Clarendon Fine Art is committed to the principles of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the abolition of modern slavery and human trafficking.
As an equal opportunities’ employer, we're committed to creating and ensuring a non-discriminatory and respectful working environment for our employees. We want all our employees to feel confident that they can expose wrongdoing without any risk to themselves.
Our recruitment and people management processes are designed to ensure that all prospective employees are legally entitled to work in the UK and to safeguard employees from any abuse or coercion. We do not enter into business with any organisation, in the UK or abroad, which knowingly supports or is found to be involved in slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour.
This is our third annual statement and which will be reviewed and updated every year. Our Board of Directors are responsible for monitoring the Company’s compliance of the Modern Slavery Act and do so with the upmost integrity.
Organisation
Clarendon Fine Art is a publisher, distributor, and retailer of fine art. We have a portfolio of retail galleries in the UK and on-board cruise ships, operating under retail brands Whitewall Galleries, Clarendon Fine Art and Atelier Galleries. Clarendon Fine Art manufactures the majority of its product in-house at our UK Operations Centre.
The product can be categorised as follows:
Original Artwork
This is purchased either from an individual artist or a third-party agent/publisher. The artwork is either collected by ourselves or shipped to us for sale, either in our own galleries or in our network of independently owned partnership galleries.
Limited Edition Artwork
The majority of this is manufactured in house using a number of printing and hand finishing techniques, with a small quantity being purchased from other publishers or distributers from around the world.
Sculpture
The company sells a wide selection of sculptures sourced from around the world and includes large installation pieces produced in the UK.
Frames
We have a substantial framing operation which frames and distributes both original artwork and limited-edition artwork via a fleet of owned vehicles and a range of domestic and worldwide couriers. Our framing operation uses a diverse range of decorative mouldings and frames sourced mainly within the EU, with a small quantity obtained from around the world supplied by UK distributors.
Supplier relationships
Clarendon Fine Art has built long established relationships with suppliers, distributers and contractors making clear of our expectations of their business behaviour in relation to the provisions of the Modern Slavery Act.
We have standardised our on-boarding procedures for new suppliers to validate and quantify the impact of any potential exposure to the Act and continually monitor this.
We have a zero tolerance towards slavery and human trafficking. We expect everyone in our supply chain including suppliers, distributors, and contractors to conform to these values. The Board and senior managers take responsibility for compliance in their respective departments and their supplier relationships in connection to the monitoring and enforcement of their internal policies, and own supply chains to ensure that our values are maintained.
People and Policies
Our commitment to ensuring we are able to identify modern slavery risks is supported by various policies, including but not limited to the following; We operate a robust recruitment process, including conducting eligibility to work in the United Kingdom checks for all directly employed staff. Agencies on approved frameworks are audited to provide assurance that pre-employment clearance has been obtained for agency staff, to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
We have a range of controls to protect staff from poor treatment and/or exploitation, which complies with all respective laws and regulations. These include provision of fair pay rates, fair terms and conditions of employment, and fair access to training and development opportunities.
Employees are encouraged to report concerns using the available reporting channels, all reports are investigated and if applicable we would contact the relevant authorities. Individuals can report a case of modern slavery or gain more information from the government’s Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700.
To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and our business, we provide training to relevant members of staff and stakeholders where requested.
Signed on behalf of the board of directors;
Helen Swaby
CEO
31/03/2021
