Sir Mo Farah recently revealed that he was brought to the UK illegally as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant. As reported in the BBC documentary Sir Mo says he wants to tell his story to challenge public perceptions of trafficking and slavery. By sharing his story Sir Mo has prompted reflection on what can be done to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK.
Modern slavery is defined as requiring another person to perform forced or compulsory labour and it is closely connected to Human Trafficking. Human Trafficking is the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of people through the use of force, coercion, abuse of vulnerability, deception or other means for the purpose of exploitation. These are both offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Section 1 and 2).
Some organisations are already required to publish an annual Modern Slavery Statement. Section 54 (Transparency in Supply Chains) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 sets out who is required to publish an annual statement. Your organisation should publish an annual statement on your UK website and on the Modern slavery statement registry if all the below criteria 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
Modern Slavery Statements need to be published annually usually within 6 months of your organisation’s financial year-end.
However, organisations can also voluntarily publish annual statements on the registry. This is something that organisations may want to consider as part of their environmental and social (E&S) policies.
The Home Office’s statutory guidance recommends that you cover the following 6 areas in your statement:
- Organisation structure and supply chains
- Policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking
- Due diligence processes
- Risk assessment and management
- Key performance indicators to measure effectiveness of steps being taken
- Training on modern slavery and trafficking
The Statement should be written in clear language that is accessible to members of the public.
An important part of considering how your organisation contributes to preventing modern slavery and human trafficking is ensuring your organisation’s recruitment processes are fair and comply fully with the required Home Office right to work checks to confirm that all prospective employees are legally entitled to work in the UK.
If an organisation fails to produce a slavery and human trafficking statement for a particular financial year, the Secretary of State may seek a court order requiring the organisation to comply. If the organisation fails to comply with the court order they can be punished by an unlimited fine.
If you need assistance on determining whether your organisation needs to publish a Modern Slavery Statement or assistance with drafting a Modern Day Slavery statement you should contact our specialist Immigration team on 03330 430350 for further information and advice.
