Welcome to the first edition of the Fast Forward Newsletter for the year! This month’s clickable highlights:

Fast Forward News

• Webinar: Diversity and Inclusion Jan 2024 – Recording Now Available
• SEP Supplier Training – BOOK NOW!
• Join our collaborative programme for support and to measure your progress: Become a FF Member Brand!

Industry and Legislative News

• 2023 KnowTheChain Apparel and Footwear Benchmark Published
• Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024
• Employee National Insurance was cut from 12% to 10% on 6 January 2024

We want to hear from you! Share your feedback and requests for inclusions in this publication or any other part of the programme. Contact us today!

The Fast Forward Team

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FAST FORWARD NEWS

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Diversity and Inclusion – New Control Point 3.5
Webinar Recording – NOW AVAILABLE!

This webinar supported businesses to implement new control point 3.5: Demonstrate proactive steps to promote diversity and inclusion and to prevent and manage conflict due to cultural differences. In addition, we delved into accommodating diverse needs, with a spotlight on neurodiversity, helping to equip your organisation to respond effectively to unique employee requirements.

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Supplier (SEP) Training Sessions

The Supplier Engagement Programme (SEP) training sessions are now available to book through your Dashboard. This presents a valuable opportunity for both brands and suppliers to enhance their skills and maximise the benefits of our programme.

During these 2.5-hour training sessions, your business can gain essential insights on how to effectively navigate your dedicated dashboard and self-paced Core Standards training modules, ensuring you remain well-informed about the latest standards and industry practices.
Our training sessions are open to both SEP subscribers and Brand members.

At the conclusion of each session, we offer dedicated breakout sessions for suppliers and brands separately. This provides a unique space for peer-to-peer discussions, allowing you to address questions, overcome challenges, and explore opportunities within your business and supply chain. To explore the full agenda of this training session, click here.

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Join our collaborative programme for support and to measure your progress: Become a FF Member Brand!

Participate in the UK Apparel and General Merchandise Collaborative Programme by becoming a FF Member Brand and gain valuable support to advance your ethical practices through programme support and the guidance of our Ethical Maturity Framework. As a FF Member Brand, your Ethical Maturity Framework 2023 results will be provided on a 1-2-1 basis in February. This initiative aims to foster a collective commitment to enhancing industry practices.

If you are not currently a Member Brand find out more about joining the collaborative programme to advance ethical standards and measure your progress within the industry.

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LEGISLATIVE AND INDUSTRY NEWS

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Know the Chain Benchmark 2023 Published

The recently published KnowTheChain Apparel & Footwear Benchmark 2023 sheds light on the challenges faced by the fashion industry in addressing forced labour within its supply chains. The benchmark, which assessed 65 of the world’s largest apparel and footwear companies, reports that a considerable number of leading fashion brands are yet to effectively tackle this issue, posing increased risks for workers involved.

Key findings include: 

• Companies seem ill-prepared for existing and upcoming legislation which requires them to know and show their supply chain risks. 
• Lack of stakeholder engagement and poor performance on Worker Voice (15/100) compromises workers’ ability to achieve improvements in working conditions and increases companies’ exposure to operational and legal risks. Only 22% of companies disclose engaging with unions to support freedom of association in their supply chains.  
• Companies’ purchasing practices and sustainability commitments seem misaligned. The majority of brands are not incentivised to incorporate sustainability in their determination of the right supplier, nor to pay the true cost of production. While most companies (89%) disclosed a supplier code of conduct prohibiting forced labour, their purchasing behaviour appears contradictory, with more than half (52%) scoring zero on their efforts to adopt responsible purchasing practices. 
• Companies benchmarked the longest (since 2016) performed significantly better, on average, than those assessed for the first time this year, suggesting ongoing engagement, and benchmarking in particular, can be beneficial to company performance.

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Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024

The government has released new guidance to cover the latest holiday pay and entitlement reforms, introduced on 1st January 2024. Key updates include:

• An annual leave accrual method of 12.07% of hours worked for irregular hours and part-year workers
• Rolled-up holiday pay will be allowed in certain circumstances*

*The government has acknowledged the concern that rolled-up holiday pay may disincentivise workers from taking holiday leave, the consultation says that it believes other safeguards are a proportionate means of addressing these concerns.

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Employee National Insurance cut from 12% to 10%
from 6 January 2024

National insurance contributions paid by workers in the UK were cut from 12% to 10% with effect from 6 January 2024. The change means those earning the average salary of £35,400 will receive £450 more in their pay packet. 

Watch and short video and read more here

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Just Good Work

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