Acting on Modern Slavery – Government Set to Name and Shame Non-Compliant Businesses

Modern slavery is still a big issue in the UK. Today, thousands of people are being subject to forced labour, abuse and exploitation.

As a recruitment business, we believe that it is our responsibility to help end this, and it’s a responsibility we take very seriously.

The UK Government is also taking this seriously. At the end of March 2019, it’s going to name and shame the big organisations in the UK who aren’t taking steps to tackle this problem.

In this post, we explore what’s happening, and readdress what we are doing at Prestige to stamp out modern slavery, people trafficking and exploitation forever.

Naming and Shaming

In October 2018, the government issued letters to more than 17,000 businesses across the UK on the subject. These businesses have been identified as “Obligated Entities” – defined as organisations who have an annual global turnover of more than £36 million.

Since 2015, these organisations have been obliged to publish a Modern Slavery Statement. This outlines the steps they have taken and are planning to take to prevent modern slavery in their businesses and throughout their supply chains.

Now, those businesses who fail to meet the minimum requirement will be ‘named and shamed’ – with their names published as being in breach of the law.

Up until now, just 60% of businesses required to publish a Modern Slavery Statement have done so. Whilst there are many examples of good practice, many of the statements fail to meet the basic requirements.

What Businesses Need to Do

If your business is an Obligated Entity – you have until 31st March to 2019 to draft/update and publish a statement that complies with the guidelines. Thankfully, the process is fairly simple:

  1. Nominate a senior employee to draft or update the statement.
  2. Draft the statement – guidelines of what to include can be found here.
  3. Ensure that the statement is approved by the board, signed by a director and published on the website, with a prominent link on the homepage
  4. Register and upload the statement to the government contact database before March 31st 2019

Prestige Recruitment on Modern Day Slavery

At Prestige, we know that unfortunately, many of the industries we recruit in are those where candidates may be at heightened risk of exploitation.

We’re resolutely committed to protecting every single individual that comes through our door and have invested heavily in both our systems and staff training to help minimise the risk of human trafficking and modern slavery.

Robust Systems

This protection starts the moment candidates come through our doors – with safeguarding and thorough vetting procedures specifically designed to minimise risk and prevent out candidates from becoming victims.

Our compliance team checks data weekly to identify potential issues and raise concerns. If we have any concern that exploitation may be occurring, this is investigated fully and reported wherever appropriate.

Our goal is to make our candidates harder targets, and we work closely with organisations across the UK in the development of our systems. These organisations include:

Ongoing training

We invest heavily in staff training, helping our team members to understand how to spot the warning signs and ensuring that every business we work with is committed to working ethically, we aim to make it as difficult as possible for criminals to target people.

At the end of 2018, we took the team to Tackle Modern Slavery in UK Businesses - a full day workshop run by Stronger Together.

Additional information about our approach and systems can be found on our Modern Day Slavery Statement.

Ethical recruitment support from Prestige

At Prestige, we’re 100% committed to our candidates - ensuring that they only work in safe, positive and fair working environments, free from exploitation and trafficking.

Additional information about the way we work, our industry accreditations, awards and association memberships can be found at https://www.prestige-recruitment.com/about-us. Alternatively, for more about how we can help your organisation source the right talent your business needs, please get in touch with your local Prestige Recruitment office today. With offices in Hull, , Leeds, Huddersfield and Norwich we are able to offer assistance to most employers in the north. 

 

Posted: Tue 26 Mar 2019
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