• Swindon & Wiltshire Governance
• Tuesday March 25 2025
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Bath professor helps government shape new Modern Slavery guidance for businesses

University of Bath professor Andrew Crane has helped the government shape new guidance for businesses on how to respond to modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

On Monday, the government launched the revised statutory guidance for Section 54 of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act.

The Section requires companies with an annual turnover of £36 million or more that supply goods or services and conduct business in the UK, to publish an annual slavery and human trafficking statement.

Around 28 million people are forced into labour globally, with its impact hidden in everyday goods and services.

School of Management and modern slavery expert Professor Andrew was involved in revising and drafting the statutory guidance and also conducting research around it.

“The new guidance is an update from the original guidance which was released 10 years ago and it reflects changes in how businesses have matured in their response to modern slavery,” said the professor.

“A key change is that the revised guidance really focuses not just on how companies can meet the letter of the law in terms of their reporting obligations but how they can meet the spirit of the law.

“The spirit of the law is how they can actually improve their performance in managing the risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

“We’ve also looked at how this guidance also connects with other types of initiatives that have been happening in the interim, including things like the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive from the European Union,” he said.

Professor Crane said the update was underpinned by the wealth of research conducted about modern slavery since the Modern Slavery Act was launched a decade ago. The revised guidance benefits from an evidence base to support its key points.

“What we hope the guidance will achieve is to really push forward businesses in how they’re responding to modern slavery risks. It’s much more than just reporting on what they’re doing, it’s about advancing what they are doing and getting deeper into their supply chains, and using the guidance to make a more effective response,” he said.