The Government has published updated statutory guidance for organisations on how to ensure that modern slavery is not taking place in their business or supply chains.

The Guidance focuses particularly on section 54 Modern Slavery Act 2015, which requires commercial organisations operating in the UK with a turnover of £36 million or more to produce an annual modern slavery statement, setting out the steps they have taken to manage modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains.

Last year, the House of Lords’ Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee produced a report in which, among other things, it commented on the “inconsistent quality and content of modern slavery statements [which] obfuscates the transparency section 54 was intended to provide”. It suggested that this might be the result of insufficient guidance, something that the Government picked up on in its response to the report, stating that already work was underway to update the Section 54 statutory guidance.

The new Guidance is the result of those efforts. In addition to setting out practical information about how to comply with the section 54 requirement (under headings of “the what, who, how, and when”), it provides more detailed advice on the contents of modern slavery statements, broken down according to the six statutory requirements in section 54(4) of the Act. Recommendations are also divided between so-called ‘level 1’ and ‘level 2’ disclosures: the former being more appropriate for those organisations drafting modern slavery statements for the first time; the latter for those more familiar with reporting requirements.

1. Organisational structure, its business and its supply chains

At the most basic level, organisations are advised to describe the organisation’s structure, including its size, the countries it operates in, and its different trading entities. Similarly, they should provide an overview of the supply chain structure, detailing the countries in which the supply chains operate, and how goods/services are sourced, produced, and distributed. Organisations should also explain what they do not know in relation to their supply chains, and outline their plans to improve their knowledge by, for example, mapping additional supply chains.

2. Organisation Policies

Organisations should provide a summary of their internal operating policies relevant to modern slavery. The list of policies that should be included is relatively broad, covering everything from employee and supplier codes of conduct to policies on freedom of movement and compulsory overtime. Statements should also set out how organisations communicate and enforce their policies within their organisation and to suppliers/subcontractors.

3. Due Diligence

A Statement should summarise the “actions, programmes and initiatives undertaken to cease and prevent modern slavery and mitigate specific modern slavery risks in the organisation’s operations and supply chains”. In addition, evidence should be supplied of efforts to engage and collaborate with suppliers and workers to implement such programmes, as well as to provide workers with grievance mechanisms and other means to report concerns. A range of steps that organisations should take to ensure responsible recruitment is provided, as is guidance on developing effective remediation approaches.

4. Assessing and Managing Risk

The Guidance sets out what is expected of organisations as they conduct modern slavery risk assessments, stressing that they should not be limited to identifying the risks to direct suppliers of modern slavery, but instead should be focussed on the whole business’s exposure, including indirect suppliers. Statements should include information about how modern slavery risks are identified for the purpose of risk assessments, how frequently assessments are reviewed and updated, and what steps are being taken to prevent and mitigate risks.

5. Training

Organisations are expected to “provide an outline of the training that is delivered to internal and external stakeholders to support the organisation’s response to modern slavery”. Details should be provided of the content, objective and outcomes of the training, as well as whether it was developed and delivered internally or by an external organisation. The Guidance also recommends that training should be targeted to different groups depending on their responsibilities and exposure to risk.

6. Monitoring and Evaluation

Finally, the Guidance states that organisations should set goals – accompanied by “outcome focused KPIs” – to ensure that they continue to make progress in identifying, preventing, and responding to modern slavery. Statements should include examples of how an organisation has altered practices as a result of its findings and set out any “success stories”, together with plans to improve monitoring and evaluation in the future.

To read the Guidance in full, click here.