The modern slavery act 2015 comes into effect end April 2016

  • It defines slavery as behaviour on part of the offender if she or he owned the victim and deprived them of their freedom
  • Servitude an obligation to provide services imposed by use of coercion including obligation on the serf to live on another’s property without option to change location
  • Forced or compulsory labour service coerced under threat of a penalty where service is not voluntary

The obligation under this act applies to:

Any organisation

Which carries on business in the UK

Has a turnover of more than £36m including subsidiaries

Companies must provide either:

A statement of the steps the organisation has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in any part of their business or supply chain

Or a statement that it has not taken any such steps

The statement must be on a prominent part of the website signed by a director

It must contain:

Its structure business and supply chains

Policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking who has the business responsibility

What the company does if a supplier has been involved in slavery

What safeguards are thee in a contract with a new supplier to ensure anti-slavery provisions are in place

What guidance is available for suppliers willing to remedy slavery or forced labour situations

What due diligence will the company commit to conducting regarding its supply chain

Identify which areas of the business could be susceptible to modern slavery and the steps taken to manage the risk

Training given to staff

Now you may think this has nothing to do with my company as our turnover is less than £35m however I would remind those companies will have to reach down their supply chain who in turn will review their chains. Therefore, you do need to be concerned about this and to think how you will respond to any requests. Please contact me at mnewman@ukemploymentlawadvice.co.uk or phone  me on 02036407748 for help in developing the statement and if required training for your staff. Don’t ignore this as pressure will force the larger companies to comply and failure to comply may affect your future business relationships could be jeopardised.

Michael Newman
NewmanHR