The Modern Slavery Act: Does your business need to issue a statement?

The Modern Slavery Act has implications for every construction company with a turnover of over £36M.  It came into force last October, with the intention of forcing big businesses to make public their efforts to prevent the use of slave labour throughout its supply chain.

If your business is affected, you need to:

• Produce an annual Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
• Spell out the steps you have taken to ensure your organisation has complied with the requirements of the Act
• Include a link to your Statement in a prominent place on your corporate website

If your financial year has just ended, the deadline for issuing your first Statement – which needs to be approved by the Board of Directors – is 1 October 2016.

Pertinent information to include in your Statement

Current guidelines suggest the following:

1. Description of your business model and supply chain relationship;
2. Your modern slavery policies, including due diligence and auditing processes
3. Training provided for supply chain managers and the rest of your organisation
4. Evaluation and management of potential risks in your organisation and supply chain
5. Performance indicators that demonstrate the effectiveness of your policies

Hudson Contract Managing Director Ian Anfield says:  “Fifty-two victims of modern slavery were identified as coming from the construction industry in 2013 and the government has warned contractors and sub-contractors could fall prey to unscrupulous suppliers of illegal and underpaid migrant labourers.  There is also some current concern about employment conditions and production methods at brick kilns in India.”

Hudson Contract’s Statement

Hudson Contract Services Limited has given careful consideration to Section 54 “Transparency in Supply Chains” of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Our review has concluded that the services we provide are very unlikely to be affected by slavery, as are the supply chains of those we use for the purchase of administrative products or services from local businesses.