Joanne Hennessy is a partner and head of business immigration and Duncan Reed is a partner in TLT’s commercial team
Construction has long been regarded as a high-risk sector for modern slavery due to ongoing challenges such as labour and skills shortages, resulting in hiring from abroad and using temporary migrant workers.
Further evidencing the scale of the issue, a 2023 report published by the charity Unseen found that the number of modern slavery victims calling in relation to construction sites increased by 269 per cent compared with the previous year. The recent publication of Action Sustainability’s report Operational Toolkit Combatting Slavery in the Built Environment has also placed further scrutiny on this thorny topic.
“Lack of supply chain visibility is one of the biggest reasons why modern slavery is an issue in construction supply chains”
Over the years, cases have been reported of imposters presenting themselves for work at construction sites using fake identification. These situations have often been found to be tied to sinister arrangements, whereby vulnerable workers are being exploited, demonstrating that illegal working and modern slavery often go hand-in-hand. As such, it’s more important than ever for contractors to be aware of their responsibilities under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and to understand how to mitigate the risks.
The act was considered a landmark piece of legislation at the time but now risks falling behind as other jurisdictions push ahead to enhance corporate accountability in this area. This was confirmed in a House of Lords Committee report in October.
The requirement for only private companies with a turnover of more than £36m to publish an annual statement covering how they address modern slavery in their supply chains is limited in its impact and there is a call for more transparency to address concerns.
Upcoming changes?
The timescale for publication of the new Modern Slavery Bill is uncertain, but the recent Employment Rights Bill provides for the establishment of the Fair Work Agency, a new enforcement body for workers’ rights including certain elements of the Modern Slavery Act.
It is also anticipated that the Home Office will be issuing further guidance on how to comply with the transparency requirements in reporting on what organisations are doing to manage the risk of modern slavery in their supply chains.
Likely developments include extending the reporting requirement to public sector bodies and mandating submission of annual statements to a central registry (whereas publication in the registry is currently voluntary).
Conducting thorough and diligent right to work checks against all employees, regardless of their nationality, is a legal requirement and an important step in combating modern slavery.
Lack of supply chain visibility is one of the biggest reasons why modern slavery is an issue in construction supply chains. While businesses are only required to do checks against their own workers and not subcontractor staff, it is still worth contractors taking steps to contract responsibly and mitigate risks of illegal working.
They can do this by performing background checks against their supply chain; undertaking possible spot checks on right to work checks and/or reviewing all checks completed; reviewing payment arrangements to workers; and conducting annual surveys of those engaged in the supply chain to test their understanding of and compliance with immigration duties.
There are other steps contractors can take to limit the risk of hiring someone illegally. For example, checking bank account details and ensuring the person receiving the salary is the person coming to work; and verifying an individual’s experience and qualifications.
Sensible, routine steps from contractors can reduce the risk of illegal working, which will help combat modern slavery. Being alive to the indicators and taking an active interest in the supply chain can go a long way to narrowing the opportunities for workers to be exploited.
