1. Identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery
Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)
FocusOnLabour

2. Human trafficking for labour exploitation in the UK
1107 adult potential victims of human trafficking for labour exploitation identified in 2016.
Vast majority of identified victims of labour exploitation are EEA nationals.
84% of victims of trafficking for labour exploitation are male.
Main sectors in which exploitation has been found – agriculture, food industry, factories, car washes, construction, restaurants.

3. Example – Labour exploitation in UK
Between 2011 and 2013 large numbers of Hungarian men were trafficked to the UK on the promise of good wages, housing and food in the UK. However when they arrived in West Yorkshire they found themselves in shared, cramped and squalid accommodation with dozens of others. Some were made to work a minimum of 60 hours a week and were paid as little as £2 a day. One victim tried to leave but could not because the trafficker held his national insurance and bank cards. The men worked in a bed-making factory that supplied mattresses to large UK companies such as Next and John Lewis. In January 2016 the boss of the bed-making firm was found guilty of human trafficking and sentenced to two years in prison.

4. UK labour exploitation law and policy landscape 1/2
Modern Slavery Act 2015
Consolidated and clarified criminal law on human trafficking, forced labour, slavery and servitude.
Introduced victim protection provisions (e.g. defence against prosecution)
Enabled review of the Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority
Created the Independent Anti Slavery Commissioner
Introduced the transparency in supply chains provision.

5. UK labour exploitation law and policy landscape 2/2
Immigration Act 2016
Established post of Director of Labour Market Enforcement to oversee work of: Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate; Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority; and HMRC National Minimum Wage Teams
Broadened the remit and changed name of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) to make it labour market wide;
Introduced labour market undertakings and orders, powers for GLAA
Created an ‘offence of illegal working’ aimed at undocumented workers in the UK.

6. Best practice in effective identification
In 2014 FLEX conducted comparative research with partners in the Netherlands, Romania and within UK which helped us to identify ‘best practice’ approaches to identification in the field of human trafficking for labour exploitation, through:
Pro-active labour inspection and multi-agency engagement – whilst ensuring a strict firewall with immigration enforcement;
Greater awareness of indicators of trafficking by frontline law enforcement;
Migrant community engagement in identification;
NGO engagement in identification and support for those affected.

7. Barriers to effective identification
Some of the key barriers to effective identification that FLEX identified in the 2014 research were:
Resource and remit constraints to labour inspection
Conflation of labour inspection and immigration
Lack of knowledge of indicators by frontline workers
Social normalisation of exploitation

8. Support for victims of labour exploitation
The same research looked at the support offered to trafficked persons in each project country and then compared with others across Europe:
Great progress was identified in support programmes across Europe;
Multi-agency engagement in support programmes is found to improve outcomes

9. Barriers to effective support
Key areas of concern for FLEX regarding support provision for victims of labour exploitation were:
Limited understanding amongst trafficked persons of their entitlements, of the National Referral Mechanism for victims of modern slavery – despite many being in the NRM.
Support was found to be inadequate, in time and breadth, including:
Poor psychological support, particularly for male victims;
Absence of specialist lawyers especially outside of immigration
Limited post-NRM support not helping people properly move on

10. Moving forwards on identification
FLEX has just published its first ever roadmap towards preventing exploitation in the UK labour market;
The report sets out the ways that we could improve identification of labour exploitation in the UK through:
Proactive labour inspection;
Wide reaching information and advice channels; and
Meaningful steps by business to reduce risk in supply chains

11. Identifying risk early
In ‘Risky Business’ FLEX sets out a risk matrix to guide analysis of where there is greatest risk of trafficking for labour exploitation in the labour market
Categories of risk identified by FLEX and experts with whom we consulted are as follows:
Migrant status; Unionisation; Community; Contract; Terms; Pay; Treatment; Oversight; and Welfare.

12. Working together to identify and support victims of modern slavery
Information sharing with workers about their rights and signposting workers to appropriate advice hubs;
Documenting cases and patterns of abuse to identify routes into exploitation in order to stop exploitation before it happens;
Spotting signs of vulnerability to exploitation in the individuals with whom we work and intervening to support workers before they fall victim to severe exploitation

13. Thank you! @FocusOnLabour https://www.facebook.com/FocusOnLabour/