire specifically, the final report of the Migrant Workers’ Taskforce handed down in March 2019 identified four high-risk sectors which were horticulture, meat processing, cleaning and security. In addition, Victoria under its labour-hire licensing scheme identifies poultry processing as a high-risk sector, and South Australia under its labour-hire licensing scheme identifies trolley collection and seafood processing as high-risk sectors.

Outdesk is licensed as required under the various state and territory licensing schemes. Of the high-risk sectors, Outdesk does not supply workers nor does it supply workers into the other high-risk sectors.

Suppliers to Outdesk

We contract with third parties who provide services to assist with the everyday running of our business, such as IT service providers and property management companies (who, for example, may provide cleaning services to our offices) as well as companies who provide office supplies to our office network.

We acknowledge that by virtue of contracting with other parties, whether as a client or as a supplier, there is always some risk that may contribute to modern slavery practices. We expect our suppliers and potential suppliers to aim for high ethical standards and to operate ethically, legally compliant and professionally by adhering to the Outdesk Supplier Code of Conduct. We also expect our suppliers to promote similar standards in their own supply chain. 

Actions taken to assess and address modern slavery risks

Candidate engagement

Outdesk ensures that strict compliance checks are carried out for all candidates it supplies. We verify the identity of each worker and their right to work before supply commences. We also have a dedicated temporary worker payroll team who audit the relevant modern award or enterprise agreement that a temporary worker is engaged under to ensure they are paid correctly in accordance with the relevant award or agreement.

As part of our commitment to identify and eradicate slavery and human trafficking and to continuously assess and address modern slavery risks, we have in place a process to undertake due diligence on our supply chain network to ensure compliance with legislative obligations, and such compliance forms part of our contractual relationship with suppliers. We will use our best endeavours to procure from our suppliers by contract that full compliance with the Act must be achieved. We will use best endeavours to separately require that any actual or potential risk of breaching the Act that suppliers identify in their own operations or supply chains are communicated to us. This information will be assessed and evaluated appropriately by senior members of Outdesk management on an ongoing basis.

Supplier Code of Conduct

Outdesk regularly reviews and updates its Supplier Code of Conduct, which is a document that is relevant to all suppliers to Outdesk. Suppliers are expected to adhere to the Outdesk Supplier Code of Conduct, which includes specific reference to various matters including human rights, anti-bribery and corruption, and modern slavery and human trafficking, and suppliers should have in place a policy recognising, respecting and protecting the human rights of their employees, those of their suppliers and business partners and the communities affected by the suppliers’ operations.

Outdesk’s position, which is mirrored in its Supplier Code of Conduct, is that:

 

  • Employees should be free to choose to work for their employer and to leave the company upon reasonable notice
  • All employees must be provided with a clear contract of employment, which complies with local legislation
  • All employees must be treated in a fair and equal manner and with dignity and respect
  • Any form of discrimination, victimisation or harassment on any prescribed grounds under commonwealth, state or territory laws should be prohibited. This includes marital status, pregnancy, family responsibilities, sex (including gender reassignment), race (including colour, ethnic and national origin, nationality), disability, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, trade union activity or any other prescribed ground
  • All applicable laws and industry standards on employee wages, benefits, working hours and minimum age should be adhered to in all countries of operation, without any unauthorised deductions
  • All slavery and human trafficking laws must be complied with including, but not limited to, the provisions of the Act and any applicable state legislation. Suppliers must ensure their business operations are free from slavery and human trafficking practices whether in Australia or elsewhere, both internally and within their supply chains and other external business relationships

Cooperation with client due diligence

Our clients in the private sector operate in many industries and range in size from small businesses through to local subsidiaries of global groups. Outdesk is familiar with participating in clients’ audits of their respective supply chains. In doing so, Outdesk is also able to observe its clients’ own practices on the prevention of modern slavery.

Engagement with suppliers

During the reporting period Outdesk engaged with various companies that provide services to Outdesk’s office network. This involved providing copies of Outdesk’s Supplier Code of Conduct to these suppliers and enquiring as to the modern slavery compliance practices and procedures. Outdesk has also updated and issued its new RFI documentation to prospective suppliers so that the prevention of modern slavery is specifically addressed as part of Outdesk’s due diligence prior to contracting with a supplier.

Reviewing contractual documentation

Outdesk’s standard form client contract to include specific references to modern slavery law compliance.

Ability for employees to raise concerns at work

All Outdesk employees have access to dedicated channels through which they may voice concerns, either through local reporting mechanisms or through whistleblowing procedures. Outdesk is committed to protecting employees when disclosing malpractice and will ensure that all disclosures made in compliance with whistleblowing procedures will be treated confidentially and without fear of retaliation. It is by receiving and evaluating feedback and maintaining a culture of compliance that Outdesk can assess the effectiveness of its practices and procedures.

Training

All staff within Outdesk are expected to comply with all laws and act in accordance with local guidelines and regulations and act with integrity and honesty. We have undertaken to review our policies and procedures to ensure our colleagues have access to any additional information and support they may require with regard to human trafficking, forced labour, child labour, servitude and slavery. All relevant employees in Australia will undertake training on modern slavery and human trafficking and this training is available to all employees to undertake.

Looking forward

Having completed a number of reports, and having assessed the effectiveness of the steps taken by our business to prevent modern slavery practices occurring at Outdesk and any prevalence of this within Outdesk’s supply chain, Outdesk intends on taking the following steps over the next 12 months:

Changes in the local company group

Changes in Outdesk’s local company group and structure will take effect during the next reporting period. That being the case, Outdesk will review and evaluate whether these changes will be of any consequence to its current reporting obligations under the Act. 

Subject to the outcome of our further investigations and discussions with Outdesk’s management, preliminary views are that even if reporting is not strictly mandatory, Outdesk is likely to take the view that optional disclosure is consistent with its values and continued commitment to achieving the principles of the Act.  

Implementing compliance with the Act  

All matters relating to compliance with the Act, including initiatives to achieve continued compliance in subsequent reporting periods, are currently led and managed by Outdesk’s Legal team..

The statement for the 2024-25 reporting period will be Outdesk’s third, by which time we intend to have had internal discussions as to whether it is appropriate, and efficient, for the management of Outdesk’s compliance with the Act to be absorbed by a service delivery team in our organisation. 

Notwithstanding the above, we recognise that developing more formal frameworks and processes regarding ongoing compliance with the Act is appropriate and intend on exploring this meaningfully in the next reporting periods. 

Continued practices

We will continue to regularly undertake, and review the effectiveness, of our now-standard processes regarding compliance with the Act, being to:

 

  • Conduct a targeted audit of Outdesk’s suppliers 
  • Require potential suppliers to formally disclose their modern slavery risk mitigation strategies as part of Outdesk’s RFI process
  • Increase the number of Outdesk employees who are provided with dedicated training on modern slavery laws
  • Regularly review our standard form contracts and actioning updates when and if required
  • Hold an annual review process with members of senior management

This statement is made pursuant to the Act and constitutes Outdesk’s slavery and human trafficking statement in respect of the 2022-23 reporting year and is approved by the principal governing body of Outdesk, being its board of directors.

 

Signed: Alastair Smith

Position: Group CEO

Outsource Philippines Pty Ltd T/A Outdesk

January 2024