Report: U.K. businesses ill-equipped to handle new anti-slavery supply chain law

Many are either unprepared for or completely unaware of the Modern Slavery Act, which requires businesses in the U.K. to report efforts to eradicate human trafficking and slave labor from their supply chains, according to a recent survey from the CIPS.    Many supply chain managers in the United Kingdom are unprepared for or completely unaware of a new anti-slavery law that will apply to more than 12,000 companies, according to a recent survey from the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.
   The Modern Slavery Act, enacted back in October, requires businesses in the U.K. with global revenues over 36 million pounds ($51.1 million) to publicly report efforts to eradicate human trafficking and slave labor from their supply chains.
   Under the new disclosure requirements, which go into effect this year, the U.K. Home Office has recommended each company filed on an annual basis a description of its supply chain, auditing process, training programs and any areas at high risk for slavery and human trafficking. As it is currently written, however, the law does not include any punishment or sanctions for non-compliant companies.
   Of the supply chain managers polled, 27 percent told CIPS they didn’t know how to meet the law’s requirements, while 20 percent were unaware of the law. Over half of respondents said they wouldn’t even know how to handle a situation in which they learned a supplier was using slave labor.
    “The supply chain managers responsible appear underwhelmed and unprepared for compliance,” CIPS said of the survey.
   Even so, more than two thirds of respondents said those companies that fail to meet the disclosure requirements should be subject to legal or financial penalties.
  “Our findings suggest that good intent is not yet translating into action,” CIPS Chief Executive David Noble said in a statement. “With little motivation and no sanctions to speak of, this requirement rests on goodwill and general awareness. Consumers, communities and businesses deserve better.”