Construction Industry and Modern Slavery

It has been said that the construction industry in the UK is fast turning into a sector where modern slavery thrives. According to the statistics from Charity Unseen, in 2017, of the 1300 cases of slavery reported on Britain’s anti-slavery hotline. One in eight can be traced to the construction industry.

There was a joint investigative operation into an organised crime group earlier in the year. During the investigation, it was revealed that the criminal group was trafficking Romanian citizens to exploit them in the construction sector. Also, 11 potential victims of modern slavery were identified.

In an age, where modern slavery is on the rise in the industry, companies must prepare themselves to identify, prevent and tackle modern slavery.

Modern Slavery Act Compliance

Starting from the 31st March 2019, it is compulsory for all UK businesses with a revenue of more than £36 million to have an updated modern slavery statement on their website.

The statement should be visible, and outline steps that the business took to prevent modern slavery and child labour across its supply chain in the last financial year.

The Statement

The statement should outline the following;

• The person that is responsible for anti-slavery initiatives.
• Company policies that are in place to help prevent incidents of slavery across its supply chain.
• Training on anti-slavery measures for staff.
• How the organisation monitors and manages its supply chains

Business outside the UK

The same act that mandates every business in the UK with a turnover of at least £36 million yearly to publish a statement on modern slavery on their website, also applies to Overseas companies in the same financial bracket doing business in the UK.

Outdated Modern Slavery Statement

Compliance is a big issue, and even if your business had a statement last year, it must be reviewed and updated. Failure to update the statement for the current year will put the company on the government’s list of organisation that failed to comply with the modern slavery act. 

UK ANTI-SLAVERY DAY 18TH OCTOBER 2019

Anti-Slavery Day, held yearly on the 18th October, with the aim to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery. The movement is to encourage government, local authorities, companies, charities and individuals to do what they can to address the issue. It was created by the Anti-Slavery Day Act which was introduced by Anthony Steen CBE, who is now the chair of the Human Trafficking Foundation.