The construction sector employs a huge variety of people, from expert engineers to low-skilled labourers.

Tough competition and tight margins put extreme pressure on costs, tempting some to cut corners and ignore checks on who is actually doing the work. This is exploited by human traffickers, who profit from controlling the movements and wages of their victims.

Slavery is a growing worldwide epidemic with more than 40 million victims, including an estimated 136,000 in Britain.

Human trafficking gangs target vulnerable individuals suffering from homelessness, addictions or family break-up, making empty promises about the fresh start these victims crave and assuring them of work, shelter and an income. Victims are usually trafficked to a different location, often overseas, isolating them from everything they know. Initial promises become a distant memory as they are put to work and paid nothing, or a tiny sliver of what they deserve, with traffickers controlling their finances. Identity theft and benefit fraud is common, with gangs profiting still further from such abuse.

Victims are usually grouped together in atrocious conditions, crammed into squalid houses infested with rats, and fed the minimum required for survival. Traffickers use threats and violence to control their victims, who may be sold on to other gangs if they fail to yield enough profit.

We all have a responsibility to stop this suffering, but rooting it out remains a challenge. Victims are often too frightened to come forward, while the short-term nature of construction labour makes it hard to establish the relationships needed to spot warning signs. There are, however, universal indicators that should ring alarm bells.

There are universal indicators that should ring alarm bells

Labouring jobs are regularly filled by people with limited education or little command of English. This can make it difficult to articulate their needs. As a result, one warning sign of potential slavery is an unofficial, unqualified interpreter, especially one who speaks for a large group of individuals. Where possible, it is best to source an independent interpreter.

Another indicator of slavery is restricted freedom of movement. This may be apparent if an individual, or group of individuals, is always escorted to and from the site. Behaviour and appearance can also be very telling. Forced labourers will often be skittish, paranoid and introverted, avoiding eye contact or interaction while remaining incredibly productive. They may look dishevelled, in worn-out, dirty clothing, and show visible signs of abuse, such as bruising. These signs should never be ignored.

One further indicator, offering absolute certainty of exploitation, is a negotiated rate below the National Minimum Wage. At its very lowest this should be 4.35 an hour for those aged 16 to 18, increasing incrementally to reach 8.21 at 25. No worker can be legally employed at rates below these statutory minimums.

To guard against abuse, every business should implement a robust anti-slavery policy tailored to its own circumstances while reflecting wider industry practices. Compliance should cascade down through all subcontractors, with stringent due diligence when selecting third-party services. This requires a shift in industry thinking, placing ethics above economics. If a price seems too good to be true, it probably is. To wilfully ignore this is to become complicit.

Copies of identity documents should be checked, bearing in mind that legitimate documents can often be held by gangmasters. Knowledge should be tested to verify sector-specific documents, such as CSCS cards. Blindly trusting a supposedly reputable supplier is no guarantee in one of the largest modern slavery cases in the UK, a recruitment agency had been infiltrated by a gang member.

A vital first step is to carry out a gap analysis, to highlight vulnerable areas needing immediate improvement. Experts such as Slave-Free Alliance can offer guidance to ensure the exercise is both thorough and attuned to the psyche of traffickers, who are adapt at exploiting weak points of entry.

Adopting responsible processes will require investment, but the outlay will be cheap compared to the potential consequences of inaction. Irreparable reputational damage can result from the discovery of forced labour, potentially leading to loss of contracts and insolvency.

By taking proactive action, firms can protect not just the victims of forced labour but their own future as well.

Marc Stanton is director of Slave-Free Alliance, which passes all its profit to founding charity Hope for Justice

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Spot signs of slavery and do something about it - Construction News