... We take allegations of this kind very seriously. While we have not been provided with any specific claims within our supply chain, we welcome any information about conditions so that we can carry out a full investigation. We have stringent policies and monitoring systems in place to ensure that all our suppliers comply with our welfare and ethical standards. We fund and support the Spain Ethical Trade Supplier Forums to improve safety and working conditions in Southern Spain...

We expect all suppliers to meet our strong ethical trade requirements. We work with our first-tier supply chain to ensure that our policies are cascading down and that appropriate due diligence is being conducted. All direct suppliers must undergo a physical two pillar SMETA audit at least every two years. All indirect suppliers who employ more than 30 people must conduct an annual 3rd party social audit by a recognised standard or by a trained member within Sainsbury’s direct supplier...

All suppliers are required to have a confidential, independent hotline available to workers to access where a concern cannot be resolved informally or where a worker does not want to report internally. Suppliers are also required report all allegations to Sainsbury’s. Our grievance mechanism for workers in the supply chain is designed to be as accessible and as close as possible to the workers to encourage its use...

We use a range of tools including independent, third-party audits of suppliers and sites (GRASP and equivalent), self -assessment questionnaires, worker voice programmes and confidential grievance mechanisms for workers