What is it?

Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. Capella recognises that this is a global and growing issue which exists in all economies and business sectors. We have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery and are committed to acting ethically and with integrity. Further information is available in our Modern Slavery Policy, a copy of which is available on our website: https://capellaassociates.com/company/capella-policies 


Why is it relevant to employers?

  • Companies with > £36 million annual threshold must, under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, complete an annual statement of what steps they have undertaken in the preceding 12 months to identify and, if necessary, deal with labour exploitation.
  • Good practice includes: provision of training for their Tier 1 suppliers (giving insight into how to identify Modern slavery and what to do if they have any concerns), and in turn asking those Tier 1 suppliers whether they are managing their own Tier 1 suppliers; asking if those further down their supply chain are producing Modern Slavery statements.
  • Employers are encouraged to: ensure ALL workers have somebody looking out for them (not just supervision); Create an approach where someone will notice if a situation is not normal and a culture where welfare is treated as important as health & safety; Raise awareness and enable everyone in the organisation to easily report concerns.


What to look for.

Victims of Modern Slavery may look perfectly normal at first glance, however if you take a closer look you may spot one or more of the following signs that someone may be a victim of modern slavery:   

  • They appear to be under the control of someone else and are reluctant to interact with others 
  • They do not have ID on them 
  • They have few personal belongings, wear the same clothes every day or wear unsuitable clothes for work 
  • They are not able to move around freely 
  • They are reluctant to talk to strangers or the authorities 
  • They appear frightened, withdrawn or show signs of physical and/or psychological abuse 
  • They are always dropped off and collected for work in the same way, especially at unusual times (ie very early in the morning or late at night) 
  • Be aware that some individuals and unlicensed gangmasters have taken legitimate Facebook and recruitment advertisements, disguised them as their own and charged candidates to apply. However, money should NEVER be requested in order to provide employment.


Who to contact.

If you believe that someone may be a victim of modern slavery you should notify the Capella DSL or DDSL as soon as possible (contact details are available on the Your Training Provider Page) who will log the concern within the Capella Safeguarding and Prevent Incident Log and will take appropriate action, which may include: 

  • Calling the police on 101, or if a life-threatening emergency is suspected on 999 
  • Calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 
  • Reporting any concerns regarding the mistreatment of works to the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority on 0800 432 0804