UK Parliament report recommends new legislation to combat forced labour in supply chains

The UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has published its report on forced labour in UK supply chains following its inquiry examining the issue earlier this year.

The JCHR report published on 24 July found that goods produced by forced labour are being sold in the UK and that the current approach to addressing this issue using domestic policy is piecemeal.

JCHR recommendations

The report makes several recommendations to remedy the problem, including:  

• Strengthening section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 by establishing effective accountability mechanisms for non-compliance and removing section 54(4)(b), to prohibit companies from reporting that they have taken no action. The report also recommends extending the statutory duty to public organisations.
• Making human rights due diligence mandatory throughout supply chains, with penalties for non-compliance. The report recommends that the government consult with industry and keep the EU's process on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ((EU) 2024/1760) in mind for consistency of requirements, while keeping any new due diligence requirements proportionate for smaller companies.
• Imposing import bans on goods linked to forced labour to prevent the UK becoming a repository for goods prohibited in other markets. The report also highlights the current under-utilisation of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in seizing goods linked to forced labour.
• Incorporating human rights clauses in all future free-trade agreements that the UK would make and considering effective methods for assessing the impact of these clauses on trading partners.
• Creating a new civil cause of action for failure to prevent forced labour. This would allow victims to sue companies for compensation in UK courts, with the burden on those companies to prove they had adequate procedures in place to prevent forced labour.

Osborne Clarke comment

The government has two months to respond to these recommendations.

Ben Hills, a paralegal with Osborne Clarke, contributed to this Insight.