Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement for the financial year ended 30 April 2026
This slavery and human trafficking statement is made by Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP in accordance with section 54 of the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015. It describes the steps taken during the financial year from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2026 (“the Reporting Period”) to assess and address the risks of modern slavery in our business and supply chains.
Overview of Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP
Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP is a global law firm with over 32 offices and related entities in 19 jurisdictions around the world. Registered as a limited liability partnership in England and Wales, ES(I) LLP employs over 3,800 people worldwide.
We provide legal and commercial advice and solutions across a number of sectors to our international client base, which includes some of the world’s largest multinationals. To find out more about our structure, what we do and our values, please visit the about us section of our website.
Our Responsible Business strategy
Our vision for our Responsible Business strategy is to help create a better, fairer world, while delivering on our purpose of helping our clients, our people and our communities to thrive.
Our latest Responsible Business Report highlights the progress made over the last 12 months, including our work in relation to anti-slavery and human trafficking. The latest report is available on our website here.
EcoVadis is one of the world’s largest providers of business sustainability ratings. In February 2026, we received a Gold rating, placing the firm within the top 5% of companies assessed by EcoVadis. Our policies, practices and performance were assessed across 21 sustainability criteria grouped under four themes: Environment, Labour and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.
As a participant in the UN Global Compact, we are required to submit an annual Communication on Progress (“COP”), describing how we support the UNGC’s Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our participant profile and latest COP are available on the UN Global Compact website and can be found here.
We are committed to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful working environment for our people. Our recruitment and employment practices are designed to comply with applicable employment laws and regulatory requirements, and appropriate pre-employment checks are undertaken before individuals join the firm.
We promote a Speak Up culture and encourage colleagues, suppliers and other third parties to report suspected wrongdoing, including concerns relating to modern slavery or human trafficking. Our independent international whistleblowing facility is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by telephone and through an online portal. Reports may be made anonymously and in local languages where required.
Our Policies and procedures
We have a wide range of policies and procedures in place to support our strategy of being a responsible business. These policies help ensure that we act with integrity and accountability in all our business dealings and relationships, in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
In April 2025, we introduced a Supplier Ethical Code of Conduct (‘the Code’) which establishes the standards and behaviours we expect from our suppliers. The Code is publicly available here.
The Code helps ensure that our suppliers operate in a manner consistent with our legal obligations, ethical standards, purpose and values, reinforcing our commitment to responsible business practices across our supply chain.
The Supplier Ethical Code of Conduct is built on four core principles:
- Compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
- Compliance with all policies and requirements contractually agreed with Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP.
- Supporting our purpose of helping our clients, our people and our communities to thrive.
- Supporting our values of being inclusive, professional, open, creative and collaborative.
To be considered as a supplier to the firm, organisations are asked to review and acknowledge the contents of the Code, supporting the development of strong, values-based partnerships. Suppliers must either acknowledge our Code or provide evidence of equivalent standards through their own code of conduct.
As at August 2026, the Code had been issued to approximately 295 UK business services suppliers, including existing and new suppliers. Of these, 208 suppliers had formally acknowledged the Code. A further 52 suppliers had provided their own ethical or supplier codes, which were reviewed and considered to reflect standards equivalent to those set out in our Code. Overall, approximately 88.1% of suppliers had either acknowledged our Code or demonstrated equivalent standards through their own code.
In addition, we have the following policies to ensure we observe the highest personal, ethical and professional standards:
- Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy
- Modern Slavery Code of Conduct and Annual Declaration
- Whistleblowing Policy
- Bullying and Harassment Policy
- Equality and Diversity Policy
Training
We provide training on modern slavery and human trafficking to our employees. The training emphasises that modern slavery is not tolerated within our firm or supply chains and explains how concerns may be reported through our whistleblowing process. We have a separate training module which is mandatory for our lawyers and this provides guidance on the red flags that may indicate a risk of modern slavery in the matters or transactions on which we advise our clients. Where a potential issue is identified, our subject matter experts can provide advice on the appropriate response. New starters are required to complete the training as part of their induction, and we monitor completion.
During the Reporting Period 93.2% of new starters completed the mandatory modern slavery training.
Risk Assessment: Our Business
We are a professional services firm strictly regulated by professional regulatory bodies in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and our ongoing assessment is that there is a low risk of slavery or human trafficking occurring within our own business. This assessment is based on a number of factors, including that our workforce primarily comprises of permanently employed, skilled professionals operating in a client-focused service sector within established legal, professional and ethical frameworks. We consider there to be a greater risk of slavery or human trafficking occurring within our supply chain than within our own business.
Risk Assessment: Our Supply Chain
Our supply chain supports our core legal practice and the firm’s business services, technology and infrastructure. As such, our suppliers fall into two main categories:
- Professional Services Suppliers, which are engaged principally to support the delivery of legal services to clients. These include other law firms, barristers, accountants, tax advisers, insurance providers and external training providers; and
- Business Services Suppliers which support the firm’s day-to-day operations, including catering, security, facilities management, print and document services, IT systems, software and other infrastructure.
We consider our professional services suppliers to present a low risk of modern slavery and human trafficking. These suppliers principally provide skilled professional services and many operate within established legal, professional or regulatory frameworks. As a result, we do not undertake individual risk assessments for each professional services supplier.
We consider there is a greater risk of slavery or human trafficking occurring within our business services suppliers.
To manage this risk, we carry out risk assessments and due diligence before onboarding all business services suppliers. Suppliers are categorised as low, medium or high risk, taking into account relevant factors such as the nature of the services provided and geographic risk.
For suppliers supporting our UK offices, this process is managed through our Supplier Relationship Management platform. For suppliers supporting our offices outside the UK, the assessment is carried out manually, with particular consideration given to geographic risk.
The same due diligence requirements apply in both cases. All suppliers must confirm adherence to our Modern Slavery Code of Conduct, which sets out the minimum standards we expect. Medium- and high-risk suppliers must also complete a Modern Slavery Declaration to support a more detailed due diligence review. Suppliers are onboarded only once the applicable requirements have been satisfactorily completed.
We have standard contractual clauses for inclusion in our supplier contracts. These include a specific prohibition against the use of modern slavery and trafficked labour, and a requirement to comply with our Modern Slavery Code of Conduct. These clauses are included in the contracts we enter into with our UK-based Business Services Suppliers. Should we discover there has been a breach of these contractual clauses, we are entitled to give immediate written notice to the supplier to terminate the contract.
Measuring Effectiveness
No instances of modern slavery within our business or supply chain were reported during the Reporting Period.
During the Reporting Period, we assessed 224 business services suppliers for modern slavery risk and undertook due diligence in accordance with our Modern Slavery Due Diligence Programme.
UK Suppliers
Of the 224 suppliers assessed, 190 were UK suppliers reviewed through our Supplier Relationship Management platform. Following assessment, 158 were categorised as low risk, 31 as medium risk and one as high risk.
All UK suppliers were required either to comply with our Modern Slavery Code of Conduct or demonstrate equivalent standards through their own policies. Of the 190 UK suppliers assessed, 181 agreed to comply with our Modern Slavery Code of Conduct and nine provided their own code of conduct, which was reviewed and determined to be consistent with the standards set out in our Code.
| Measurement - UK Business Services Suppliers | FY2025/26 | FY2024/25 | FY2023/24 | FY2022/23 |
| Incidents of Modern Slavery Reported in our business | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Incidents of Modern Slavery Reported in our supply chain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of new Suppliers risk assessed for risks of Modern Slavery | 190 | 93 | 244 | 170 |
| Number of Suppliers risk assessed as a low risk for Modern Slavery | 158 | 81 | 234 | 160 |
| Number of Suppliers risk assessed as a medium risk of Modern Slavery | 31 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Number of Suppliers risk assessed as a high risk of Modern Slavery | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Number of Suppliers who agreed to adhere to our Modern Slavery code of Conduct | 181 (95%) | 82 (88%) | 232 (95%) | 161 (95%) |
| Number of Suppliers who had their own Code of Conduct for Modern Slavery which aligned with our Code of Conduct | 9 (5%) | 11 (12%) | 12 (5%) | 9 (5%) |
| Number of Suppliers who agreed to adhere to our new Supplier Ethical Code of Conduct | 144 | 112 | - | - |
| Number of Suppliers who provided their own Ethical Code of Conduct | 40 |
International Suppliers
During the Reporting Period, we expanded our modern slavery due diligence programme to include business services suppliers supporting our international offices, outside the UK. A total of 34 international suppliers were assessed. Of these, 24 were categorised as low risk, five as medium risk and five as high risk.
| Measurement - International Business Services Suppliers *New for FY2025/26* |
FY2025/26 |
| Incidents of Modern Slavery Reported in our international business | 0 |
| Incidents of Modern Slavery Reported in our international supply chain | 0 |
| Number of supplier risk assessed for modern slavery risk | 34 |
| Number of Suppliers assessed as a low risk | 24 |
| Number of Suppliers assessed as a medium risk | 5 |
| Number of Suppliers assessed as a high risk | 5 |
| Medium and high-risk suppliers subject to enhanced due diligence | 10 |
| Suppliers that had completed the Modern Slavery Code of Conduct / Declaration process as at the reporting date | 6 |
Medium / High risk suppliers
A medium or high-risk classification generally reflected factors associated with the nature of the services provided or the geographic location in which they were delivered, rather than evidence of an identified instance of modern slavery. Suppliers assessed as medium or high risk were asked to complete additional modern slavery declarations and confirm adherence to our standards. Based on the information reviewed, we were satisfied that appropriate measures were in place to identify, manage and mitigate the relevant risks, and no evidence of modern slavery was identified.
Continuous focus on preventing slavery and trafficking
We remain committed to strengthening our approach to preventing slavery and human trafficking across our operations and supply chains. During the financial year ending 30 April 2027, we intend to:
- continue to assess new business services suppliers supporting our UK offices through our Supplier Relationship Management platform and undertake annual due diligence on ongoing relationships with medium- and high-risk suppliers;
- continue to enhance our Supplier Relationship Management platform so that it can support the assessment of business services suppliers across our international offices outside the UK; and
- support the international rollout of our Supplier Ethical Code of Conduct, including translating the Code into French, German and Dutch and issuing it to relevant suppliers across our European supply chain.
Approval
This statement was approved by Helen Thomas, Managing Partner International on 28 September 2026 on behalf of Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP.
Helen Thomas, Managing Partner International
Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP and Eversheds Sutherland Legal Services Limited
Previous statements
- View our 2024-2025 Modern Slavery Statement
- View our 2023-2024 Modern Slavery Statement
- View our 2022-2023 Modern Slavery Statement
- View our 2021-2022 Modern Slavery Statement