Avenues educates employees on how to identify victims of modern slavery and exploitation
Friday 13th of June 2025Avenues has been reminding its employees of how to spot signs of people who are victims of labour exploitation and modern slavery. The organisation is working in partnership with Unseen, a leading UK charity which aims to draw people’s attention to how to identify and report slavery practices in society.
Labour exploitation can affect any industry, but social care is particularly vulnerable. There were 800 victims in 2024.
Avenues has provided employees with a checklist and contact details to report details should they suspect a fellow worker is a victim of exploitation or they are themselves. This includes:
- They show signs of psychological or physical abuse.
- They appear frightened, withdrawn or confused.
- They appear to not be free to move and/or are always accompanied to work.
- They’re transported to and from work, perhaps with a number of people in one vehicle.
- They lack access to their own documents, such as ID or passport.
- They are working unusually long hours.
Director of People at Avenues Group, Caroline Neal, said: “As a charity we always put people first, both those we support and employees, and this partnership helps protect our community from the criminals behind modern slavery.
“We will do all we can to safeguard our employees and the people we support, but we all need to be able to identify signs of modern slavery and exploitation in our different workplaces.”
If you or someone you know is a victim of modern slavery you can contact Unseen on 0800 121 7000.
You can also report it through their website at https://www.modernslaveryhelpline.org/report