Governance & Policy
UK Modern Slavery Act 2015
Definition
The UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 is UK legislation that consolidates offences of slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking, establishes an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, and under section 54 requires commercial organisations above a turnover threshold to publish an annual statement describing steps taken to ensure slavery is not occurring in their business or supply chains.
References
Legal text, offences and section 54 transparency duty
Definitions and global context
Overview
What it means
It created the transparency-statement model that influenced similar laws in Australia and elsewhere, though its reporting duty carries no financial penalty for non-compliance.
How it is used
Companies publish modern slavery statements on their websites; investors and NGOs benchmark statement quality; reform debates push for mandatory due diligence.
Why it matters
It was the first major national modern slavery transparency law and remains the reference point for supply-chain reporting in the UK.