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 financial year end December 2020 and has been approved by the UK Senior Management Team and our new Managing Director Bernard Ward.

The Acorn (Synergie UK Ltd) consisting of Acorn Recruitment Ltd, Acorn Global Ltd and Acorn Rail Ltd part of the French based Synergie group, recognises that modern slavery and human trafficking is a violation of fundamental human rights and is contrary to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the “Act”). We are committed to continually improving our practices to combat slavery and human trafficking and to encourage the same high standards from our supply chain and other business partners.

The Acorn Group is a labour provider of staffing and recruitment services to a wide range of clients covering a broad range of industry sectors. We have over 25 locations across the UK. The Group had a global annual turnover in 2020 of £95m and our registered office is in Newport South Wales. The labour force provided to our clients all live and work in the UK, we do not use overseas agents to source workers.

We have produced a slavery and trafficking risk assessment indicating our Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers. Tier 1 suppliers are other UK labour providers including umbrella companies which we have identified as high risk to our business, Tier 2 providers are essential service providers and suppliers of product required to run our business.

We purchase a wide range of products and services from oursupply chain, including but not limited to IT hardware, software and telecommunications; vehicles; office furniture, equipment and supplies; utilities; travel services; and training services.

Our approved suppliers must comply and act in accordance with our Modern Slavery Policy and must submit a pre-qualification document, which also covers the Act.

In order to mitigate and manage our risk the following activities have been undertaken in 2020:

• Our Modern Slavery policy has been reviewed, issued and remains fit for purpose
• All new employees have attended modern slavery training and existing staff have had refresher training.
• All employees are aware of our whistle blowing helpline and have been made aware on how they can report any concerns they may have associated with Modern Slavery.
• Supply chain partners outlined above have completed our supplier questionnaire.
• Our divisions received at least one compliance audit during which pre-employment checks, including eligibility to work, work history, references and qualifications were reviewed.
• All staff working for the group have adequate references and have undertaken an annual self-declaration outlining criminal convictions and undertake a ‘fit and proper’ test in line with GLAA requirements.
• We perform weekly checks to identify where workers may be sharing bank accounts, addresses or telephone numbers as this can be an indication of Modern Slavery. Any shared details are verified with the individuals to ensure this is a voluntary arrangement.
• We have a dedicated confidential telephone number for workers to report concerns of exploitation / human trafficking
• ISO9001 accreditation was maintained – independent audit ensuring compliance to our internal policies against the international standard for quality.
• We have attended several partner meetings on Modern Slavery.
• No breaches of Modern Slavery were reported during 2020.

Bernard Ward, MD

June 2021

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