UK Modern Slavery Act Compliance
The UK Modern Slavery Act requires companies doing business in the UK to prepare and publish a statement of the steps they have taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in the business or in the companies’ supply chains.
Meeting the Transparency Requirements of the UK Modern Slavery Act
The UK Modern Slavery Act was enacted in 2015 to create more transparency throughout organisational supply chains to uncover modern slavery abuses and human trafficking. Companies that do business in the United Kingdom with an annual global turnover of £36 million or more are subject to the act and its Transparency in Supply Chain (TISC) clause. To comply, organisations are required to develop and publish a modern slavery act statement in the form of an annual report outlining the steps taken to combat human trafficking and modern slavery throughout its entire supply chain.
Modern slavery act statement examples include information on refinements to organizational structures, policies and procedures, and supply chain management that aim to eliminate all forms of modern slavery and human trafficking. These statements are to be published annually and available on the company’s website. If an organization has taken no specific steps to ensure slavery and human trafficking free business practices, they must explicitly state so in their statement. Modern slavery act compliance program requirements are unique in that they are designed to encourage better business practices through transparency. Enforcement therefore is driven by informing public, consumer, employee and investor groups that demand more from the businesses they work with.
Organizations need to develop an annual report detailing the company’s steps taken to mitigate the risk of modern slavery abuse within the organization and throughout its supply chain.
Employees and third-party partners throughout the supply chain need to be educated on their responsibilities regarding modern slavery and human trafficking.
Robust internal reporting systems allow for employees and third parties to report incidents that conflict with the organization’s modern slavery act compliance program.
Managing third-party risk starts with properly vetting potential partners before they are embedded into the corporate supply chain. Effective third-party risk due diligence ensures vendors that do not align with the company’s UK Modern Slavery Act practices never represent the organization.
Update your corporate code of conduct to explicitly state the organization’s commitment against modern slavery abuses and human trafficking.
Implement policies and procedures that align and support your corporate modern slavery act statement.
Offer multiple whistleblower reporting methods, including a compliance hotline, to ensure the entire workforce has the ability to report incidents that could compromise the organization’s ability to deliver on its commitment.
Provide compliance training to your workforce and third-party network to ensure compliance throughout the organization and supply chain.
Employ robust third-party risk due diligence and monitoring to ensure your supply chain operates with business practices consistent with organizational standards and regulations.
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