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Slavery and human trafficking are among the fastest-growing criminal industries in the world today. The International Labour Organisation estimates that 49.6 million people were living in modern slavery in 2021, of which 27.6 million were in forced labour and 22 million were in forced marriage.

Of the 27.6 million people in forced labour, 17.3 million are exploited in the private sector, 6.3 million in forced commercial sexual exploitation, and 3.9 million in forced labour imposed by state.

Modern slavery costs the UK up to approximately £4.3 billion per year. The latest Global Slavery Index, released in 2023, estimated the number of victims of modern slavery in the UK at 122,000.

Business responsibility

Businesses have a responsibility to ensure that slavery and human trafficking do not take place in their organisations. Many businesses find temporary workers through recruitment agencies and gangmasters. In such instances, it might be difficult to identify if exploitative practices such as forced labour, human trafficking, or slavery are taking place.

The risk of staff exploitation by unscrupulous labour providers can increase where people are vulnerable. While this is a crime that can affect anyone, of any age, gender, or nationality, evidence suggests that migrant workers are the most common victims, as they need the work to survive, or their language skills limit their choice of employment options.

Ethical recruitment to avoid staff exploitation

As an employer, you should follow best practice recruitment processes to avoid potential exploitation of staff. If you are engaging with recruitment agencies or gangmasters to supply you with staff, the steps you can take to protect workers include:

• Only work with registered recruitment businesses that you can be sure are legitimate.
• Ensure that you have a written contract with your chosen employment provider.
• Carry out spot checks on agency worker documents (eg, right to work documents and contracts).
• Speak to workers to ensure they are being fairly treated.

Taking active steps to tackle modern slavery and raise labour standards within your industry not only protects vulnerable workers but also protects your organisation's reputation and brand. See how to tackle modern slavery and the business benefits.

Complex supply chains can make it difficult to guarantee that business goods or services have not been an output of slavery and human trafficking. Forced labour is present in many industries. Using sub-contractors and global supply chains, especially over multiple international borders, can make measuring the presence of modern slavery difficult to monitor.

Businesses have a responsibility to ensure that they are not complicit in modern slavery through direct and indirect suppliers. The aims to help businesses remove modern slavery and human trafficking from their supply chains and places certain legal requirements on businesses with a total annual turnover of £36 million or more. Many organisations are taking active steps to promote ethical business practices and policies that protect workers from abuse and exploitation in their global supply chains. See modern slavery: write a slavery and human trafficking statement.

Businesses should take serious and effective steps to identify and eliminate modern slavery from their supply chains. For example, you should examine your supply chain and question suppliers on their ethics, working conditions, and practices. See how to tackle modern slavery and the business benefits.

If you suspect exploitation, you should take action - refuse to do further business with the supplier and report it immediately. See how to identify and report modern slavery and human trafficking.

Further guidance, training, and resources

provides guidance, training, resources, and a network for employers, labour providers, workers, and their representatives to work together to reduce exploitation. Clear54, a social enterprise aligned with a local NGO (Flourish NI), also provides guidance and training on compliance with transparency in supply chains legislation. The British Standards Institution (BSI) has also developed a free national standard on how to manage modern slavery risks in an organisation's operations, supply chains, and the wider environment. For further information, see .

Certain commercial organisations must publish an annual statement setting out the steps they take to prevent modern slavery in their business and their supply chains. This is a requirement under Section 54 (Transparency in Supply Chains) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Who needs to publish a statement?

A commercial organisation is required to publish an annual statement if all the criteria below apply:

• it is a 'body corporate' or a partnership, wherever incorporated or formed
• it carries on a business, or part of a business, in the UK
• it supplies goods or services
• it has an annual turnover of £36 million or more

Organisations are responsible for determining whether the legislation applies to them. You may wish to seek legal advice to decide if your organisation needs to produce an annual statement.

Read full details on .

Demonstrate compliance with the minimum legal requirements

To meet and demonstrate you have met the minimum legal requirements:

Update your modern slavery statement every year

Each year, assess whether your organisation meets the criteria for the preceding financial year. If so, publish a modern slavery statement. Statutory guidance states that you should do this within 6 months of your organisation’s financial year-end. You should also include the date your financial year ended.

Publish your modern slavery statement on your UK website

Place the link in a prominent place on your homepage. It is good practice to keep previous statements on your website so that your progress can be monitored. If you do not have a website, you must provide a copy of the statement in writing to anyone who requests one within 30 days of receiving the request.

Get approval from the board of directors (or equivalent management body)

To demonstrate that you have met this legal requirement, your statement should clearly state that board approval has been given with the date of approval.

Where the organisation is a limited liability partnership (LLP) the statement must be approved by the members. Your statement should clearly state that members’ approval has been given with the date of approval.

Get sign-off from a director (or equivalent) or designated member (for LLPs)

Include their name, job title, and the date. You do not need to include a physical signature, but you should still clearly state that it has been signed.

For a limited partnership, registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, a general partner must sign the statement. For a limited liability partnership, a designated member must sign it. If the organisation is any other kind of partnership, a partner must sign it.

What should your slavery and human trafficking statement include?

Organisations are not expected to guarantee that all their supply chains are ‘slavery free’. However, statements must describe the steps your organisation has taken during the financial year to deal with modern slavery risks in your supply chains and your own business.

If your organisation has taken no steps to deal with modern slavery risks, you must still publish a statement setting this out.

The Modern Slavery Act recommends that you cover the following six areas in your statement:

1. Organisation structure and supply chains
2. Policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking
3. Due diligence processes
4. Risk assessment and management
5. Key performance indicators to measure effectiveness of steps being taken
6. Training on modern slavery and trafficking

More information about these areas is available in the .

Add your statement to the government registry

The Home Office has launched the to make it easier for people to find modern slavery statements.

As well as publishing your statement on your website, you can add your most recent statement to the registry to share the steps your organisation is taking to prevent modern slavery in your supply chains.

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You will need to provide basic information about your organisation and your statement.

You will also be able to provide a summary of your statement by answering additional questions. These questions are optional, however you are encouraged to answer all questions as fully as possible, to help improve your understanding of modern slavery risks and best practice.

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Anyone interested in viewing statements can use the government registry to search for organisations’ statements and view the summaries they have provided.

Best practice

The detail and quality of information you include under each of the 6 areas should improve in successive annual statements. Use your statement to show how you are:

• acting transparently and disclosing information about any modern slavery risks you have identified and what actions you have taken in response to them
• targeting your actions where they can have the most impact by prioritising your risks
• making year-on-year progress to address those risks and improve outcomes for workers in your business and supply chains

More resources and guidance

The Home Office's provides more detailed advice for organisations on complying with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

If you have any questions about the modern slavery reporting requirements contact modernslaverystatements@homeoffice.gov.uk.

A focus on tackling modern slavery will not only help protect vulnerable workers and prevent human rights violations but also bring a number of key business benefits too.

Benefits of tackling modern slavery for business

• Improved brand recognition.
• Positive business reputation.
• Increased sales and customer loyalty, as consumers seek businesses with higher ethical standards.
• Greater ability to attract talent and staff retention.
• Organisational growth.
• Improved investor confidence.
• More responsive and stable supply chains.

Steps to reduce modern slavery in your business and supply chains

Businesses can take a number of key actions to eliminate the exploitation of people for personal or commercial gain within their organisations and supply chains. These include:

Highlighting your commitment

Publish a slavery and human trafficking statement to demonstrate the steps your business is taking to prevent modern slavery. You could consider producing this even if your business has an annual turnover below £36 million. See write a slavery and human trafficking statement.

Implementing policies

Develop new policies and adapt existing ones to address the elimination of modern slavery.

Compiling a supplier code of conduct and including contract clauses

Formally explain how you expect suppliers to operate to avoid labour exploitation and include clauses on modern slavery in their contracts.

Monitoring supply chains

Regularly evaluate direct and indirect suppliers. Take active steps to engage with your suppliers and try to effect change where it is required. If your business does not have the leverage to prevent unlawful practices, you could try to increase it. You may achieve this by offering incentives or collaborating with other suppliers to influence change. In situations where your business is unable to increase its leverage, you should consider ending the supplier relationship. The more complex the situation and its implications for human rights, it is advisable to draw on independent expert advice in deciding how to respond. Read further information in the .

Conducting a human rights impact assessment

Identify high-risk areas where modern slavery could exist, eg, where there may be a reliance on low or unskilled labour and using suppliers based in high-risk countries. Track results and communicate how these areas were addressed.

Developing a process for making key business decisions

Identify supplier standard levels that meet your expectations in human rights.

Communicating with senior staff

Secure buy-in and formally agree on what your organisation wants to achieve.

Establishing clear guidelines and procedures for all staff

Communicate to staff on how they can report their concerns and whistle blow on modern slavery - provide training where necessary.

In addition to having a clear action plan to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking, it is recommended that businesses be vigilant and continuously consider how to improve their existing activity.

As a business, you may come across individuals who you suspect are being trafficked or enslaved for labour exploitation. The signs in victims may vary from situation to situation, however, the following may indicate cases of modern slavery or human trafficking.

General signs

Individuals being trafficked or enslaved may believe that they must work against their will, receive little or no payment and be unable to leave their work environment. Victims may show fear or anxiety and carry injuries that appear to be the result of an assault. They may not know their home or work address. They may not be in possession of their passport or other documents or they might always be accompanied by somebody else and not allowed to speak for themselves.

Children

Children who have been trafficked may have no access to their parents or guardians, look intimidated and behave in a way that does not correspond with behaviour typical of a child their age. They will typically be engaged in work that is not suitable for children and travel unaccompanied by adults.

Labour exploitation

People who have been trafficked or enslaved for labour exploitation may live in groups in the same place where they work. They may leave those premises infrequently, if at all. They might not be dressed adequately for the work they do, have no labour contract, work excessively long hours, or lack basic training and professional licences. They might be subject to insults, abuse, threats or violence.

Further details on and how to .

Report a modern slavery or human trafficking incident

If you suspect that someone has been trafficked or enslaved:​​​​

• call 999 in case of an emergency
• call 101 about the general situation
• call 0800 0121 700 for the Modern Slavery Helpline or