ETI's recommendation follows the UK government’s announcement that it intends to introduce a new mHRDD regime for large companies to identify, assess, and address risks of human rights abuses and labour exploitation within their operations and supply chains.
Announced on 4 November, the proposed law would apply to UK businesses with global turnover above £350m ($470m) and non-UK businesses with more than £350m in UK-generated turnover.
The supply chain law, as outlined by the government, will require companies to take action in line with the UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines.
It will also grant new powers to a regulator to investigate firms suspected of placing goods made with forced labour on the British market. The regulator will be able to order the removal of such goods where due diligence has not been adequately performed and forced labour is found.
ETI executive director Giles Bolton said: “Today’s announcement is a huge step forward for workers in global supply chains, and for the many responsible businesses, trade unions and NGOs that have called for it.
“ETI stands ready to work with government on the detail, so the law puts workers at the heart of due diligence, creates a level playing field for responsible businesses and gives people who are harmed a route to remedy. We will also strongly encourage government to ensure that both public sector procurement and environmental due diligence are included in scope, and that a clear timetable is set out so businesses can prepare.”
ETI’s recommendations
ETI emphasised that real progress would depend on several detailed aspects. Chief among these is ensuring workers and unions are meaningfully involved in due diligence processes and have genuine access to remedy when harmed.
The initiative also urged the government to:
- Cover the full value chain, in the UK and overseas, including businesses’ own purchasing practices.
- Bring environmental harms into scope as the regime develops.
- Include public sector procurement, recognising the public sector’s purchasing power to shape supplier behaviour across whole sectors.
- Set proportionate expectations, so the largest businesses use their leverage to support suppliers rather than push requirements onto them.
- Set out a clear timetable, with legislation brought forward in this parliamentary session.
- Give the regulator a role beyond forced labour goods, with sanctions that drive improvement and a route to remedy for people who are harmed.
- Come with guidance developed through consultation with businesses, trade unions, NGOs and lived-experience experts.
The announcement of the new legislation comes after sustained advocacy from ETI’s membership of businesses, trade unions, and NGOs, alongside groups such as the British Retail Consortium and the Corporate Justice Coalition.
Last month, 33 organisations joined ETI in a letter to the Prime Minister calling for more robust and clearly regulated supply chain practices.
The government said it intends to “work closely” with stakeholders to design and implement the rules, introducing them as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Philip Jennings, ETI board chair, added: “Around the world, more and more countries are making due diligence a legal duty, and today the UK has taken its place among them. Global supply chains connect workers, businesses and consumers across borders, and a common international standard, built on the UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines, is what makes respect for workers’ rights possible at scale. The UK’s commitment sends a strong signal to its trading partners, and to workers everywhere who make the goods we rely on.”
