Reward modern slavery and human trafficking statement 2024 to 2025

About Reward

Reward is a purpose driven global business that does good by doing good business. Founded in 2001 by Gavin Dein, Reward has given back over £1.3 billion to consumers in the form of rewards & is committed to increasing this to £2 billion by 2025.

Reward’s innovative approach has seen it design, build, & manage sophisticated enterprise-grade customer engagement & loyalty programmes across 15 countries, partnering with the world’s leading banks & merchants. In the UK, Reward manages loyalty programmes for four of the top five retail banks, including Barclays, NatWest, HSBC, & Monzo, & extending its reach globally with partnerships with major banks such as FAB in the UAE, Al Rajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia, Boubyan Bank in Kuwait, & card scheme giants Visa and Mastercard.

At the heart of Reward’s philosophy is the simple yet impactful goal: to make everyday spending more rewarding. This customer-centric approach has catapulted Reward to the forefront of the loyalty sector, establishing it as a global leader and a benchmark for success in creating value through customer loyalty.

Find our more about Reward

What is modern slavery?

Modern slavery is an international crime, affecting millions of people around the world – a growing global issue that transcends age, gender and ethnicities. Sadly, vulnerable people from overseas as well as across the UK, are forced to work illegally against their will across many different sectors from agriculture, construction, hospitality, retail, manufacturing, and more.

What are the signs of modern slavery?

Modern slavery definition: “where one person controls another for profit by exploiting a vulnerability”

Isolation; they’re rarely allowed to travel on their own, appear to be under the control of others, tend not to interact with other people, seem unfamiliar with their neighbourhood or where they work, have relationships that don’t seem right – for example, a young teenager appearing to be the boyfriend/girlfriend of a much older adult.

Restricted freedom of movement; they don’t have documents that would allow them to travel – passports, ID, etc., limited opportunities to move freely, few personal possessions, wear the same clothes day-in day-out.

Reluctance to seek help; avoiding eye contact, appearing frightened, or hesitant to talk to strangers, fear of law enforcers, fear of deportation, unsure who to trust or where to get help, fear of violence to them or their family.

The control traffickers hold can be physical, financial or psychological.

Our commitment to the principles of the Modern Slavery Act 2015

We are proud we do business responsibly and ethically. Reward is committed to the principles of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the abolition of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Our values of Do the right thing, Fuel the fire and Focus on the stuff that matters, are the pillars of our culture. They embody everything that we do at Reward and how we do business. They outline the expectation of our people’s behaviour with colleagues, partners and suppliers around the world.

We seek to treat everyone fairly and consistently, creating a workplace and business environment that is open, transparent and trusted. Our policies and procedures relating to the Modern Slavery Act are in line with our culture and values.

Our specific procedures to address modern slavery risk include:

• The Reward Way for our people, that sets out the key issues and how we should respond including a process for raising concerns internally
• A Whistleblowing Policy that allows for anonymous reports to be submitted by our people
• A process for handling complaints raised by our clients and suppliers
• Employment policies that protect our people from unfair treatment and promote a fair and inclusive workplace
• Focus that we will comply with all relevant employment and human rights laws for the countries in which we operate.
• Robust recruitment processes in line with relevant employment laws
• Market-related pay and rewards that are reviewed annually
• Wellbeing strategy and initiatives to support our people’s physical and mental wellbeing and lifestyle choice
• A ‘Supplier Ethics Policy’ for how we deal with suppliers and a ‘Supplier code of conduct’ making clear the standards we expect.

Our supply chain

Due to the nature of our business, we assess ourselves to have a low risk of modern slavery in our business and supply chains.

Our supply chains are limited, and we procure services from a restricted range of UK and overseas suppliers. We conduct annual due diligence on all our key suppliers to ensure they too are meeting the high standards we set and expect from ourselves. We set standards to ensure they operate ethically, are environmentally responsible and workers are treated with respect and dignity.

Reward has established a zero-tolerance position on violations to the UK’s anti-human trafficking and anti-modern slavery laws. Where non-conformances are identified, the primary aim is to ensure remediation for workers and for processes to be put in place to avoid recurrence. Where suppliers can demonstrate a commitment and ability to close identified issues we will continue working with them. However, where there is no evidence of commitment to sustained improvement, work with the supplier will be ceased.

Embedding the principles

We will continue to embed the principles through:

• Providing awareness training to staff on the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and informing them of the appropriate action to take if they suspect a case of slavery or human trafficking
• Ensuring staff involved in procurement activity are aware of and follow modern slavery procurement guidance on GOV.UK
• Ensuring that consideration of the modern slavery risks and prevention are added to Reward’s policy review process as an employer and procurer of goods and services
• Making sure Reward’s contract terms and conditions include references to modern slavery and human trafficking
• Continuing to take action to embed a zero tolerance policy towards modern slavery
• Ensuring that staff involved in buying or procurement and the recruitment and deployment of workers receive training on modern slavery and ethical employment practices

Identified incidents

• No incidents of modern slavery were identified in our own business or our supply chains during 2023/4. We promote a culture of speaking up and recognise the importance of identifying modern slavery concerns.
• Our colleagues and external stakeholders are encouraged to report any concerns to their relationship management team or through our whistleblowing procedure that is advertised to colleagues through the HR portal and externally to our partners and suppliers via our Account Directors.

This statement has been approved by Jamie Samaha, Chief Executive Officer, for the financial year ending 28th April 2024.

This statement will be reviewed and updated on at least an annual basis.