THE BURBERRY VENDOR OWNERSHIP PROGRAMME
In Italy and the UK, where our top finished goods vendors use sub-contractors for some production, we have designed a programme to help them introduce their own ethical trade monitoring programmes into their network.
There are several phases to the programme which include: engagement, commitment, training, management and validation.
During the engagement phase, Burberry discusses the aims of the programme with the vendor, its scope and the time and resource required to implement the programme.
The next phase involves the vendor committing to the programme of work, assigning adequate resource and committing to take responsibility for the monitoring of its subcontractor supply chain.
Once the vendor has made this commitment, the Burberry Responsibility team work closely with the vendor by providing desktop and face-to-face training on ethical trade auditing, monitoring, engagement activities and continuous improvement in working conditions.
Vendors are also encouraged to undertake additional formal training such as SA8000 or WRAP lead social auditing courses to complement the training they receive from Burberry. The dedicated corporate responsibility personnel of the vendor then shadow several audits and engagement activities conducted by the Burberry Responsibility audit team and over time, the vendor will start to lead audits themselves, with the support of the Burberry Responsibility audit team.
Within the management phase of the programme the vendor takes responsibility for scheduling the audit and engagement activities at their subcontractor sites, prioritised by the level of risk which is indicated by Burberry’s risk assessment and the facility’s previous audit grading. The activities conducted by the vendor are continuously reviewed and monitored by Burberry.
Finally, when Burberry is satisfied that the vendor is adequately trained in auditing, monitoring, engagement and continuous improvement activities and is meeting Burberry’s standards in terms of their performance in undertaking these activities, they will move into the validation phase. In the validation phase the vendor conducts audits at its subcontractor facilities without the supervision of Burberry.
Burberry has an assessment system to evaluate vendors’ performance in the programme and we shadow a sample of audits in a sample of facilities over the course of a year to ensure that the vendor’s audit results are consistent with Burberry’s assessment of the facility.
GLOBAL PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY
We have implemented inclusive policies to further our global DE&I agenda and help us achieve gender equality at Burberry.
This included our industry-leading parental leave policy,. We are committed to supporting all new parents as they care for their new arrivals by providing 18 weeks of parental leave at full pay and the opportunity to work 80% of their normal hours at full pay for a further four weeks on their return.
The policy has supported hundreds of Burberry parents around the world to balance returning to work with caring for their new families.
“The time I took as paternity leave was important and crucial for my wife and baby girl, especially during the COVID-19 crisis where we were not able to get any assistance or support from our wider families.” – Store Manager, EMEIA
“Having Burberry's new policy meant that I was free to bond with my daughter and spend extra time with my toddler, knowing that I had the full support of my team behind me.” – L&D Manager, US
