Transparency in Supply Chains
The statutory duty under s.54 Modern Slavery Act 2015 requiring commercial organisations above a turnover threshold to report annually on the steps they have taken to ensure slavery and human trafficking are not occurring in their business or supply chains.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 — headed 'Transparency in supply chains etc' — applies to any commercial organisation that supplies goods or services and has a total turnover of not less than an amount prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State. A qualifying organisation must prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year of the organisation, regardless of whether its particular supply chains are in fact at any real risk of slavery or trafficking.
The duty is one of transparency rather than substantive compliance: section 54 does not itself prohibit slavery or trafficking within a supply chain (those are separate criminal offences created elsewhere in the Act), and an organisation satisfies the section by publishing a statement even where that statement says it has taken no steps at all. To help organisations understand what is expected of them, the Secretary of State may issue guidance about the duties imposed on commercial organisations by this section, which the Secretary of State must then publish in a way considered appropriate.
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Official sources
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