Modern Day Slavery – The direct impact on your business

Slavery is not a thing of the past. It’s still happening today, and it happens here in the UK! 

Modern Slavery can take many forms including the trafficking of people, forced labour, servitude and slavery – and these serious crimes have a direct impact on your businesses. This could be through the offer of a cheap workforce, or those forced to commit crime on the behalf of organised criminal groups.

The number of potential trafficking and modern slavery victims reported to the authorities has risen by 36% in a year, according to the National Crime Agency figures for 2018.

While no business sets out to work with unethical partners, modern slavery is often hidden within a supply chain. The signs of various types of slavery and exploitation are often concealed, making it hard to recognise potential victims and the businesses that use them. Victims can be any age, gender or ethnicity or nationality.

So what can you do?

Essex Chambers of Commerce in Partnership with Practical HR bring you this workshop on Modern Day Slavery – designed to inform businesses of the warning signs to look out for and outline responsibilities to work with police and partners to target criminality and protect the most vulnerable in society.

Businesses are under scrutiny – supply chains must be transparent and slavery free. You can form a key part of the fight against human trafficking by taking advantage of the knowledge and resources available to you before entering a new business relationship or reviewing your current ones.

Working to identify and eliminate modern slavery in the supply chain is not only the right thing to do it will help you protect yourself and your business from becoming involved in this most serious of crimes.

Agenda

8.30am   – Registration, Networking and Refreshments
9:00am   – Welcome from Denise Rossiter, Essex Chambers of Commerce
9:20am   – Presentations from the Kent & Essex Police Serious Crime Directorate
10:15am   – Break
10:30am   – Presentations from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority
11:15am   – Case Study
11:45am   – Panel open for Q&A

Jana Sherrin DPSI is a Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery Co-ordinator for Kent and Essex Police Force and she works within the Serious Crime Directorate.

She has first come face to face with victims of Modern Day Slavery and their exploiters in her previous career in legal Interpreting and Translation. She became an integral part of numerous police investigations as a cultural adviser, and through this role she supported victims from the initial engagement through to conviction of their traffickers and beyond.

Jana believes that victim-centred approach within all statutory and non-statutory organisations will eradicate this world-wide plight.

Lysbeth Ford is a retired police officer, having served in two police forces. All her service has been as a detective within Major and Serious and Organised Crime and Murder Squads.

She is presently the Partnership Development Manager for the Gangmaster & Labour Abuse Authority having joined the organisation 9 years ago as an investigator. She currently writes and delivers training for the GLAA Academy to external stakeholders and partner agencies.

Lys facilitates the training at the ILO (international Labour organisation) in Turin on Forced labour and human trafficking each year and has delivered training in Modern Slavery awareness and labour exploitation, how to manage your victim in Malta via the FCO.

If you would like to attend this event, please complete the online booking form