ACS is supporting the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on December 2nd. This yearly event is an opportunity to raise awareness of Modern Slavery, promote how incidents can be reported and highlight the ways in which the Government is tackling the issue.
In 2015, the UK Parliament passed the world’s first Modern Slavery Act, committing to a cross-government effort to crack down on domestic and international supply chains that benefit from modern slavery. In the UK, 13,000 people are thought to be victims of modern slavery, but the true figure is likely to be higher, according to the National Crime Agency.
The UK Government has also announced a further £40m to go towards projects in areas where human trafficking and slavery are commonplace.
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires retailers with an annual turnover above £36 million to publish an annual Modern Slavery Statement. A Modern Slavery Statement should outline the steps a retailer has taken to ensure modern slavery is not evident in both their business or supply chains. This is intended to increase transparency by ensuring stakeholders to any given business are aware of the actions in place to tackle modern slavery.
ACS has created guidance for retailers on writing Modern Slavery Statements, which is available here.
