New modern slavery guidance: here’s all you need to know

Despite a concerted effort from the government over the past decade, modern slavery remains a significant issue here in the UK. In 2022, 16,938 potential victim referrals went to the Home Office – a 33% increase on 2021 figures. On the one hand, this is positive news, as more referrals mean greater awareness. But you can’t help but question how such blatant breaches of human rights are able to persist in the present day. 

The truth is that cases of modern slavery can be hard to spot. Think of it this way. Large companies will have thousands of connections across all corners of the planet. Every activity spanning their entire supply chain could contain breaches. Even if an organisation prides itself on treating everyone with the utmost care and respect, it’s all too easy for something to slip through the net when you aren’t looking.

Without proper oversight and awareness, preventing modern slavery remains a huge challenge for organisations. Logistically, it’s a minefield. Which brings us to what the government is doing about it.

To lift modern slavery up the agenda, the government released PPN 02/03, which comes into effect as of April 2023. It provides in-depth guidance on how in-scope organisations – and everyone else – can take a more ‘proactive approach’ to prevent modern slavery. Today, we want to break down the document a little further and see how this can apply to you.

From the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to PPN 02/03

The Modern Slavery Act made great strides in tackling the issue back in 2015. It consolidated all facets of slavery and trafficking into a singular act. And in doing so, it introduced proportionate punishments for perpetrators and provided better support for victims.

The offences that combine to make up the Modern Slavery Act are:

• Slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour
• Human trafficking
• All types of exploitation – whether that’s labour, domestic, sexual, criminal, or organ harvesting
• Anyone aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring such an offence

The act also introduced an obligation for businesses with an annual turnover of £36 million or more to produce a modern slavery statement. Within this, they must disclose that their operations and supply chains are free of modern slavery and show how they’re working to keep them this way. However, in 2022, only 29% of in-scope organisations submitted such a statement. Which may have been a factor in the government’s introduction of PPN 02/03.

What is PPN 02/03?

PPN 02/03 – Tackling Modern Slavery in Government Supply Chains – is an in-depth guide. It sets out four activity areas to help in-scope organisations better understand, identify, and remove modern slavery from their supply chains.

While it’s aimed at procurement and commercial practitioners within government, the guidance also applies to the wider public sector. It holds relevant and actionable advice for the private, voluntary, and charitable sectors, too.

A risk-based approach to modern slavery

At the heart of this new guidance is the need for buyers to take a risk-based approach to combating modern slavery. It’s up to those involved in procurement to allocate their time and resources to the suppliers where risks are highest.

Sectors such as construction, electronics manufacturing, textiles, and healthcare are identified as high-risk. But you can find a full breakdown of how to assign risk to your contracts in Section 2 of the document.

Once you’ve assigned risk to procurements, the guidance suggests you take proportionate precautions and action.

• If a procurement is low risk – “it is unlikely that criteria related to tackling workforce inequality would be relevant or proportionate. However, low risk is not the same as no risk, therefore you may still want to consider some award criteria for modern slavery.” 
• If a procurement is medium risk – “the social value model criteria is likely to be relevant and proportionate and should be considered by the contracting authority.” 
• If a procurement is high risk – “the social value model criteria must be selected and should be supplemented with the advice contained in this guide.”

Contracting authorities should treat all suppliers equally when it comes to assessing modern slavery risk. But a blanket approach could place extra hurdles and barriers for SMEs and VCSEsbidding for your contracts. So some extra nuance is needed to ensure a fair yet accessible approach.

What actions do you need to take?

The guidance suggests four areas of action you can take now:

Identifying and managing risks in new procurements

For upcoming contracts, you’ll want to update all processes and documentation in line with the guide. You’ll also want to create a process for assigning risk to new procurements, and act accordingly to this risk level moving forward. Finally, evolve your contract management processes to ensure the right level of oversight and care continues as contracts progress.

Assess existing contracts

For existing contracts, you’ll want to perform similar risk assessments. If appropriate, you’ll also want to invite suppliers to complete the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool. As well as applying stronger contract management to manage risks on an ongoing basis and support suppliers.

Taking action when victims of modern slavery are identified

If issues arise, continue to work with your suppliers to find a resolution and guide them as they evolve their working practices to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Terminating contracts should remain as a last resort if suppliers aren’t open or willing to change.

Training

You’ll want your whole team to be confident in applying the guidance if you hope to successfully identify and prevent any breaches. To ensure this, you’ll want to make ongoing training available to all staff.

This has been our (relatively) brief introduction to the guidance set out in PPN 02/03. There’s too much we can cover in one small blog, but it will be enough to get you started. But give the full document a read for more advice and steps you can take to fully remove modern slavery from all aspects of your supply chains.

Impact makes capturing, evaluating, and reporting on all your social value, sustainability, and ESG data simple. It’s never been easier to visualise data across your supply chain – including modern slavery, climate change, and so much more. To find out more, schedule a demo or get in touch with the team on 0161 532 4752.