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Employers are expected to carry out checks to ensure that people on their sites are legally able to work in the UK. Employers should be implementing the following process: Obtain original versions of the various documents allowed/ required, which would often include a passport; Check all of the documents validity in front of the person concerned; Make and retain copies of the…
Illegal working often results in abusive and exploitative behaviour, the mistreatment of illegal migrant workers, tax evasion and poor housing conditions. It can also undercut legitimate businesses and have an adverse impact on the employment of people who are lawfully in the UK. Under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (the 2006 Act), an employer may…
Ethical sourcing is a term that is becoming more and more prominent as governments and organisations strive to create a more global, equal and fair working environment. The focus is to ensure products are being sourced from environments where workers are treated well, paid well and working in respectable conditions. In the construction industry, we must be aware of any…
In order to maintain high levels of safety and legal regulation, the industry must monitor the legitimacy of its workforce. The following procedures and checks should be in place to monitor the workforce: There should be a process in place to check the legitimacy of the workforce either before arrival on site or upon arrival, with spot checks as necessary,…
Modern slavery encompasses slavery, human trafficking, forced or compulsory labour and domestic servitude. In March 2015, the Modern Slavery Act was introduced by the UK government to give protection to victims and hand-down harsh penalties to offenders, who now face up to life imprisonment if they are convicted of modern slavery offences. Individuals working in the country illegally due to…
As part of their commitment to removing any forms of modern day slavery from the supply chain, this contractor has set up face to face modern day slavery audits for all of their supply chain. Any supplier providing labour is audited on an annual basis, this includes a face-to-face audit at the supplier’s main office and follows a standardised set…
Individuals working in the country illegally due to their immigration status will often be victims of abuse and exploitations or caught in a situation now defined as modern slavery. Spot checks can be made to make sure as far as possible that everyone working on your site is doing so legally. The Home Office’s recommended Right to Work checks, is…
Heron Bros recognised the need to highlight the challenges the construction industry faces in relation to Illegal Workers and Human Trafficking. Heron Bros Modern Slavery Policy defines the processes in place to ensure their supply chain are conducting right to work checks and can also carry out similar spot checks. The construction company went one step further by implementing a…
It is crucial that each and every site ensures their workforce is legitimate, as illegal workers pose a grave risk to the construction industry as a whole. Not only can the presence of illegal workers pose a health and safety risk on site, but employing workers who are not eligible to work in the UK carries hefty penalties. The example…
All employers in the UK have a responsibility to prevent illegal working. You do this by conducting simple right to work checks before you employ someone, to make sure the individual is not disqualified from carrying out the work in question by reason of their immigration status. On 27 December 2021, the government announced its intention to enable employers and landlords…
Anti-Slavery Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the fact over 49.6 million people in the world today, and an estimated 136,000 people in the UK, are trapped in conditions of modern slavery. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Anti-Slavery Day is a time to encourage governments, businesses, friends, family and colleagues to do what they can…
It is important to GRAHAM to ensure that illegal working and modern slavery issues are addressed in more than just contractual terms. Sub-contractors are contractually required to perform all checks to ensure that they are complying with the law and with GRAHAM policies and contracts but it is also good practice to reinforce the messages at project level. At the…
The Home Office has taken a step forward in streamlining right to work checks. Previously, employers have needed to request paper documents alongside completing an online questionnaire to show that they have completed the necessary checks on their employees and prospective employees. However, the paper documents are no longer needed and the whole process can be done completely online. By using…
With the construction sector employing a significant proportion of the global workforce, the industry has been identified as high risk for modern slavery practices. By identifying workers from outside of the UK as most at risk, we took it upon ourselves to ensure that they could identify themselves and seek help, should they be a victim. Understanding that English is…