The risk of modern slavery, whether in a company or in its supply chain, is one which is shared by all businesses but the risk is exponentially heightened within labour intensive service providers such as cleaning and facilities management, along with security, care industry and hospitality.
In addition to the penalties imposed on service providers, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA 2015) exposes clients to investigation and possible prosecution. Uniquely, the MSA 2015 creates vicarious liability between a company and those companies and entities which it has engaged to carry out services; a sub-contractor guilty of offences creates civil and criminal liability to all companies who have been provided service by that company.
The British Cleaning Council (BCC) strongly encourages sector organisations to make themselves aware of the relevant legislation, and take steps to identify and mitigate the risk of exploitation both within their organisation and within their supply chain.
Stamp Out Slavery (SOS) was created following a cross-industry panel, the purpose of which was to examine the ways in which various vulnerable industries were meeting the 
MSA 2015 requirements.
SOS offers companies complementary guidance on self-reviewing their risks and can also conduct independent reviews at modest cost, providing a quality mark and assurance to prospective clients that all reasonable measures have been implemented to mitigate the risk of exploitation.
In the unlikely event of an investigation by a statutory body, such as the police or UK Border Force, evidence of awareness and response to modern slavery threats, whether externally or internally created, would be a critical element in determining whether a company had taken all possible steps.
For more information about their services, please contact SOS via the contact form on its website www.stampoutslavery.org/