Modern Slavery is a topic which has been covered by Freeths in a number of articles. These outline the legal requirement for larger businesses to carry out an audit of their supply chain and publish an anti-slavery statement. In addition to this legal obligation, it is the duty of every responsible operator and employer to report any suspicious behaviour which happens on their premises.
Some of the warning signs for the hospitality industry are highlighted in our article Modern slavery in the hotel sector
Operation Makesafe
The Metropolitan Police are currently running Operation Makesafe which is aimed at raising awareness of child sexual exploitation (a form of modern slavery) within the business community in their area. The police have published a useful set of posters, postcards and training notes specifically for pub and hotel operators to assist them to raise awareness of the issue amongst staff and customers and to encourage the reporting of any suspicious behaviour.
Useful materials
The training sheets developed by the police give good, clear examples of the sort of behaviours that pub and hotel staff should look out for. Examples given are:
- Adults befriending young people, buying them food etc
- Adults who refuse to leave a credit card and insist on paying for a room in cash.
Further details can be found HERE
For an overview of your obligations when it comes to modern slavery, see our GUIDE
