A report from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), reveals that more than 100 major UK companies do not have suitable modern slavery policies.

Under section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, it is a legal requirement for all UK companies to provide a modern slavery statement.

The FRC stated that whilst there existed “pockets of good disclosure”, many companies were falling short, often opting for a “reactive, rather than proactive, approach” to addressing the risks of modern slavery within their businesses.

The report showed that where statements existed only 37% clearly identified emerging issues, whilst only 12% provided long-term plans to tackle the issue.

Sir Jon Thompson, CEO of FRC said in a statement, “It is unacceptable that… modern slavery considerations appear not to be a mainstream concern for many boardrooms.”

Dame Sara Thornton, the UK’s independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, estimates that there are 16 million modern slavery victims working in today’s private sector globally, and that such exploitation is allowed to thrive due to the poor business governance.

A spokeswoman for CARE said:

“It’s clear there is much more work to do to ensure companies across the UK are fulfilling their obligations to take account of modern slavery risks.

“Modern slavery is a huge, and often invisible, industry affecting Brits in all walks of life. We hope political authorities will act to ensure better compliance in years to come.”