Modern Slavery Statement 2016 - 2017

Introduction from RAC CEO Chris Woodhouse

Our business vision is to be the motorist’s champion. By being open and transparent in all our relationships we earn the reputation that we have with our members and the public and as a trusted brand. This includes a zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking and a commitment to improved awareness and diligence in selecting the organisations with which we conduct our business.

“As the motorist’s champion, we believe we should act responsibly and ethically in the pursuit of all dealings with our suppliers and partners. To this end we are committed to upholding the principles and objectives of the Modern Slavery and Trafficking Act and have instigated an audit process and training to ensure that we adhere to this at in all of our dealings with partners and suppliers.“

The RAC and all members of the RAC Group are committed to combatting slavery and human trafficking.

Slavery and human trafficking: our commitment

We are committed to ensuring that we conduct our business in all respects according to a rigorous ethical, professional and legal policy. As one of our five core values, we promote protecting the integrity of our business as fundamental to how we operate. In no circumstances would we tolerate any modern slavery or human trafficking discovered in our supply chains or in any part of our business.

Our Modern Slavery 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.

Due diligence processes for slavery and human trafficking

At the RAC we have a set of standard requirements which must be incorporated into all of our contracts, unless authorised by exception. This forms a checklist confirming to our executive board that we have appropriate contractual provisions in place with our clients and suppliers.

Our ‘Golden Rules’ document is completed as part of our internal sign off process each time a new contract is entered into. This is required whether this is new business relationships or contracting to extend the time or scope of services with an existing supplier. Any deviation from these Golden Rules must be highlighted to the executive board for approval.

All RAC colleagues are directed under these Golden Rules to undertake due diligence on a new supplier. Each contract should contain a provision requiring suppliers to comply with all applicable law in the supply of goods and performance of services and granting RAC audit rights.

From March 2016 our Golden Rules have been updated to specifically instruct colleagues to consider the risk of slavery and human trafficking.

Awareness and training

We place responsibility on every colleague in our business to uphold our legal and ethical obligations.

Our Modern Slavery Policy was published internally in October 2016. This was publicised to all colleagues on our intranet. To reinforce this message, and ensure we can audit understanding and awareness, mandatory training was introduced as part of our computer based training (CBT) for all colleagues from November 2016.

This addition to our business ethics module now forms part of the compulsory CBT training undertaken by all new colleagues, and refresher training is undertaken by all colleagues annually. This will be updated in accordance with any future guidance published.

To reinforce the message, in line with the publication of this statement coming into force of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, a publication has been made on the RAC intranet to draw the attention of all colleagues to the commitment the RAC holds to this statement and the role everyone must play in supporting this commitment.

Monitoring

We have in place systems to:

We have a dedicated compliance team, which consists of:

The RAC has in place the internal procedures to ensure that the business is clear on its obligations in respect of due diligence and whistleblowing to combat slavery and human trafficking.

Who we are

The RAC offers vehicle and breakdown services to both private and business motorists through a nationwide, branded patrol force of approximately 1,500 patrols. Focusing primarily on vehicle repair and recovery, RAC also supports motorists with roadside assistance, insurance, buying used cars, vehicle inspections, telematics data and legal services.

The RAC has a network of partners, contractors and suppliers who support it in running its business, both operationally and in the supply of goods and services. RAC’s outsourced services and supply chains are predominantly UK based, other than recovery abroad and the wider supply chains for certain parts and products. RAC has a limited number of suppliers, direct and indirect, in higher risk jurisdictions (as identified in the Global Slavery Index).

This statement applies to all applicable companies in the RAC Group (meaning companies with RAC Group Limited as parent company) including, without limitation, RAC Motoring Services, RAC Financial Services Limited and RAC Insurance Limited.

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 financial year December 2016 to December 2017.

Chief Executive
Date: 25th November 2016