Modern Slavery Act 2015

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) has introduced a new obligation on businesses to report what they are doing to combat slavery and human trafficking.

Section 54 of the MSA came into force in October 2015, and applies to any commercial organisation which:

• carries on all or part of its business in the UK;
• supplies goods or services; and
• has an annual turnover of over £36 million (including subsidiaries).

Commercial organisations include public and private companies and partnerships.

The MSA applies regardless of where an organisation is incorporated/domiciled and so it can apply to foreign companies as well as UK-incorporated entities.

The Home Office has published guidance, a copy of which can be found here.