Preparing a Modern Slavery Statement

In our series on Modern Slavery, we’ve already explored how to spot signs of modern slavery and now we’re exploring what organisations need to include when preparing a modern slavery statement.

In 2015, the UK became the first country in the world to require businesses to report on their processes and progress on identifying and assessing risks to prevent modern slavery in their own operations and within their supply chains.  As part of that legislation, certain organisations are required to produce and publish a Modern Slavery Statement.

For qualifying organisations statements must be prepared and published annually.  Statements must set out the steps the organisation is taking to prevent modern slavery within their business and supply chains.

Is my organisation required to publish a modern slavery statement?

You must produce and publish a modern slavery statement if all of the following criteria apply to your organisation.

The organisation;

• is a supplier of goods or services
• is a body corporation or partnership, regardless of its area of incorporation
• has operations, either in whole or in part, in the UK
• has an annual turnover equal to or in excess of £36 million

What does it need to include?

The statement should include all of the steps the organisation has put in place to identify and assess risks of modern slavery within its operations and supply chains during the previous qualifying period.  If your organisation has not made any progress or implemented any steps with regards to modern slavery, you must still publish a statement which identifies this.

The statement should cover;

• the organisational structure, its business and its supply chain
• any policies in place regarding slavery and human trafficking
• any associated risk assessments and how they are managed
• details of due diligence measures in its own operations and its supply chain
• any internal or external training on modern slavery and human trafficking that is available and provided to employees
• areas of the business where risk has been identified and measures taken to assess and manage those risks
• details of all KPIs which monitor and report on the effectiveness of these measures

The company’s modern slavery statement must be approved by its Board of Directors (or equivalent managing body) and must then be signed by a director (or equivalent) or designated member (for LLPs), including their name, job title and the date.

For further details on what your statement should include, download the Government Statutory Guidance: Slavery & Human Trafficking in Supply Chains

Where and when to publish your statement

Statements must be prepared and published annually.  There is now a shared reporting period for all organisations and a single reporting deadline.  The reporting period runs from 1^st April to 31^st March and organisations have 6 months from the end of that period to prepare and file their statement, with a universal deadline for publication of 30^th September.

Once your annual statement is prepared and signed, it should be published on your Company website, with a prominent link to it on your homepage.  It should also be added to the Home Office Government Modern Slavery Statement Registry.  Here you can add a summary of your report and key information about your organisation.

If your company needs HR support, including preparing a modern slavery statement, Vero HR can help. We can provide you with dedicated HR support services to effectively manage your workforce and assist with your organisation’s HR requirements. Contact us to find out how we can help.