Slave-Free Alliance Conference 2025 unites businesses to end exploitation

The 2025 Slave-Free Alliance Conference was a packed-out event, with guests including top brands and household names such as National Grid, Exiger, Hays, Virgin, CCLA and Barclays.

More than 150 participants from 80 organisations attended King’s House Conference Centre in Manchester to share learnings and insights and to commit to driving positive change in the field of human rights, specifically by identifying, remedying, and preventing modern slavery and labour exploitation in their businesses and supply chains. A further 130 people joined the event online for the launch of the CCLA’s 2025 UK Modern Slavery Benchmark.

Keynote speeches and panel discussions told practical stories of human rights due diligence, covering topics such as worker voice, risk management, stakeholder engagement and just transition.

Fabian Bonertz, Senior Adviser at the OSCE, gave an opening statement, emphasising that vulnerabilities, such as inadequate legal protection, a lack of institutional action, and economic inequality, are nowhere more evident than in global supply chains. He said: “The multilayered and opaque network of supply chains, with numerous suppliers, intermediaries and subcontractors, exacerbates risks for human trafficking and forced labour along them. […] Consider a simple consumer product – a piece of furniture, a smartphone, or a t-shirt. Each may involve dozens of suppliers across several continents. At the lower tiers, where oversight is weakest, child labour, forced labour and unsafe conditions frequently occur. These are the invisible costs of the products we consume every day. Nevertheless, I want to stress again how we should think about trafficking and exploitation not only in terms of some distant occurrence; in our very societies and countries, the rights of people are transgressed, and trafficking is prevalent even in higher tiers of the supply chains, closer to us than we might think.”

He stated how human security is a key component of a secure, stable and safe context. He called for human rights due diligence to be used as a strategic resilience tool, arguing that responsible business conduct is a moral and ethical duty that also contributes to regional security and socio-economic stability.

Fabian said: “When people, states, businesses, and civil society partner together and face such arduous challenges with courage and conviction, tackling them seems not a farfetched ideal, but an achievable end. Each decision, each act of due diligence, each instance of transparency, brings us closer to that ideal.”

The CCLA publicly launched their 2025 UK Modern Slavery Benchmark at the conference, ranking 111 companies on their efforts to tackle modern slavery. This tool assesses how businesses disclose their approach to managing exploitation, highlighting progress and areas for further improvement.

Dame Sara Thornton, former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and CCLA Modern Slavery Director, said: “We are really pleased to be launching the benchmark here in person. We have been updating the CCLA Modern Slavery Benchmark in light of the new TISC (transparency in supply chains) guidance. We wanted to ensure that we brought together a group of experts to inform that work and to provide a degree of scrutiny and it has been great that Slave-Free Alliance have been part of that expert advisory group, in particular the broad experience of Slave-Free Alliance dealing with many companies provided extremely helpful insights into the way the benchmark is currently operating and how it can be improved.”

Slave-Free Alliance (SFA) has been able to draw on its experience working with businesses across recruitment, retail, finance, construction, housing, utilities, distribution, engineering, waste management, hospitality, intelligence, and more to contribute to the stakeholder discussions.

Several of the businesses that SFA are working with have made improvements in this year’s benchmark. Three of SFA’s members had progressed by moving up a tier. Two of our members are in Tier 1, and 11 are in Tier 2.

Barclays, a member of our SFA Finance Sector Working Group, had moved up to Tier 2 in the 2025 Benchmark. They are listed among 44 companies that are demonstrating evolving good practice in this tier.

Jana Sherrin, Modern Slavery and Human Rights Lead at Barclays Plc, shared about her first encounter with modern slavery and how since joining Barclays four years ago, she has worked to implement change.

She said: “I remember in 2008 when I was a community interpreter, and we safeguarded a whole family who had been trafficked from Slovakia into the UK. That was the first time I saw the real impact that Hope for Justice has and how they change people’s lives. It wasn’t about a co-dependency relationship but instead Hope for Justice empowered the family to take back control of their lives. They were no longer victims, but survivors. I have spent the last four years in Barclays engaging with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders. Modern slavery can exhibit itself in many ways. For example, branch staff need to be aware of the signs and indicators of modern slavery of any potential victims, controlled by traffickers, who are trying to make them open a bank account. Modern slavery risk in a complex, global supply chain presents different challenge: it exhibits itself through certain types of products and services procured in countries with a higher estimated prevalence of modern slavery.”

“We do not remain complacent. We take onboard the CCLA’s feedback and seek to identify potential areas for enhancement. I would like to thank all of the Barclays team who are supporting these conversations.”

Jana added: “There is a key message here for any company that is still trying to improve in the way that they tackle modern slavery: it is about finding a team who will help you to achieve the vision of living in a world that is free from modern slavery, achieving it together, one change at a time.”

One of the panel discussions at the conference featured our members Virgin, Caterers Choice and Currys. They provided insights on how we have been working together to eradicate modern slavery in their businesses and supply chains.

Jessie Greenhalgh, Responsible Sourcing Manager at Currys, said: “It is definitely important for us to continue the great work we have been doing with SFA. As part of that group, we get access to so much knowledge, resources and training, and we need to maximise how we share that with suppliers and internally, so people are informed. We did not have a responsible sourcing team until six years ago. It is difficult and it feels overwhelming, but finding key voices around the business has been so important for us. Our colleagues are excited to learn about something outside of the day-to-day and how they can contribute towards keeping our business and workers safe.”

Meanwhile, Caterers Choice have been working with SFA to deliver modern slavery training to suppliers and their recruitment agencies. This has included how to conduct worker interview training, confidentiality, what to do if you identify or suspect modern slavery, and how to report it. This project is expected to be rolled out as a pilot in early 2026, with the hope of expanding the training if successful.

Elizabeth Williams, Responsible Business Manager at Caterers Choice, said: “We want to continue what we are doing at the moment, working closely with SFA on implementing our human rights action plan, doing supplier visits, and working with other organisations and stakeholders to improve human rights in the supply chain as well.”

In a separate session, Kirsty Green-Mann from recruiter Hays shared how they conducted a gap analysis with Slave-Free Alliance, which gave the company a greater understanding of risks to vulnerable groups, including conducting training checks on workers and follow-ups. Kirsty said: “In the first instance, I went to our risk team, and they were really helpful, and I also contacted an expert at SFA for advice. Previously, some of my colleagues did not think modern slavery existed within our supply chain. Now we have the risk scores to prove it.”

There was also a discussion on how to enable effective worker engagement and remediation, featuring guest speakers Julia Black from Hilton Foods and Jane Freeman from Clear Voice, which provides interpreting services. This has been proven to break the language barrier that may exist for some workers, enabling them to communicate effectively, raise concerns, and facilitate remediation.

Jane said: “Communication is a human right. It enables people to feel included. It is a mechanism for us to express how we feel and what we need. It is also protected by law and enables us to access other rights. When thinking about your workers, no one wants to be isolated. This is an awful feeling. Imagine that in the workplace, where you are trying to build a future. You have got to be able to understand who to ask for help, how to ask and where to go. Without the language, this is inaccessible. Without being able to share your experiences, you are invisible. It is up to us to change that.”

The conference showcased the work of Exiger’s forced labour intelligence tool, which blends human expertise and GenAI to detect forced labour risk. Exiger gave attendees exclusive free access to their newest solution, which is not due to launch publicly until 2026.

There was a recurring focus on the need for companies to ensure their employees are given the opportunity to communicate. The room was challenged to go beyond employee surveys and to encourage engagement in meaningful ways, specific to context and culture.

Businesses heard about the ES3G’s Ask the Workers app which enables employees to communicate anonymously about working conditions. Founder Tim Nicolle posed the question “We have risk assessments, supplier assessments, corrective action plans. To what extent do we involve workers in these conversations, processes and practices?’ Behind all of these processes and human rights strategies is the goal to protect people, so it makes sense to involve people. What are their circumstances, feedback, experiences?”

Water company Severn Trent is one of the founding members of Slave-Free Alliance. The company’s goal is to make sure human traffickers see the utilities sector as a no-go area.

Lucy Darler, who has worked as a Supply Chain CSR Specialist at Severn Trent for the past six years, shared these insights from the 2025 conference: “Events like this are really important to spark that inspiration and practical motivation. We get so caught up in the day-to-day delivery so these moments where there are opportunities to connect with people inside and outside our sector make it more tangible again. As Dame Sara Thornton was sharing, there is a real practical opportunity to collaborate with one another in terms of raising awareness across our supply chains. For example, we work with Murphy Group, taking a shared approach in our supply chain and sustainability teams.”

Serco, which provides IT services and consultancy to governments in areas such as defence, health, justice and transport, have been a member of Slave-Free Alliance for three years. Our SFA team is currently working with them on their next modern slavery statement. Their representative hoped to take away practical ideas from the conference to strengthen Serco’s supply chain further. The FTSE 250 company employs more than 50,000 people in over 20 countries and has more than 600 contracts worldwide.

Jon Bygate, Serco’s Ethics Manager for UK and Europe, said: “We have a very good working relationship with SFA. They have advised us on strengthening our modern slavery programme from a global perspective. We are glad for the work that SFA has done with our procurement teams, helping them understand risks and therefore be able to put mitigation and steps in place to reduce those. Today, it was good to hear the panel; it is always good to hear the practical steps that companies take. Theory is great but we have got to turn it into reality and tangible actions.”

Manufacturer of convenience foods, Greencore Group Plc, was also in attendance. The company has more than 13,000 employees. It runs 16 manufacturing sites and 17 distribution centres across the UK, supplying to all of the major UK supermarkets. They also said they were taking away key insights from the conference which could strengthen their own approaches.

Fran Haycock, Head of Sustainability at Greencore Group Plc, said: “Attending the SFA conference will help to shape and challenge our current programme planning, hearing from experts and other businesses, and using this insight to refine our work. For example, there was excellent content on worker voice and improving visibility of practices beyond Tier 1 suppliers, what we should be considering in our approach, and prompting the audience to think differently about this area. The format of the conference was excellent, with a really effective variety of topics, formats and personalities.”

Slave-Free Alliance was established in 2018 to eradicate modern slavery and labour exploitation in organisations and supply chains. Our membership has grown to more than 110 organisations, comprising 17 of the FTSE 100 companies. Our team of experts provide long-term support through membership programmes, as well as consultancy services such as gap analyses, site assessments, risk assessments, and training. You can find out more about our services here: https://www.slavefreealliance.org/services/

Slave-Free Alliance is an international social enterprise, wholly owned by global anti-slavery charity Hope for Justice. All profits from SFA are invested into Hope for Justice to end slavery and change lives.