The Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline

We have run the national Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline. 

We have continued to provided support and guidance to anyone concerned about exploitation, including people experiencing modern slavery, businesses, professionals or members of the public.

Data from the Helpline has informed our work and we have shared this information with the wider anti-modern slavery sector, statutory services and businesses. Please Unseens Helpline Annual Assessment for more details. https://www.unseenuk.org/helpline-statistics/annual-assessment-2023/

The data that we collect from the Helpline supports Unseen’s work in other teams. For example, we use the data from our Helpline in our Business Engagement team – providing real-life cases of how modern slavery could be present in a business’s supply chains or workforce. It allows us to give up-to-date information on the risks of modern slavery in businesses. Please see our Unseen Business 2023 Impact Report for more details on all the teams within Unseen. www.unseenuk.org/unseen-business-impact-report-2023.

Our report from April highlighted key trends that remain a focus for us to monitor. In this report, we'd like to focus on the individuals benefitted from our funding:

The people who have benefitted from this project are survivors of modern slavery, professionals, members of the public and businesses. People who contacted the Helpline were offered support and guidance, outlining their rights and the support they are entitled to. This was beneficial because exploiters will deliberately give incorrect information to the people they exploit as a form of control. As highlighted above, we made thousands of referrals and signposts in relation to the people who contact us. This links people up with local organisations or specialist support, such as Citizen’s Advice Bureau or local police.

There have been several recent changes in UK legislation that affect people held in modern slavery, most recently the Safety of Rwanda (asylum and immigration) Act 2024. (Although since the election this Act has now been scrapped). Since the Act was passed earlier this year, the Helpline started to take calls from people who had received letters about being detained or deported. Many of those who contacted us about this issue were currently residing in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) with no access to independent in-person support. UK Visas and Immigration are a first responder and should refer people residing in the IRCs into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) if they suspect someone may be a victim of modern slavery. The NRM is the Government’s framework for identifying and supporting survivors of modern slavery and a first responder is a designated organisation that has the authority to refer someone into the NRM. However, this referral sometimes doesn’t happen and so people in the IRCs are not getting the support they are entitled to. In addition, other first responders are often not permitted to visit people detained in the IRCs, meaning that some survivors are unaware of the NRM until they contact the Helpline.

Case study:

‘Janet’ was recruited from ‘Zimbabwe’ to work in a residential care home. She did not receive a contract, and her employer charged her £10,000 for a certificate of sponsorship (it should only cost several hundred pounds). She was then forced to work more than her agreed hours, sometimes working 18-hour shifts for up to 10 days in a row. Janet should have been paid the National Minimum Wage. However, deductions were made from her pay to recoup the £10,000, leaving her with as little as £200 per month. On some days she could not afford to eat. If she complained or spoke up about her rights, her employer threatened to report her to the Home Office and have her deported. They had also threatened to harm Janet and her family in Zimbabwe if she reported the situation. The Helpline assessed indicators of modern slavery, explored support options with Janet and referred the situation to the police, which resulted in an investigation.