Modern Slavery
Did you know?
- Modern Slavery happens all around the UK.
- Modern slavery includes human trafficking, slavery, domestic servitude, forced or compulsory labour and sexual and criminal exploitation.
- According to the Home Office, there were:
- 10,616 potential victims of modern slavery cases in 2019 which increased to 17,004 in 2023.
- 76% cases involved male victims and 24% victims were female
What is Modern Slavery?
Modern slavery is an umbrella term that encompasses human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsive labour. It is a crime and violates human rights. Human trafficking is the movement of people by means such as force, fraud or deception with the aim of exploiting them. Remember human trafficking is not the same as human smuggling. It is this misconception that leads people to think that human trafficking is less likely to happen within the UK. This guidance is in relation to adults who are at risk of or are experiencing modern slavery and applies to adults who are over the age of 18 and have care and support needs. They may be at risk of abuse and neglect and may not be able to protect themselves.
Trafficking is a violation of the victim’s rights. Trafficking in adults is:
- The act: recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons.
- The means: threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability; the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person.
- The purpose: exploitation.
Trafficking people is a criminal offence. The fact that the adult consented to the intended exploitation is irrelevant where any of the means (above) have been used. Trafficking of children requires only the "act" and "purpose" above. The "means" does not have to be evidenced.
Other forms of exploitation may also include organ removal, forced begging, forced benefit fraud and forced marriage.
Who may be the potential victims?
Modern slavery is a form of abuse under Care Act 2014. Potential victims may be adults with care and support needs who need more help to stay safe and may include people:
- with different types of disabilities – like physical and learning
- with mental health needs
- who are ill for a long time
- who have memory loss or dementia
- who are dependent on drug and alcohol
- who are frail
What are the possible indicators of abuse?
Professionals should be aware of the signs that a potential victim of modern slavery could be exhibiting. This will also support them to remain professionally curious. Along with poor eye contact, poor physical appearance/hygiene and inappropriate clothing of a potential victim, below are some of the other signs you may come across:
Indicators of trafficking
- distrustful of authorities
- expression of fear or anxiety
- signs of psychological trauma (including post-traumatic stress disorder)
- unable to make their own decisions- the person acts as if instructed by another
- have injuries/ medical issues
- lack of access to medical care
- found in or connected to a type of location likely to be used for exploitation
- restriction of movement and confinement to the workplace or to a limited area
- passport or ID documents held by someone else
- limited social contact and limited contact with family
- does not know their home or work address
- perception of being bonded by debt
- money is deducted from salary for food or accommodation
- threat of being handed over to authorities
- threats against the individual or their family members
- being placed in a dependency situation
- no or limited access to bathroom or hygiene facilities
Indicators of forced labour
- employer or manager unable to produce ID documents or provide record of wages paid to workers
- excessive wage reductions or no wages paid
- poor or non-existent health and safety equipment or no health and safety notices
- any other evidence of labour laws being breached
- dependence on employer for a number of services for example work, transport and accommodation
- any evidence workers are required to pay for tools, food or accommodation via deductions from their pay
- imposed place of accommodation
- lack of access to medical care
Indicators of domestic servitude
- living with and working for a family in a private home
- not eating with the rest of the family or being given only leftovers to eat
- no proper sleeping place or sleeping in shared space for example the living room
- no personal space
- forced to work in excess of normal working hours or being 'on-call' 24 hours per day
- employer reports them as a missing person
- employer accuses person of theft or other crime related to the escape
- never leaving the house without employer
- isolated
- lack of access to medical care
Indicators of sexual exploitation
- adverts for sexual services offering women from particular ethnic or national groups
- sleeping on work premises
- movement of women between brothels or working in alternate locations
- women with very limited amounts of clothing or a large proportion of their clothing is 'sexual'
- only being able to speak sexual words in local language or language of client group
- having tattoos or other marks indicating 'ownership' by their exploiters
- person forced, intimidated or coerced into providing services of a sexual nature
- person subjected to crimes such as abduction, assault or rape
- someone other than the potential victim receives the money from clients
- health symptoms (including sexual health issues)
- signs of ritual abuse
- substance misuse/ other medical issues
What do I do after I identify a "possible" victim of trafficking?
Under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 local authorities have a legal duty to report cases of suspected victims of slavery or human trafficking to the Home Office and are referred to as a ‘first responder’. You can read more about the Modern Slavery: how to identify and support victims statutory guidance.
- If a first responder identifies a potential adult victim of modern slavery they should follow the local safeguarding procedures and raise a safeguarding concern using the online form. (Please also refer to ‘Notifying the Home Office section’). Where consent has been given, it is important to keep the person at the centre of a safeguarding enquiry and be consulted in accordance with the Making Safeguarding Personal approach in the statutory guidance of the Care Act 2014.
- Where there is risk of immediate harm to the potential victim, the police should be contacted on 999.
- If the concern is about a child, they do not need to consent to the referral into the NRM. Contact Children's Services on 020 7527 7400 and request a social worker to complete the NRM referral form. Unaccompanied child victims of trafficking need specific assistance and support due to their situation and particular vulnerability.
As well as local authorities, there are other agencies who are empowered to report the victims circumstances themselves to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and also referred to as first responders. The NRM is a Home Office framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support.
Other first responders include, Barnardo's, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), Home Office, Local authorities, Kalayaan, Migrant help, Medaille Trust, National Crime Agency, New Pathways Refugee Council, Salvation Army, Unseen, NSPCC, New Pathways, UK police forces UK Border agency and the Visas &Immigration service.
If you are not a first responder, refer to your local safeguarding guidance around reporting modern slavery cases.
Discussing the situation or seeking advice from a specialist agency may be useful. The Salvation Army has been commissioned by the government to provide specialist support including safe housing to victims. They can be contacted on their 24-hour helpline Telephone: 0800 808 3733.
You can also contact the Modern Slavery and Exploitation Helpline on 0800 0121 700 or email NRM@modernslavery.gov.uk for further advice and support.
Professionals should work collaboratively with a view to prevent modern slavery in all forms, thus multi-agency working is fundamental to ensure that victims are identified, protected and safeguarded.
Notifying the Home Office
Referral with consent- Consent must be obtained from the person to refer them to the NRM. Once consent has been agreed, first responders should report the case to the Home Office following the Report modern slavery link. You should not assume that other parties will make the referral if they are already involved. The online process allows first responders to submit to a section of the National Crime Agency called the National Referral Mechanism, (NRM). This is the national framework for identifying and referring victims of modern slavery. All NRM referrals should also be made to the police.
Non-consent and Duty to Notify (DtN)- Where the adult does not give consent to raise the referral, you MUST STILL refer them under the Duty to Notify regulations 2015 following the same link as above, Report modern slavery. The notification must not include information that identifies the victim or enables the victim to be identified if they have not consented to the referral. The anonymous information provided should include any relevant non-personal information which may help the police to investigate the crime.
How long will I have to complete the notification?
This information should be provided as soon as practicable. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, this should be within a month of encountering a victim.
Where a victim needs assistance it is essential to access help from the Salvation Army in the first instance. The Salvation Army has a dedicated team to support with completing the NRM notifications. Please refer to section 7 of the Modern Slavery guidance for more information around the decision making from NRM.
What happens once a referral has been made?
Once the NRM receive a referral they will make a reasonable grounds decision as to whether the individual is a victim of trafficking or not within 5 days. The NRM will continue to convene their investigation known as ‘recovery and reflective period’. Following a reasonable grounds decision, a potential victim will receive a recovery period of at least 30 calendar days and will be able to receive support. They will make a final decision regarding whether there is sufficient evidence of trafficking usually after a minimum of 45 days. During this time the victim is eligible for help from the Salvation Army which includes longer term planning/advice.
Note:
- be aware that the individual may not realise he /she is a possible victim of trafficking. For example, sex workers may believe they are in love with their trafficker; may have feelings of dependency towards the perpetrator or may be accepting of their situation. They may not realise that their treatment is abusive or potentially criminal
- the alleged perpetrator may have threatened the individual (or the individual's family) with violence or financial repercussions if the individual exposes the trafficking to the authorities
- the victim may have been through various levels of trauma. Any professional interaction with them should be treated as an opportunity to help them progress towards long term stability
- it is possible for workers to challenge an NRM decision either provisional or final if they believe certain relevant factors have not been properly considered/ taken account of. It may be helpful to discuss the decision and reasons for challenging it with the NRM or Salvation Army or seek legal advice
What should I do if the adult lacks mental capacity to consent to be referred to the NRM?
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 starting point is the assumption that all adults have the capacity to make decisions for themselves. You should presume that an individual has capacity to consent to a referral to the NRM. BUT If there is a reasonable belief that the person lacks capacity to make an informed decision (unable to use, retain or weigh up the information to consent to a referral), you should make a best interests decision and refer to the NRM on behalf of the individual. You MUST also complete a capacity assessment. Remember- capacity is time and decision specific.
What help is available for historic trafficking?
An individual can be referred into the NRM even if he/she is no longer being trafficked, provided there is evidence that he/she has been trafficked in the past.
What happens if the person is identified as a victim of trafficking?
Each case will be dealt with individually, depending on the victim's individual circumstances, level of trauma that has been suffered and level of need.
The Salvation Army also provides support for asylum seekers who have been a victim of modern slavery. If the victim wishes to remain in this country, the Salvation Army can provide practical assistance, such as help with applying for benefits, housing etc. If a victim wishes to return to their own country, the Salvation Army can also assist with this.
What happens if the person is not identified as a victim of trafficking?
If, after the recovery and reflection period has expired, the individual is not identified as a victim of trafficking, there is no obligation, either centrally or locally, to continue providing assistance and support to that person (unless there are other statutory obligations to do so). Remember to record your decisions, reasons for your decisions and any action taken.
Training
The Home Office has launched a Modern Slavery Training programme for First Responders that provides guidance on how to spot the signs of modern slavery, and what to do when you come across a potential victim of modern slavery. This can be accessed here. You are encouraged to complete this online training.
Local authority staff can also access the First Responders role and responsibilities for modern day slavery concerns via the MyLearning portal.
If you are not a first responder you can also access Islington Councils e-learning Modern Day Slavery and Human trafficking training.
Useful links and resources
Mental Capacity Act 2005
Modern slavery awareness booklet - GOV.UK
National Referral Mechanism Guidance
Modern+Slavery+Statutory+Guidance+_
Skills for Care videos to support health and social care employers, especially when recruiting internationally.
