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ARTICLE · 23 FEBRUARY 2017

Slavery In The UK Construction Industry - A Modern Problem?

Gowling WLG
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The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the Act) was the UK's latest step towards eliminating slavery, in all its forms. Since then, many UK construction companies have reviewed their own businesses...

European UnionReal Estate and Construction
Andreas Steffensen
Andreas Steffensen
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The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the Act) was the UK's latest step towards eliminating slavery, in all its forms. Since then, many UK construction companies have reviewed their own businesses and supply chains and published statements about the approach they have taken, with the aim of ensuring that modern slavery, including human trafficking, is not taking place within their business or supply chain.

What do you need to know about the Act, and what more can be done to prevent human rights abuses on sites and in the construction supply chain?

The Home Office estimates that there are between 10,000 and 13,000 victims of modern slavery in the UK, with 45 million estimated victims across the world. Worryingly, some consider the UK estimate to be a conservative one. The construction sector employs a significant proportion of the global workforce (estimated, for example, at 7% by Building and Woodworkers International) and it is one of the sectors identified as high risk

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