Human Trafficking in the UK: Modern Slavery Laws and the NRM

Human trafficking UK laws sit across three statutes passed in 2015, one for each legal jurisdiction, and all three carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent legislation. A UK-wide system called the National Referral Mechanism identifies potential victims and connects them to accommodation, financial support, legal aid, and in some cases immigration permission. Victims who were forced to commit crimes by their traffickers also have a statutory defence that can keep them out of the dock.

What the Law Treats as Trafficking

Trafficking has two parts: arranging or facilitating another person’s travel, and intending or knowing they will be exploited. “Travel” is broad. It covers entering, leaving, or moving within any country, so a victim never has to cross a border for the offence to apply. Recruiting, transporting, harbouring, and transferring control over another person all count when the purpose is exploitation.¹

Exploitation itself takes several recognised forms. Sexual exploitation forces victims into prostitution or other sexual activity, often through violence or manufactured debt. Forced labour compels people to work for little or no pay in sectors like agriculture, construction, and manufacturing. Domestic servitude confines victims inside private homes to cook, clean, and provide childcare under threat. Traffickers also force people into criminal activity such as cannabis cultivation, street theft, or begging. Organ harvesting, though rarer, is also covered.

A victim’s apparent consent is legally irrelevant where coercion, deception, or abuse of a vulnerable position was involved. For children under 18, no coercion needs to be shown at all. Arranging a child’s travel with the intent to exploit them is enough on its own.¹

The Three Statutes Across the UK

England and Wales

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 consolidated earlier offences into one statute. Section 1 criminalises holding someone in slavery or servitude, or requiring them to perform forced labour, where the perpetrator knows or ought to know what they are doing. Section 2 covers trafficking. Both carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.¹² Courts can also order convicted traffickers to pay compensation directly to their victims through a Slavery and Trafficking Reparation Order.³

Scotland

The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 mirrors the English structure, with two offences covering trafficking and slavery, servitude, or forced labour. On conviction in the High Court the maximum is life. In the sheriff court with a jury it drops to five years, and without a jury to 12 months. Scottish courts must treat certain factors as aggravating the sentence: offences committed against a child, offences by public officials acting in that capacity, and other crimes connected to trafficking.⁴

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act 2015 carries the same life maximum, but adds something the other two jurisdictions do not have: a minimum custodial sentence of two years, unless the court finds exceptional circumstances. The Act also criminalises paying for sexual services, which carries up to one year’s imprisonment, and treats forced marriage as a separate offence with a seven-year maximum.⁵

The Section 45 Defence for Victims Forced Into Crime

Traffickers routinely force victims to break the law, whether that means tending a cannabis farm, shoplifting to order, or committing benefit fraud. Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act gives those victims a statutory defence when they are prosecuted for the offences they were coerced into.

For adults, the defence applies where the person was compelled to commit the offence because of their slavery or exploitation, and a reasonable person in their situation would have had no realistic alternative. For children under 18 the threshold is lower. A child only needs to show the criminal act was a direct consequence of being trafficked and that a reasonable person in their position would have done the same.⁶

Schedule 4 of the Act lists offences the defence cannot be used for. These include murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, firearms offences, sexual offences, robbery, and violent crimes such as wounding with intent.⁷ For every other offence the defence provides a real legal shield, though in practice the victim usually needs to be identified through the referral system first.

The National Referral Mechanism

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK-wide framework for identifying potential victims and connecting them to support. A victim cannot refer themselves. Only a designated First Responder Organisation can submit a referral, and those organisations include police forces, local authorities, specified government agencies, and certain non-governmental organisations.⁸

Reasonable Grounds and the Recovery Period

Once a referral reaches the competent authority, it aims to make a Reasonable Grounds decision within five working days. A positive decision triggers a recovery period of at least 30 days, during which the person receives accommodation, financial support, and access to legal aid. The recovery period runs until the Conclusive Grounds decision is made or 30 days pass, whichever is later.⁹

Conclusive Grounds and Move-On Support

The Conclusive Grounds decision asks whether, on the balance of probabilities, the person is a victim of modern slavery. “Balance of probabilities” means more likely than not.¹⁰ A positive decision formally recognises the person as a survivor and triggers a Recovery Needs Assessment that shapes the support they continue to receive.

After a positive Conclusive Grounds decision, survivors receive a minimum of 45 days of move-on support. That can include temporary accommodation, financial help to prevent destitution, counselling, emergency medical treatment, translation services, and help accessing employment or education.

Changes Under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 introduced a public order disqualification. The government can withhold NRM protections from individuals who pose a serious threat to national security or who have been convicted of serious criminal offences. Disqualification is discretionary and decided case by case.¹¹ The same Act set the recovery period in statute at a minimum of 30 days, replacing the previous 45-day reflection and recovery period that had existed only in policy.⁹

Immigration Permission for Survivors Without Status

A positive Conclusive Grounds decision does not by itself grant the right to stay in the UK. For survivors without immigration status, the government can grant Temporary Permission to Stay (VTS). This can be given for up to 30 months in total, where the person needs time for physical or psychological recovery or is assisting public authorities with investigations. A separate grant of up to 12 months can be made for pursuing a compensation claim.¹²

Cases outside those timeframes, or where the 30-month maximum has already been used, may be considered under the separate Discretionary Leave policy. That threshold is higher. The individual’s circumstances must be distinguishable to a high degree from other cases.¹²

Support for Child Victims

Section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act created Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs), specialist advocates for children identified as potential trafficking victims. The service has operated through a grant since 2017 and currently covers around two-thirds of local authorities in England and Wales, with a national rollout underway.¹³ Children also benefit from the lower threshold version of the Section 45 defence. In Northern Ireland, legislation sets a 45-day support period while a child’s status is being determined.⁵

A Note on the Supply Chain Duty

Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act applies to businesses, not individuals. Commercial organisations with annual turnover of £36 million or more that carry on business in the UK must publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they take to prevent slavery in their operations and supply chains.¹⁴ There are no fines or criminal penalties for failing to publish. The Secretary of State can bring civil proceedings in the High Court for an injunction compelling compliance.¹⁵

How to Report Trafficking

Anyone who suspects a person is being trafficked or held in modern slavery can call the UK Modern Slavery and Exploitation Helpline on 08000 121 700. The helpline is run by the charity Unseen and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.¹⁶ In an emergency, call 999. Reports can also be made to local police or the National Crime Agency. Because only First Responder Organisations can submit NRM referrals, contacting the police or a local authority is usually the practical first step to get the identification process started.⁸

1
Legislation.gov.uk. Modern Slavery Act 2015
2
Sentencing Council. Sentencing Guidelines for Slavery, Servitude and Forced or Compulsory Labour and Human Trafficking
3
Sentencing Council. Slavery and Trafficking Reparation Order
4
Scottish Government. Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 – Guide
5
Legislation.gov.uk. Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015
6
Legislation.gov.uk. Modern Slavery Act 2015 – Section 45
7
Legislation.gov.uk. Modern Slavery Act 2015 – Schedule 4
8
GOV.UK. Guidance on the National Referral Mechanism for Potential Adult Victims of Modern Slavery – England and Wales
9
Legislation.gov.uk. Nationality and Borders Act 2022
10
GOV.UK. Understanding the NRM – A Guide for Primary School Aged Children
11
GOV.UK. Nationality and Borders Bill – Abuse of Modern Slavery Protections Factsheet
12
GOV.UK. Temporary Permission to Stay for Victims of Human Trafficking and Slavery
13
GOV.UK. Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) Service National Rollout
14
GOV.UK. Publish an Annual Modern Slavery Statement
15
Legislation.gov.uk. Modern Slavery Act 2015 – Section 54
16
Modern Slavery Helpline. Modern Slavery Helpline