In accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, Pilgrims Hospices in East Kent makes the following statement for the financial year 2025-26:
At Pilgrims Hospices, we have a simple vision:
“Of a community where people with a life limiting illness and their family and friends are supported and empowered to live well in mind and body until the very last moment of their life.”
Our mission
To make a difference in the lives of individuals in east Kent who are facing the last year of life.
Our care
Provide open, compassionate care and expertise for patients and their families; both in the community and in our in-patient units. We will continue this support for families through their bereavement.
Our patients
Advise, educate and enable patients and their families so they can make informed choices and participate in planning their own care.
Our staff are mostly directly employed, based in the UK and not in categories vulnerable to modern slavery. Our focus is to put in place polices to safeguard our patients, staff and volunteers, and policies and procedures for due diligence for our suppliers.
Pilgrims Hospices in east Kent is committed to ensuring that modern slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any part of its business or in any of its supply chains. We will never knowingly work with any organisation connected with modern slavery, human trafficking, or child labour.
Modern Slavery Statement 2025-26
All members of staff have a personal responsibility for the successful prevention of modern slavery and human trafficking. This is underpinned by our:
- Safeguarding Policies, which provides guidance on how to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults who come into contact with our charity.
- Whistleblowing Policy, which encourages staff to raise concerns of any kind, including those related to modern slavery.
We are committed to ensuring we have appropriate policies and procedures in place to assess and minimise the risk of modern slavery within our supplier relationships including their supply chains, particularly:
- Contracting practices, including obligations to adhere to the Modern Slavery Act and ethical sourcing.
- Procurement Policy, which addresses modern slavery and human trafficking and ethical sourcing including guidance for those who procure goods and services for the charity.
- Core Principles; our Core Principles are included in our Supplier Questionnaires completed and signed up to by suppliers/bidders taking part in tendering.
Our policies address our care, fundraising, investments, the environment, and our purchasing.
Pilgrims Hospices in East Kent general Terms & Conditions contain an obligation to comply with the Modern Slavery Act.
We believe that the risk of modern slavery or human trafficking taking place in our supply chain is low. It is based in the UK, and we take a risk-based approach to procurement, with increased scrutiny for higher risk areas, such as the purchase of clothing, promotional items and other goods which may be manufactured or supplied from outside the UK or the EEA.
Our procurement process aims to ensure we receive value for money and that our suppliers meet our requirements for ethical procurement. Suppliers are asked to demonstrate they embrace diversity, understand risk in their own supply chains and remunerate staff fairly.
Each year we continue to review our internal practices and supplier network to identify where there may be a potential risk of modern slavery, assess relevant suppliers and audit compliance. We have also carried out due diligence and we will continue to develop our policies and procedures to identify and prevent risks of modern slavery internally and identify and mitigate risks in relation to our supply chain.
This statement is made pursuant to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for the financial year ended 31 March 2025 and covers the activities of Pilgrims Hospices in East Kent and its subsidiary, Pilgrims Hospice Trading Limited, which actively purchases goods for re-sale in our shops and online.