The UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the Act) addresses slavery and
human trafficking and imposes obligations on companies to increase
accountability on the practices in their supply chains. Modern
slavery is defined in the Act as slavery, servitude, forced or
compulsory labour and human trafficking.
The legislation puts the onus on transparency, requiring
companies to be open about what they are doing to tackle modern
slavery and human trafficking.
Which companies does the Act apply to?
The Act requires companies to publish certain information
regarding modern slavery. The obligation is imposed on
companies/partnerships having a global annual turnover of
£36m or more which do business in the UK. Note that this is
not limited to companies that are incorporated in the UK; it
applies to all businesses providing goods or services within the
UK. As such, overseas parent companies having a subsidiary in the
UK will also be subject to the Act, unless the subsidiary is
