The devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit the most vulnerable workers the hardest. The sad reality is that many workers around the world have been left more vulnerable to the risks of modern slavery than ever before and with the deterioration of the labour market.  

Amongst many crucial issues, the global Black Lives Matter movement is reminding the world of the horrors of slavery during the 19th century. As we re-educate ourselves with the details of slavery in the past it is also vital to apply the lessons learnt to modern slavery today. This is an opportunity to place tougher measures on companies to report and increase transparency so we get full visibility of the hidden people within our supply chains and work to bring more than 40 million people out of modern slavery today.

Five years ago, the UK Modern Slavery Act (s.54) set out the requirement for businesses with a turnover of over £36million to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to identify and address their modern slavery risks. The UK Government has recently issued guidance for businesses in relation to addressing and reporting on modern slavery risks during the coronavirus pandemic. They state that during the coronavirus pandemic, it is essential that businesses continue their activity to identify and address risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. As well as focusing on the health and safety of their workers, businesses will need to consider how fluctuations in demand and changes in their operating model may lead to new or increased risks of labour exploitation.

The modern slavery statements of 2020 will be a true test of the effectiveness of existing programmes and enable companies to show how they have monitored risks and adapted activities and priorities in response. In order to report effectively, the government is allowing a delay of up to 6 months for the publication of your modern slavery statement due to coronavirus-related pressures (e.g. reduced staff capacity) and should state the reason for any delay.

However, this guidance was not only about how you should disclose this year, but also what you should be mindful of and focussing on to ensure workers in your supply chain are protected. The UK Government have four key areas of focus in the guidance:

The health and safety of workers

It is important that the relevant local or national government policies are implemented throughout the supply chain. This may include adopting social distancing measures and paying statutory sick pay in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

As workplaces around the world begin to open up, the International Labour organisation released detailed ‘safe return to work’ guidance. Here are some of the safe return to work steps advised by the ILO:

• Adopt engineering, organisational and administrative measures

• Health surveillance

• Consider other hazards, including psychosocial

• Review emergency preparedness plans

• Review and update preventive and control measures as the situation evolves

Supporting suppliers

Businesses should prioritise engagement with suppliers, including paying for orders already in production where possible. Whilst some previously placed orders may no longer be required, late cancellations can lead to workers not receiving wages for work they have completed.

The fashion and apparel sector is a good example of where a sector was divided on how it treated it suppliers. H&M is an example of a company that showed transparency and committed to paying for orders placed before the pandemic. However a study found that 40% made no public commitment to pay in full for completed orders.

Grievance procedures

It is important that workers are still able to access grievance procedures and that new or adapted procedures are made available where necessary.

An example of why this is important: As workplaces have shifted due to the pandemic and many employees are dispersed, companies should continue to ensure access to independent and effective grievance mechanisms. In addition, there should be an emphasis on remote access due to the restrictions on face-to-face meetings. In light of COVID-19, grievance mechanisms are increasingly important as a route to report employers who fail to support employees against the virus.

Recruitment

Some suppliers may be seeking to recruit additional workers in order to meet increases in demand. Businesses should ensure that they, and their suppliers, are maintaining rigorous checks during the recruitment process to ensure that vulnerable workers are not being exploited by third parties seeking to profit from heightened demand.

You can learn more about the work of the Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment and how you can identify and remediate issues of exploitation in the recruitment process. Read their 2019-2020 strategic plan here.

In March of this year, the UK Government became the first government to publish their own modern slavery statement, outlining what they are doing to tackle the risk of modern slavery in their supplier chain. The statement sets out the government’s efforts towards eradicating modern slavery from its own £50 billion supply chains. It includes:

• Supplier engagement with around 400 suppliers

• Conducting training to over 250 staff

• Setting goals and targets, including ministerial departments having their own statements from 2020/2021.

KPIs

To show progress in these identified four key areas, companies are required to track the effectiveness of steps taken to manage modern slavery by reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs). To date, this requirement has been the least well addressed by modern slavery statements. In 2017, only 10% provided one measurable indicator and this has not increased significantly.

Many organisations are recognising the need to review and update current KPIs to demonstrate the improvement and development made in preventing modern slavery in supply chains.

Tesco’s modern slavery statement is a clear example of progress. It‘s first statement in 2016 referred to impact and monitoring but with a limited number of KPI’s. In the early days, Tesco focused only on training and auditing suppliers. Today, Tesco sets out more than 10 reported measures which range from training programs, to increasing the reach of toolkits, to carrying out a human rights impact assessments. In addition, it reports on the status of progress with a traffic light system. Burberry is another example of improved KPIs when comparing its statements. In 2020, Burberry included an additional focus on worker voice and disclosed the number of grievance calls received – a KPI not previously tracked.

As COVID brings unseen business challenges, companies should not derail from modern slavery requirements. They should focus on these fragile areas that have been highlighted by the pandemic and continue to develop KPIs to ensure that vulnerable workers are protected.

Get in touch

To explore how to identify and address the risks of modern slavery in and connected to your business, please get in touch with Georgie Erangey. BRODIE has a wealth of experience supporting clients to manage these issues and effectively communicate to meet multiple stakeholder needs.

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