Show modern slavery improvements to public buyers
Show what changed for workers, how you checked it and what remains unresolved. Give your customer a contract-specific evidence pack with a baseline, comparable outcome measures, open risks and agreed follow-up actions. Factory evidence can be gathered by Cambridge China Bridge.
Start with the contract and the baseline
Cabinet Office guidance describes modern slavery as requiring continuous focus and improvement, supported by effective supplier relationship management. Use the approach below to prepare evidence for your customer's review, and agree the reporting scope against your actual contract.
Identify the goods, factories, subcontracted processes and recruitment routes covered by your report. Record the starting position and evidence date for each concern. Keep unmapped suppliers visible as gaps. Use the supply-chain risk mapping guide for the mapping work; this guide focuses on demonstrating subsequent change.
Measure changes for workers
Separate activities from outcomes. Training delivered, audits completed and policies issued describe work done. For each activity, ask what changed for affected workers and how you verified that change. Choose measures that match the concern, rather than reporting everything the factory can count. See our guide to why ethical audits miss modern slavery.
Agree the reporting period, worker group, calculation method and evidence source with your customer. When reporting a proportion, show the affected workers and the population checked. Explain changes in coverage so that a narrower sample cannot appear to be an improvement.
| Concern | Outcome to examine | Evidence to seek |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment fees | Affected workers received repayments and new recruits report no fees | Repayment records checked against confidential worker accounts |
| Retained identity documents | Workers can access and control their documents | Worker accounts and checks of actual document arrangements |
| Unpaid wages | Affected workers received the outstanding pay | Payroll corrections, payment evidence and worker confirmation |
| Grievance handling | Workers can raise concerns safely and receive a response | Anonymised case records and confidential follow-up with workers |
Report unresolved risks plainly
Keep an open-risk register alongside the improvement record. For each entry, state the affected site or worker group, what is known, what remains unverified, the interim protection, the responsible person and the next evidence deadline. Distinguish suspected abuse, confirmed findings and missing information.
Do not present silence as proof of safe conditions. If complaints fall, check whether workers still trust and can access the reporting channel. Record denied access, missing recruitment records and interviews conducted in front of managers as limitations. Keep sensitive worker details out of the general review pack.
Make corrective-action closure reviewable
For each action, retain the original finding, agreed remedy, owner, target date, completion evidence and verification result. A revised policy shows a document changed; it does not demonstrate repayment or safer recruitment. Record who checked the outcome and whether affected workers could speak confidentially.
Use the corrective-action closure guide to assess the evidence and the factory follow-up audit guide to brief a return visit. If access or evidence is incomplete, leave the action open or mark completion as unverified. Schedule a further check for recurrence.
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Leave the contract review with agreed decisions
Send a dated pack containing the baseline, outcome comparison, evidence index, open-risk register and action log. Identify which contract commitments each item addresses. Include relevant clauses and previous review decisions so the customer can compare promised action with delivery.
Record the customer's challenges, evidence accepted, disputed conclusions, support needed and next actions in the meeting record. Agree owners and review dates. Examine whether your own payment delays, order changes or price pressure obstruct the remedy, and assess worker protection before proposing a supplier exit.
Keep the worker-remediation plan separate from delivery-continuity planning. Link any proposed supplier change to the supply-chain resilience guide, while explaining what will happen to affected workers and unresolved actions.
Frequently asked questions
What evidence shows modern slavery improvements?
Show a dated baseline, a comparable worker outcome and the records used to verify it. Explain who was covered, who checked the result and what remains uncertain.
Does a factory audit prove the problem is solved?
Treat the audit as supporting evidence. Check the specific remedy through records and confidential worker accounts, and state any access or sampling limitations.
How do I report unresolved modern slavery risks?
List each concern with its evidence gaps, interim worker protection, owner and next deadline. Keep suspected abuse, confirmed findings and unverified information distinct.
What should a modern slavery contract review record?
Record outcome changes, evidence accepted or challenged, open actions, named owners and agreed review dates. Preserve the customer's decisions alongside the supporting documents.