The Modern Slavery Act 2015 is the first of its kind in Europe, and one of the first in the world, to specifically address slavery and trafficking in the 21st century.

The new legislation significantly enhances support and protection for victims, gives law enforcement the tools they need to target today’s slave drivers, ensures perpetrators can be severely punished, and includes a world-leading provision to encourage businesses to take action to ensure their end-to-end supply chains are slavery-free.

The presence of modern slavery in today’s society is an affront to the dignity and humanity of every one of us. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 is a historic milestone.

Having undergone extensive Parliamentary and public scrutiny, the Modern Slavery Act is one of the final pieces of legislation to be put on the statute books by this government.

The act will:

  • Combines and simplifies existing offences into a single act
  • Ensures that perpetrators receive suitably severe punishments for modern slavery crimes (including life sentences)
  • Enhances the court’s ability to put restrictions on individuals where it’s necessary to protect people from the harm caused by modern slavery offences
  • Creates an independent anti-slavery commissioner to improve and better coordinate the response to modern slavery
  • Introduces a defence for victims of slavery and trafficking
  • Place a duty on the secretary of state to produce statutory guidance on victim identification and victim services
  • Enables the secretary of state to make regulations relating to the identification of and support for victims
  • Makes provision for independent child trafficking advocates
  • Introduces a new reparation order to encourage the courts to compensate victims where assets are confiscated from perpetrators
  • Enables law enforcement to stop boats where slaves are suspected of being held or trafficked
  • Requires businesses over a certain size to disclose each year what action they have taken to ensure there is no modern slavery in their business or supply chains

You can click here to view the whole information about the Modern Slavery Act 2015.