Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Section 71 - Slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour

A person (D) commits an offence under s.71 if:

• D holds another person in slavery or servitude and the circumstances are such that D knows or ought to know that the person is so held, or
• D requires another person to perform forced or compulsory labour and the circumstances are such that D knows or ought to know that the person is being required to perform such labour.

References to holding a person in slavery or servitude or requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour are to be construed in accordance with Article 4 of the Human Rights Convention, which prohibits a person from being held in slavery or servitude or being required to perform forced or compulsory labour.

The offences apply to legal entities, for example companies as well as to individuals.

In establishing forced or compulsory labour, the s.71 offence requires an element of coercion or deception between the defendant and the victim. The defendant must know that the arrangement was oppressive and not truly voluntary, or have been wilfully blind to that fact.

Points to prove

• Holds another person in slavery or servitude
• Knows or ought to know that the person is so held
• Requires another person to perform forced or compulsory labour
• Knows or ought to know that the person is being required to perform such labour.

Indicators of servitude or forced or compulsory labour:

There are a number of factors which may indicate that an individual is being held in servitude or is being subjected to forced or compulsory labour. The essential elements are those of coercion or deception, which may be demonstrated in a number of ways.

The kind of behaviour that would normally of itself be evidence of coercion includes but is not limited to:

• Violence or threats of violence by the employer or the employer’s representative;
• Threats against the worker’s family;
• Threats to expose the worker to the authorities (for example because of the worker’s immigration status or offences they may have committed in the past);
• The person’s documents, such as a passport or other identification, being withheld by the employer;
• Restriction of movement;
• Debt bondage;
• Withholding of wages.

Other indicators of forced labour include but are not limited to

• The worker being given false information about the law and their employment rights;
• Excessive working hours imposed by the employer;
• Hazardous working conditions imposed by the employer;
• Not being provided with safety equipment and clothing, and/or being charged for the provision of equipment essential to perform the work;
• Unwarranted and perhaps unexplained deductions from wages;
• The employer intentionally not paying the full tax or national insurance contributions
• Poor accommodation provided by the employer, for example accommodation that is overcrowded, is not licensed as a “House of Multiple Occupation” by Local Authorities, or does not have any necessary gas and electricity safety certificates;
• Intentionally poor or misleading information about the nature of the employment, for example about the location or nature of the work;
• The person being isolated from contact with others;
• Money having been exchanged with other employers/traffickers for the person’s services in an arrangement which has not been agreed with the person concerned or which is not reflected in his payment.