The Grocer is right to highlight the issues raised in its article on migrant labour ('Sleeping Soundly, The Grocer, 24 November, p30). We should make clear, however, that many companies are working hard to combat these issues, despite pressures to cut costs. Any approach must start with good intent, which in our case must be aligned with our CR report, to provide employees with 'a good and safe place to work'. We have stringent policies that we assess across the business. A fundamental truth is English is not the first language for many of our full-time employees so communicating health and food safety messages is a part of good business practice, whether or not we are talking to employees, or agency staff from the UK or overseas. So, too, is making sure all staff know our policies on discrimination and harassment. If language barriers exist, we would expect the site to translate or use 'buddies' with multilingual skills. With regard to gangmaster labour, we only work with a handful of agencies. Central agreements for these are held by our procurement team and cover commercial terms and service levels. All staff supplied by agencies receive an induction to Northern Foods with clear guidelines on food safety, health and safety and site-specific information. The food manufacturing sector finds it challenging to attract and retain people and the use of migrant labour is a difficult area that needs to be tackled thoughtfully and systematically. For us, it is a key part of ensuring that we remain a trusted part of the supply chain.