Our work and policy on human trafficking and modern slavery

Our responsibilities

As a local authority, we have statutory duties to do everything we can to identify and prevent modern day slavery in our area. This means safeguarding the welfare of people who use our services, and using our power, as one of the district's largest employers, and contractor of a wide range of services, to make sure that we only do business with people and organisations who comply with legal regulations to prevent exploitation in the supply of goods and services. 

For more details on our practice and the policy behind it, select a topic below.

Employment practices

As one of our district's largest employers, we take our responsibility to protect our staff very seriously - from recruitment through to retirement. 

Our recruitment processes comply with equality legislation and involve rigorous identity and right-to-work checks which make it extremely hard for staff exploitation through trafficking or modern slavery to occur. 
Union membership and flexibility of working arrangements are supported. While working for us, our staff have the protection of a variety of policies covering equality, dignity at work and the provision of an extensive Employee Assistance Programme, to ensure they get fair treatment and appropriate support throughout their careers

Service and goods procurement

As a unitary authority, we are responsible for a huge range of local services, from waste collection and adult social care to school transport and car park management. This means that procuring goods and services, and monitoring contracts with our suppliers, is a large part of what we do. View our Modern Slavery Statement and Procurement and Commissioning Strategy for details of how we're working to ensure that we don't deal with people or organisations who are exploiting their workers, either in the UK or abroad. We make regular checks, and are training staff to be especially vigilant in areas where the risks of human trafficking or exploitation have traditionally been higher. 

Education, social care and safeguarding

We work extensively with children, young people and vulnerable adults in Bath and North East Somerset, and take safeguarding very seriously. Protection from trafficking, exploitation and abuse forms is integral to this work, and a central part of the training that we provide to our own staff, and make available to partners that we work with. Visit any of the following parts of our website, to explore the activities of particular council teams or partners, and the policies which drive their approach:

• Safeguarding for adults
• Safeguarding for children
• Safeguarding training and resources
• Child employment or performance

Government action to end modern slavery

There are a wide range of documents on the GOV.UK website, covering legislation, research, guidance and training for agencies working to prevent human trafficking and modern slavery, and support victims.