Working hours recording, and modern slavery prevention policy

Exchange Supplies is an ethical social enterprise seeking to make the world a better place reducing drug related harm. The guiding principle of our approach to working hours is that the company seeks to pay a fair and regular wage, in return for the labour of our colleagues.

We believe in, and encourage, everyone to have a work-life balance that promotes personal and collective:

• Physical health; and
  

• Mental health.
  

To align with our company values, we all commit to building into our culture opportunities for breaks, rest, and activities outside of work. This includes (but is not limited to):

• Flexible working arrangements, such as part-time work, job sharing, and flexible hours;
  

• Remote work (if a job can be done outside the office, then it can be); and
  

• A flexible approach to working hours and allow staff to manage their flexi-time informally building up time in lieu, or accruing time owed.
  

These informal processes are intended to increase freedom and flexibility, but we recognise the risk that this level of flexibility and level of commitment we collectively feel to our mission means that this could lead to exploitation, and people working unpaid.

In order to reduce the stigma associated with taking paid leave when colleagues are experiencing mental health difficulties, health issues, or difficulty working due to their drug use we do not count hours worked, or clock in and clock out. People are paid for their contracted hours. This means that we must have other systems in place to prevent exploitation, burn out, and modern slavery.

These are set out below, and will be communicated to all staff via a compulsory module in our online training:

• It is company policy that no one is expected to (or will) work in excess of their annual contracted hours;
  

• There is a 10 hour maximum to any working day (plus up to 2 hours on public transport travelling for work);
  

• Where additional hours are worked, time may be taken in lieu;
  

• Where additional hours are worked at the request of the company, they will be paid at the normal rate of pay up to 40 hours per week, and time and a half above that;
  

• The offices and warehouse will close within 15 minutes of the end of the working day / shift.
  

• We should all care for, and monitor our working hours and the working of our colleagues, with particular emphasis on additional work: concerns about excessive working hours or stress may be raised directly with the person concerned, the appropriate line manager, and/or via the whistle-blower policy.
  

• We commit to providing whatever support and resources to employees who are struggling with excessive workloads or stress. This can include access to counselling services, wellness programs and other resources that promote physical and mental well-being.
  

• The company senior team leader should lead by example, not working excessive hours themselves.
  

• In our autonomous teams we should regularly review and adjust workload expectations to ensure they are reasonable and manageable for our colleagues and redistributing tasks, providing additional resources or hiring additional staff to meet workload demands as needed.
  

We can ensure that we implement the above policy by encouraging open communication about workload concerns, and potential solutions so that we can identify potential issues before they become problems and foster a culture of collaboration and support.

We recognise that preventing excessive working hours and modern slavery is not just about meeting legal requirements, but also about valuing health and well-being as a key component of a successful and sustainable business.

By taking these steps, and adhering to this working hours recording, and modern slavery prevention policy we will be able to ensure Exchange Supplies maintains a healthy and productive work environment that supports our collective well-being and better helps us achieve our triple bottom line (profit, social and health benefits) and meet and exceed our obligations to prevent modern slavery.