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Slavery and human trafficking: what’s on the horizon for businesses in the UK?

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By Nick Graves
6 Nov 2024 4 min read
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A recent report by the House of Lords Select Committee on the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) contains a number of recommendations which, if introduced, will impact businesses. 

The key recommendations relevant to businesses within the scope of the MSA cover:

  • amendments to the regime underpinning slavery and human trafficking statements and 
  • the introduction of mandatory modern slavery due diligence in supply chains

The recommendations of the Select Committee follow an information gathering process which started in February 2024 with a call for evidence on the impact and effectiveness of the MSA. They are likely to influence government policy and that explains why businesses should take note now. 

All of this reflects a view that the UK’s regulatory regime for tackling modern slavery has not kept up with the advances of other nations and has become, to use the terminology from the report, “low stringency or medium stringency”. 

The full report is available here: The Modern Slavery Act 2015: becoming world-leading again

A brief summary of the key recommendations is set out below together with an overview of how other jurisdictions are tackling supply chain due diligence.

Modern Slavery Act statements

The Committee's recommendations in respect of MSA statements by businesses are:

  • “The Government should make publication of statements on its modern slavery registry mandatory, setting out the required topics for each statement to cover. This should include a description of how the organisation has assessed the effectiveness of its actions.”
  • “The Government should increase awareness amongst all companies about supply chains and publish standardised and accessible guidance for compliance with section 54.”
  • “The Government should create a summary dashboard with information including numbers of statements in total, by sector, and from organisations in scope, and examples of good and bad reporting by companies. This dashboard should be published online.”
  • “The Government should introduce proportionate sanctions for organisations that do not comply with supply chain requirements.”

Legislation requiring companies meeting the threshold to undertake modern slavery due diligence in their supply chains

On MSA supply chain due diligence, the Committee recommendations include:

  • “The Government should introduce legislation requiring companies meeting the threshold to undertake modern slavery due diligence in their supply chains and to take reasonable steps to address problems. We recommend that they consult businesses on potential changes, looking closely at the issues we have raised and giving due consideration to small and medium sized companies’ ability to meet any new requirements.”
  • “The Government should make UK due diligence law compatible with the standards of the international landscape to make compliance easier for companies.”

Recent developments in other jurisdictions

If the government acts on these recommendations then it is likely to consider equivalent regimes which have been introduced internationally.

These include:

The current UK legal requirements

Section 54 (Transparency in supply chains) of the MSA requires commercial organisations within the scope of the MSA to prepare an annual slavery and human trafficking statement. 

A commercial organisation will be within the scope of the MSA and must publish an annual statement if it:

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

For the purposes of the MSA, a slavery and human trafficking statement is:

  • a statement of the steps which the organisation has taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains and in any part of its own business or
  • a statement that the organisation has taken no such steps.

There is no legal requirement to carry out MSA supply chain due diligence. 

Further information

If you would like to discuss this update and what it means for your business, please contact any member of the Burges Salmon ESG Team or Nick Graves. 

 

Chair of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee, Baroness O’Grady of Upper Holloway, said: “When the Modern Slavery Act was passed in 2015, the UK was said to be world-leading but that is no longer the case. The UK is falling behind other countries and victims are paying the price. This is not acceptable in a decent society. We look forward to receiving the Government’s response to our report and challenge that the UK must become a world leader in the battle against modern slavery once again.”