Report

At what cost?

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice explores the impact of forced labour in the UK.

Our new report, produced in partnership with Justice and Care, At what cost? Exploring the impact of forced labour in the UK reveals the reality of this type of modern slavery which is rife through our communities.

The report comes on the back of last month’s high-profile case of victims being exploited by a Czech crime family in a Cambridgeshire McDonald’s and a London bakery. Forced or compulsory labour is a form of modern slavery that sits at the most severe end of a spectrum of exploitation and non-compliant employment conditions. Victims are coerced or deceived into working for little or no pay, or someone else takes control of their wages or forces them to work to pay off excessive and illegitimate debts. It is often accompanied by threats and physically demanding or unsafe working conditions.

At what cost? shatters any illusion that forced labour is a problem restricted to global supply chains. In fact, it is the second most common form of modern slavery reported by victims referred to the Home Office where some or all of their exploitation took place in the UK (16,432 victims between October 2019 and June 2024).

Victims of forced labour suffer mental and physical harm as well as loss of earnings from unpaid or stolen wages or illegal debts. But there are also wider impacts.