Researchers secure radical changes to modern slavery guidance
Researchers at the Management School and the School of the Arts have successfully contributed to substantial changes to Government guidance on how UK businesses should report on methods to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains.
On 24 March 2025, the UK Government published updated guidance on the reporting obligations set out in Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, following its latest update in 2017.
This guidance helps UK business complete statutory statements with details on the steps taken to address modern slavery in their global operations and supply chains.
Modern slavery expert, Dr Bruce Pinnington, environmental sociolinguist, Dr Jessica Hampton, and PhD candidate, Nathan Davies, have argued for such an update for two years, alongside experts from another three UK universities.
The guidance is non-mandatory and the updates don’t involve changes to existing law.
However, as stated in the Minister’s Foreword, it provides “practical advice to support businesses to undertake meaningful action to tackle modern slavery, incorporating the learnings from the past 10 years since the Act was introduced.”
There are three major improvements:
- More detailed information on six recommended categories of disclosures
- A new section containing general principles on anti-slavery activities, including information on modern slavery frameworks, stakeholder engagement and continuous improvement on modern slavery disclosures
- Stronger messaging around the importance of tackling modern slavery.
Bruce, who advocated for stricter legislation and rewards for compliant firms at the House of Lords back in March 2024, commented on the changes:
“The revised guidance emphasises conforming with the spirit of the law, not just the letter; stronger language based around expectations, rather than options; and detailed content descriptors for each of the six sections of the report.
“Even without a change in the law, the much stronger wording is important in signalling to businesses that much stronger action is now expected.
“The detail now included in the guidance gives investors, NGOs and academics a much clearer foundation for critical appraisal of Section 54 statements”.
In reference to the practical impact of the update, Nathan said: "It was a privilege to contribute to such a crucial topic which is a real-world business problem.
“Drawing from my research and professional experience, the new guidance brings the spirit of the law to life.
“It offers clearer, practical guidance that will improve transparency, strengthen compliance and hopefully drive meaningful change."
The new guidance was introduced at a closed event by the Home Office Safeguarding Minister, Jess Phillips, at the Central Westminster Hall in London.
During her speech, she drew on points made by the team, including why null findings in modern slavery statements should be negatively connoted, as the evidence suggests this is a symptom of insufficient action.
The School’s research on modern slavery is part of a long-standing effort involving cross-faculty experts and members of the Centre for Sustainable Business, such as Director, Professor Jo Meehan, and PhD Candidate, Oliver Kennedy.