GLAA Intelligence Picture Q1 (January – March 2023)

Introduction

Purpose

This is a quarterly report providing an update on the GLAA intelligence picture of forced and compulsory labour in the UK, defined as “All work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered themselves voluntarily” ILO definition.

The reports concerns MSHT (Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking) for labour exploitation only. It does not cover MSHT for other purposes such as sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation (drug cultivation, drug dealing / county lines) or forced begging.

The report is intended to describe the intelligence picture of forced and compulsory labour as reported to and investigated by the GLAA, rather than an all-encompassing national picture of MSHT. Some of the GLAA findings therefore may differ to those of other government departments tackling modern slavery.

Neither is the report an analysis of labour market non-compliances where MSHT indicators are absent.

This report covers the period 1 January to 31 March 2023.

 

Victim Profile

Demographic

The victim profile for this quarter reports a potential victim is most likely to be male, aged between 25 and 34, and be of Indian nationality.

Gender of potential victims was reported in 45% of the cases analysed.

As expected, most reports suggested exclusively male (or groups of male) victims. Where gender is reported, the number of cases reporting exclusively male victims was 64% in this quarter. Exclusively female victims were present in just 8% of cases.

Age of potential victims was reported in 26% of reports during this quarter.

The most reported age ranges in this reporting period was 25-34. The youngest age described was 17 and the oldest was 57.

Nationality (or at least a vague geographical area) of potential victims was reported in 55% of the reports.

For this reporting period the majority of potential victims were of Indian nationality. Indian nationality was present in 9 reports, with 6 of those reports relating to the care sector. The second most common victim nationality group was Romanian, which was recorded in 6 reports each. Followed by Zimbabwean, Eastern European and Bulgarian, which featured in 4 reports each.

Number of MSHT reports by victim nationality in Q1:

Indian	10
Romanian	6
Asian	5
Zimbabwean	4
Bulgarian	4
Eastern European	4
African	3
South African	2
Bangladeshi	2
Nepalese	2
Ghanaian	2
Albanian	2
Nigerian	2
Afghan	1
Iraqi	1
Chinese	1
British	1
Kenyan	1
Egyptian	1
Vietnamese	1
Slovakian	1
Cameroonian	1
Botswanan	1
Eritrean	1
Sri Lankan	1
Kurdish	1
Thai	1
Ukrainian	1
Pakistani	1

 

Referrals

147 referrals were made to the GLAA during this period and we made 20 National Referral Mechanism referrals. 

 

Vulnerability

59% of the reports in the reporting period indicated that potential victims displayed some kind of vulnerability to exploitation.

The most common vulnerability was the potential victims’ status as an irregular migrant, which may lead to threats of being handed over to the authorities by the exploiter if they challenged their poor working conditions.

The second most common vulnerability was the potential victim speaking limited or no English, therefore leaving them extremely vulnerable in terms of not being able understand their rights as workers or being able to report any abuse or seek help. This was closely followed by the vulnerability of being tied into a certificate of sponsorship, which led to workers being forced to work for the employer even if the conditions were unacceptable and the employer using the threat of cancelling the sponsorship if the worker complained.

Number of MSHT reports by victim vulnerability in Q1:

Immigration status	18
Limited/No English	12
Sponsorship	11
Student	3
Trafficked	2
NRM	2
Debt bonded	1
Homes for Ukraine	1
Alcohol dependent	1

 

Exploiter Profile

Demographic

The GLAA intelligence picture for this quarter suggests that potential exploiters are more likely to be male, aged 36-45, and of British nationality.

Gender of potential exploiters was reported in 57% of reports during this reporting period.

As with previous GLAA intelligence pictures, most reports suggest exclusively male exploiters. In this quarter the number of cases reporting exclusively male exploiters was 64%.

Reports of exclusively female exploiters totalled just 16% in this quarter. 75% of these cases related to the care home sector.

Age of potential exploiters was reported in 30% of reports in this quarter.

The most reported age range was 35-44 and the average age was 46. The youngest age recorded was 26 and the oldest was 75.

Nationality (or at least a vague geographical area) of potential exploiters was reported or implied in only 25% of reports during this reporting period.

For this reporting period the majority of potential exploiters were British, which was present in 7 reports. The second most common exploiter nationality group was Romanian, which was present in 3 reports.

Number of MSHT reports by exploiter nationality Q1:

British	7
Romanian	3
Zimbabwean	2
Lithuanian	2
Indian	2
Albanian	2
Syrian	1
Kenyan	1
Uzbeki	1
Bulgarian	1
Eastern European	1
Iraqi	1

 

Exploiter Operating Model

Employer (End User) Model – Victims carry out work for the exploiter or their business as the end user of their labour.

Employer (Intermediary) Model – Victims work on behalf of the exploiter or their business, completing work for a third party.

Non-Employer Models – Exploiters have no formal link to the victim’s employment but control the victim’s home and economic matters.

Exploitation in Secluded Environments – Exploiters force victims to carry out multiple forms of work for their own personal gain, often in isolated locations and communities.

An offender operating model, as described above, was evident or implied in 77% of reports in this quarter.

Where recorded, the most common model during this reporting period was the Employer (End User) Model, which was indicated in 82% of reports.

The Employer (Intermediary) Model and the Non-Employer Model were present in 6% of cases each. The Employer (Intermediary) model, was most used in the care sector where the victims were exploited by a recruitment agency.

 

Agency Involved

In this quarter, 16% of reports suggested an involvement of a recruitment agency in the supply of the potential victim.

50% of these cases were linked to the care sector and it was suggested that the agency was involved in facilitating the exploitation, via means such as inadequate pay, inflating fees and threats to cancel sponsorships.

 

Sectors

The GLAA intelligence picture identified possible labour exploitation in 17 different industry sectors during quarter 1.

The top three reported sectors for this quarter were care home/social care, car wash and construction. 

This has changed since last quarter with the loss of the restaurant and hotel sector and the addition of the car wash sector. The increase in reporting in the car wash sector may have increased due to more people using the service as the weather becomes warmer. The reporting in this sector may continue to rise as we come into the summer moths.

Intelligence with MSHT indicators in the GLAA-regulated sectors amounted to 13% of reporting in quarter 1.

 

Number of MSHT reports by sector in Q1:

Care Homes/Social Care	23
Car Wash	20
Unknown	6
Construction	6
Agriculture	5
Food Processing	5
Hotels & Restaurant	4
Transport	3
Nail Bar	2
Clerical, office and admin	2
Other	2
Restaurant	2
Food service: Takeaway	2
Motor trade and repairs	1
Courier activities	1
Food processing: vegetables	1
Cleaning General	1
Manufacturing	1

 

Overview of top sectors with MSHT indicators (Q1 2023)

Care Homes/Social Care

Background: There has been a significant increase of reports from the care home/social care sector since Q4 2022, increasing from 12 reports to 23.  The GLAA are still the leading Labour Market Enforcement bodies in a cross government multi-agency enforcement project called Op Topaz to investigate a range of allegations about the adult care sector. The care sector is now a control strategy priority for the GLAA. This could explain the increase in reporting.

Share: Care homes/social care was the most reported sector for this quarter, accounting for 26% of all MSHT reports.

Victims: Where the gender of victims is reported, there was an equal split of both male and female victims. The top nationality recorded was Indian.

Exploiters: Where the gender of exploiters has been recorded, exploiters were typically female. British was the most recorded nationality.

Offending model: In 70% of the cases, it was reported or implied that the Employer End User Model was in use. 17% of the reports suggested the Employer (Intermediary) Model was in use. These reports involved workers being exploited by a recruitment agency.

Exploitation type: The most common means of exploiting the victims was inadequate pay. This was followed by workers paying inflated fees, which can lead to debt bondage, and working long hours.

Location: There was no pattern in terms of location, with potential MSHT in care homes occurring in different counties across the country.

Accommodation: The accommodation type was not recorded in any reports. In 30% of cases the accommodation was provided by the exploiter and in 43% of these cases the accommodation was substandard.

Recruitment: The method of recruitment, as in most sectors, remains a large intelligence gap.

 

Car Washes

Background: Cases from the car wash sector have increased from 4 reports in Q4 2022 to 20 reports in Q1 2023. The car wash sector is now a control strategy priority for the GLAA, which could explain the increase in reporting.

Share:  Car wash was the second most common sector in this quarter, accounting for 23% of cases reported.

Victims: Where the gender of victims was reported, the victim was predominantly male. Nationality was recorded in 40% reports, with most victims being described as Eastern European. 60% of cases implied victims showed signs of vulnerability such as immigration status and speaking limited or no English.

Exploiters: Where gender is recorded, most cases showed that exploiters were male. There was not enough data to make a conclusion about age and nationality.

Offending model: Where recorded, in all cases the exploitation was carried out using the Employer End User model, where the exploiter was the owner/manager of the business.

Exploitation type: The most common exploitation types were being controlled by the exploiter, living at the work premises and inadequate pay.

Location: The top recorded county for MSHT indicators at a car wash was North Yorkshire.

Accommodation: In 30% of the reports the accommodation had been organised by the exploiter and in all these cases it was on the site of the car wash.

Recruitment: The method of recruitment, as in most sectors, remains a large intelligence gap.

 

Construction

Background: Construction reporting has increased slightly since Q4 2022. The construction sector incorporates a wide variety of work on different types of sites, ranging from work on small private projects such as a house extension, to large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects managed by multi-million-pound corporations with complex subcontracting networks.

Share: This was the third most common reported sector for MSHT in this quarter, accounting for 7% of reports.

Victims: Gender of the victim was recorded in one case, this being 2 male victims. Nationality was reported in 50% of the cases, with most victims being described as Eastern European. There were clear gaps in the profile of victims in this sector.

Exploiter: Gender was recorded in 66% of cases and exploiters were male. There was not enough data to make a conclusion about age and nationality

Offending model: In all cases the Employer – End User model was used. Typically, the exploiter was the owner of the construction company.

Exploitation type: The most common exploitation type was working long hours. The second most common exploitation types were poor accommodation and being dependant on the exploiter for work, transport, and accommodation.

Location: 50% of construction cases reported were in South Yorkshire.

Accommodation: In 50% of the reports the accommodation had been organised by the exploiter and in nearly all these cases the accommodation was substandard.

Recruitment: The method of recruitment, as in most sectors, remains a large intelligence gap.

 

Location

The GLAA forced and compulsory labour intelligence picture for this quarter shows a varied spread of locations across the UK.

London was the most reported county in quarter 1 with 11% of the reports coming from this area. The most common sectors in London were care, car wash, construction, and hotels and restaurants. No reports related to  GLAA regulated sectors, although the care and car wash sectors are GLAA control strategy priorities.  The most common victim nationality recorded was Ghanaian and 60% were classed as having a vulnerability, mainly their immigration status.

Top 10 counties by number of MSHT reports in Q1:

London	10
South Yorkshire	5
North Yorkshire	5
Kent	4
West Yorkshire	4
Berkshire	3
Sussex	3
Lancashire	3
Bedfordshire	3
Norfolk	3

 

The South East was the most reported region this quarter, with 18% of the reports. 25% of the reports from this region centred on Sussex and the most common sector was care homes/social care. The second most reported region was Yorkshire and Humber, who was the most reported in the last quarter. The top sector in this region was car wash, followed by care homes.

Number of MSHT reports by UK region in Q1:

South East	16
Yorkshire and Humber	14
Greater London	11
East Anglia	6
South West	6
West Midlands	6
North West	6
East of England	5
North East	4
East Midlands	4
Wales	3
South England	2
Scotland	2

 

Recruitment

The recruitment method of victims remains an extremely large intelligence gap for the GLAA. In this quarter, the recruitment method was known in only 3% of cases. The types of methods recorded were being trafficked, via a friend and Facebook. Recruitment location was recorded in 18% of reports and all the locations were overseas. The following countries were recorded:

• Albania
• Bangladesh
• China
• Ghana
• India
• Nigeria
• Ukraine
• Zimbabwe

 

Transport to the UK

This is another large intelligence gap for the GLAA. However, it is also not always relevant as not all potential victims are trafficked into the UK by an exploiter.

In this quarter the method of transport was only clearly recorded in 8% of cases. In all these cases it was aeroplane.

 

Accommodation

Accommodation type was recorded in only 21% of the reports this quarter.

The data shows that accommodation continues to be a factor in the exploitation of victims of forced and compulsory labour, with accommodation provided or controlled by potential exploiters in 31% of reports in this quarter. In 59% of those cases it was suggested that the accommodation was substandard.

Where is was recorded, the most common recorded accommodation type was described as on site (50%) and was often substandard.

 

Number of MSHT reports by accommodation type:

On site	9
Caravan	4
House in multiple occupation	3
Above restaurant	1
Bungalow	1

 

Exploitation type

There was a wide range of exploitation types reported this quarter. The most common was inadequate pay, which featured in 43% of reports. 11% of these reports mentioned receiving no pay at all and withholding wages.

The next most common exploitation types were working long hours (21%) and being controlled by the exploiter (15%). Victims who were controlled by the exploiter reported examples such as having their movements controlled by being monitored closely and having their money/wages controlled.

 

Number of MSHT reports by exploitation type in Q1:

Inadequate pay	37
Work long hours	18
Controlled	13
Inflated fees	11
Live on site	9
Labour exploitation	7
Debt bondage	7
Depend on PE for work, accommodation and travel	6
Fearful	6
Victim of MDS	5
No passport	4
Shares common details	4
Poor accommodation	3
Trafficked	3
Threats of being handed over to authorities	3
Unaware of address	2
Treated like slaves	2
Verbal abuse	2
Lack of work	2
No control over wages	2
Threats	2
Not given days off	2
Not involved in her application process	1
No breaks	1
Paid in drugs	1
No contract	1
Forced to open bank account	1
Forced to work	1
Others speak for them	1
Limited contact with environment	1
Physical assaults	1
Threats to family	1
Working under duress	1
No payslips	1

 

Horizon Scanning

Cost of living crisis

The cost-of-living crisis is likely to increase the harm on victims of modern slavery as exploiters look to cut costs and workers may be willing to accept less favourable work and working conditions.

 

War in Ukraine

Evidence provided by the NCA showed that the Ukraine conflict has disrupted the supply of seasonal workers, with Ukrainians representing the largest proportion of workers since 2019. A shortage of workers may lead to increased employment of irregular migrants and the MSHT risks that it brings.

 

Earthquake in Turkey-Syria

At present the UK Government has no plans to introduce an immigration scheme to enable earthquake survivors in Syria and Turkey to join relatives in Britain. This could potentially lead to survivors trying to enter the UK illegally, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.

 

Stop the Boats Bill March 2023

Victims of modern slavery arriving on small boats may still be recognised as victims, however they will not be able to access the NRM system, associated support or prevent deportation unless assisting police or prosecutors with criminal proceeding related to their exploitation. This could deter irregular migrants from reporting incidences of forced labour/ exploitation and increase their vulnerability.

 

Recruitment

Intelligence Requirement:

• Method by which victim is recruited
• To what extent is the Internet utilised by suspects to advertise work in the UK
• To what extent do suspects recruit “friends of friends” and/or family members
• Do victims travel with others, if so, are these friends/ relatives or unknown
• Is there a higher incidence of vulnerable victims being recruited (i.e. homeless, drink or drug dependent etc.)? If so are they employed in specific sectors

 

Transport to the UK

Intelligence Requirement:

• How are workers transported to the UK?
• The extent of clandestine entry to the UK for victims of MSHT.
• Extent debt bondage is used as a coercive tool.
• Establish who victims first point of contact is on arrival in the UK & their link, if any, to an Organised Crime Group (OCG)
• How victim is transported to accommodation/ work on arrival.

 

Suspect Profiles

Intelligence Requirement:

• To what extent is the suspect part of an OCG.
• Age
• Nationality
• Gender
• Geographical profile
• To what extent does nationality correspond to that of the victims or otherwise
• Employment status- Are suspects legitimately employed within the sector/ industry they are recruiting into
• Extent of family cells involved in MSHT offences

 

Victim Profiles

Intelligence Requirement:

• Extent of irregular migrants as victims
• Age
• Nationality
• Gender
• Geographical profile
• Any links between nationality and sector employed in
• Extent to which victims are subject to more than one type of exploitation
• Types of coercion used
• Presence of the Roma community and extent to which they may be victims of exploitation

 

Accommodation

Intelligence Requirement:

• Extent of control the OCG exerts over accommodation
• Who owns the property
• Extent to which victims live with OCG/ family cells
• Of these, the number of victims of labour exploitation also subject to domestic servitude
• Extent to which victims live with “enforcers”- were these enforcers once victims themselves
• Type of accommodation
• Quality of accommodation
• Is accommodation overcrowded
• Is accommodation linked to employment

 

Employment

Intelligence Requirement:

• Extent debt bondage is used as a coercive tool
• Length of time between entering the UK and starting work
• Sector employed in
• Extent to which multiple jobs are worked by victims/ does this tend to be cross sector
• Involvement of the OCG in obtaining work for the victim
• Extent to which unlicensed gangmasters are involved in recruitment of victims-trends or emerging issues.
• Extent to which licensed gangmasters are involved in recruitment of workers- trends or emerging issues
• Extent to which rogue employees or corrupt gangmasters are involved in the recruitment of victims, or are the majority of Labour Providers unaware
• How is the victim paid, if at all- access and control of bank accounts- who sets up the account?
• Is victim segregated from others during work- if so, how
• How is the victim transported to and from the workplace?
• Labour supply by GLAA licence holders into other sectors to build the intelligence picture of third-party labour supply in all sectors across the country
• Encourage licence holders to share adverse intelligence outside of the regulated sectors