Modern Slavery Act: what must employers do?

A care worker threatened over their visa, a fruit picker trapped by recruitment debt, a cleaner whose passport is held by a supervisor. Modern slavery can happen inside an ordinary job. Your employer’s annual statement is no proof that you are safe, and a small business has no exemption from the criminal law.

If you think exploitation is happening at work

You do not need to decide whether it legally counts as slavery before asking for help. Describe the threats, the control and what you are owed.

1. Put safety first. Call 999 and ask for the police if you or someone else is in immediate danger. Do not confront a suspected exploiter or try to rescue someone yourself.
2. Keep evidence safely. Record hours, pay, deductions, threats, debts and who holds your documents. Save payslips, rotas and messages where the employer cannot access them. Do not risk your safety to collect more.
3. Get someone on your side. Ask Acas, Citizens Advice or a law centre for advice. Join a union and ask what help it offers with existing problems. UNISON covers care, USDAW shops and distribution, Unite and GMB hospitality and logistics, and IWGB gig workers and outsourced cleaners. The Work Rights Centre supports migrants.
4. Report serious exploitation. Outside an emergency, call police on 101 or the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700. Contact the Fair Work Agency on 0800 432 0804, through its online reporting route or at [email protected]. Calls are free and interpreters are available. Its phone hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, except public holidays, with voicemail outside those hours. Sponsored visa workers are advised to use the online route or email as quickest for investigation.
5. Ask about referral and support. Only designated first responders can refer suspected victims into the National Referral Mechanism. Adults must consent; children do not need to. Ask what referral means for your support and immigration position.
6. Protect your pay claim. Ask about deductions and minimum wage arrears. The government’s timetable confirms that Great Britain tribunal time limits increased from three to six months on 1 October 2026. Scotland’s breach-of-contract change is scheduled for 9 November 2026. Get advice on transition rules and Acas early conciliation before claiming. Do not assume an older claim is revived or wait for an investigation.

If your visa depends on the employer, get specialist immigration advice too. Do not take a boss’s threat about deportation as the truth about your rights.

The statement duty is separate from your rights at work

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 contains a reporting duty for large organisations and criminal offences. Other legislation governs pay, recruitment and labour providers. A statement does not replace those duties.

The cleaner, food packer and night-shift carer have the same protection against slavery whatever their employment status. Calling you self-employed is no defence to forced labour, although genuine self-employment means fewer pay rights.

Underpayment can be unlawful without being slavery. Threats, deception, debt and control of documents or movement can indicate coercion. Sections 1 and 2 create offences in England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legislation.

Who must publish a statement

Section 54 requires a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year, but only if the organisation passes all four tests at once. The Home Office’s statutory guidance explains how they apply:

Total turnover means the organisation’s turnover plus that of all its subsidiary undertakings, including wholly overseas ones. Calculate it after trade discounts, VAT and other sales-based taxes. Do not simply add every company sharing a parent. Each organisation must be assessed against the four tests.

A group statement must cover each qualifying entity’s steps in the relevant financial year. Guidance says to name those entities and publish on their UK websites. Each still needs the appropriate approval and signature.

Charities and investment trusts can qualify through commercial goods or services. Donations, legacies and grants without a return benefit generally do not count; conditional grants need scrutiny. Guidance excludes dividends and share income. Franchisees’ takings are not automatically the franchisor’s turnover. A qualifying franchisee must report itself.

Below £36 million total turnover, publication is voluntary, even if a large customer asks for a statement. The business still has other employer obligations.

What the statement must contain, and by when

The statement must describe steps taken during the financial year against slavery and trafficking in the organisation’s business and supply chains, or say no steps were taken. It does not certify a slavery-free business.

Section 54 lists six optional areas: structure and supply chains, policies, due diligence, risk assessment and management, effectiveness indicators, and training. They are not mandatory headings. Nor does section 54 itself require audits, supplier codes or training.

The approval and publication requirements are compulsory:

• A body corporate other than a limited liability partnership needs board approval and a director’s signature, or the equivalent.
• A limited liability partnership needs members’ approval and a designated member’s signature.
• A limited partnership needs a general partner’s signature. Other partnerships need a partner’s signature.
• An organisation with a website must publish the statement there and link to it prominently on the homepage.
• Without a website, it must supply a copy within 30 days of receiving a written request.

Prepare a statement each financial year. The Act sets no fixed publication date. Guidance says as soon as possible and at most within six months of year end, retaining previous statements online. A 31 December 2026 year end gives a 30 June 2027 target. Registry uploads are voluntary.

Overseas supply chains count too, including a hotel’s imported linen or a care chain’s recruitment arrangements. Outsourcing does not make the risks disappear.

Duties every employer owes, whatever its size

These obligations come from several laws, not section 54. Their scope depends on the work and the organisation.

• Do not enslave or traffic. In England and Wales, slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and trafficking carry a maximum of life imprisonment on indictment. Trafficking covers exploitation beyond forced labour, including sexual and criminal exploitation.
• Check employees’ right to work. Knowingly employing someone without that right, or having reasonable cause to believe they lack it, can bring up to five years in prison and an unlimited fine. Employing an illegal worker without a statutory excuse can bring a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per worker. A deficient check alone does not trigger that penalty if the person has the right to work. See GOV.UK and our right to work guide. Since 1 October 2026, SI 2026/700 replaces the IDVT framework with registered right-to-work digital verification providers. Employers relying on that route must confirm the provider’s registration. Where the provider conducts facial recognition, securely retaining both the facial images and the provider’s confirmation for at least two years after employment ends is a condition of the statutory excuse. Article 5B sets conditions for avoiding penalties within the extended liability framework for contracting chains and online matching services. The revised Code on avoiding unlawful discrimination during right-to-work checks also took effect on 1 October 2026, replacing the version effective from 6 April 2022.
• Follow agency rules. For ordinary care, warehouse and farm recruitment, agencies cannot charge work-seekers just for finding work. Employment businesses must pay for work done even if the hirer has not paid. See the Conduct Regulations guidance. Agency workers can also have conditional equal-treatment rights.
• Account for procurement rules. Since 24 February 2025, modern slavery convictions are a mandatory exclusion ground under the Procurement Act 2023. Certain labour misconduct is a discretionary ground. Authorities must assess whether circumstances continue or are likely to recur and consider remedial action. These rules concern covered procurement, not every public contract. See the Cabinet Office guidance.

Courts can make reparation orders for victims linked to confiscated assets. In England and Wales, section 45 gives some victims a defence to some offences, with conditions and exclusions. It is not blanket immunity. If forced into criminal activity, get a criminal solicitor’s advice.

Section 52’s Home Office notification duty applies to specified public authorities in England and Wales, not private employers generally. With adult consent, use an NRM referral; without consent, use the non-identifying notification route. Suspected child victims should be referred without requiring consent.

Agency staff, labour providers and gangmaster licences

Providers supplying labour into agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering, or food and drink processing and packaging normally need a gangmaster licence, subject to statutory exceptions. The Fair Work Agency guidance covers regulated UK activities, including some service contracts.

Operating without a required licence can bring up to ten years in prison on indictment. Using an unlicensed gangmaster is also an offence. The hirer’s statutory defence is that it took all reasonable steps to check the licence. A provider’s assurance is not a check: use the official licensing register route before workers start.

We advise hirers to agree no-fee recruitment terms, check deductions and speak to workers without the provider answering. These are prevention measures, not mandatory section 54 audits. Workers should keep records of umbrella deductions and seek advice on whistleblowing protection if reporting brings retaliation. Protection depends on the disclosure and your status.

Restricted access to documents or wages, housing or immigration threats, and someone speaking for workers can be warning signs. A shared address or bank account alone is not proof of trafficking.

What changed recently, and what is still promised

1. 7 Apr 2026Fair Work Agency established

   It replaced the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and Office of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement.

2. 15 Oct 2026New exploitation-spotting guidance listed

   The Fair Work Agency’s organisation page lists “Spot the signs of labour exploitation” as guidance dated 15 October 2026. This is published guidance, not a change in the law. The Agency’s exploitation-reporting routes already existed; use the contact details above to report concerns.

3. 1 Feb 2027, scheduledScotland notification duty

   The commencement regulations bring the section 38 notification duty into force for adults who have not consented to enter the National Referral Mechanism.

4. April 2027, plannedMinimum wage staff transfer

   The delivery plan schedules HMRC staff moving to the Agency. HMRC enforces under contract meanwhile. Holiday pay enforcement is expected in 2027; sick pay enforcement powers and umbrella regulation are still to come.

Scotland and Northern Ireland in brief

The section 54 statement duty is UK-wide. Scotland prosecutes slavery and trafficking under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, with prosecutions handled by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Northern Ireland has its own 2015 trafficking and exploitation Act. Victim defences and support arrangements differ, although the National Referral Mechanism operates across the UK.

Northern Ireland’s general agency rules are devolved, separately from gangmaster licensing. Wage claims go to the Industrial Tribunal. Do not automatically apply the Great Britain deadline change. See employment law in Northern Ireland and get local advice.