Slavery and human trafficking offences under Modern Slavery Act 2015

Modern Slavery Act 2015

SCHEDULE 1

Slavery and human trafficking offences

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c. 41)

1-An offence under section 145 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (trafficking for prostitution).

Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42)

2-(1)An offence under section 57, 58, 58A, 59 or 59A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (trafficking for sexual exploitation).

(2)An offence under section 62 of that Act (committing offence with intent to commit relevant sexual offence), where the relevant sexual offence the person in question intended to commit was an offence under section 57, 58, 58A, 59 or 59A of that Act.

Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 7)

3-An offence under section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (traffic in prostitution etc).

Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (c. 19)

4-An offence under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (trafficking for exploitation).

Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (c. 25)

5-An offence under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour).

Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13)

6-An offence under section 47 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour).

Modern Slavery Act 2015 (c. 30)

7-An offence under section 1, 2 or 4 of this Act.

Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 2 (N.I.))

8-An offence under section 1, 2 or 4 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour; human trafficking).

Ancillary offences

9-(1)An offence of attempting or conspiring to commit an offence listed in this Schedule.

(2)An offence committed by aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring or inciting the commission of an offence listed in this Schedule.

(3)An offence under Part 2 of the Serious CrimeCrime A positive or negative act in violation of penal law; an offense against the state classified either as a felony or misdemeanor. Act 2007 (encouraging or assisting) where the offence (or one of the offences) which the person in question intends or believes would be committed is an offence listed in this Schedule.

Modern Slavery Act 2015

Sec 1 Slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour

(1)A person commits an offence if—

(a)the person holds another person in slavery or servitude and the circumstances are such that the person knows or ought to know that the other person is held in slavery or servitude, or
(b)the person requires another person to perform forced or compulsory labour and the circumstances are such that the person knows or ought to know that the other person is being required to perform forced or compulsory labour.

(2)In subsection (1) the 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.

(3)In determining whether a person is being held in slavery or servitude or required to perform forced or compulsory labour, regard may be had to all the circumstances.

(4)For example, regard may be had—

(a)to any of the person’s personal circumstances (such as the person being a child, the person’s family relationships, and any mental or physical illness) which may make the person more vulnerable than other persons;
(b)to any work or services provided by the person, including work or services provided in circumstances which constitute exploitation within section 3(3) to (6).

(5)The consent of a person (whether an adult or a child) to any of the acts alleged to constitute holding the person in slavery or servitude, or requiring the person to perform forced or compulsory labour, does not preclude a determination that the person is being held in slavery or servitude, or required to perform forced or compulsory labour.

Sec 2 Human trafficking

(1)A person commits an offence if the person arranges or facilitates the travel of another person (“V”) with a view to V being exploited.

(2)It is irrelevant whether V consents to the travel (whether V is an adult or a child).

(3)A person may in particular arrange or facilitate V’s travel by recruiting V, transporting or transferring V, harbouring or receiving V, or transferring or exchanging control over V.

(4)A person arranges or facilitates V’s travel with a view to V being exploited only if—
(a)the person intends to exploit V (in any part of the world) during or after the travel, or
(b)the person knows or ought to know that another person is likely to exploit V (in any part of the world) during or after the travel.

(5)“Travel” means—
(a)arriving in, or entering, any country,
(b)departing from any country,
(c)travelling within any country.

(6)A person who is a UK national commits an offence under this section regardless of—
(a)where the arranging or facilitating takes place, or
(b)where the travel takes place.

(7)A person who is not a UK national commits an offence under this section if—
(a)any part of the arranging or facilitating takes place in the United Kingdom, or
(b)the travel consists of arrival in or entry into, departure from, or travel within, the United Kingdom.

4 Committing offence with intent to commit offence under section 2

A person commits an offence under this section if the person commits any offence with the intention of committing an offence under section 2 (including an offence committed by aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring an offence under that section).