Partnership Bulletin - December 2025

Enforcement update

On Thursday 4 December two people were arrested and subsequently bailed as part of an investigation into modern slavery.

GLAA officers carried out the arrests at an address in Canning Town, East London following reports that two people were being exploited at an address in Cornwall.

Supported by the London Metropolitan Police’s modern slavery department, a 46-year-old man and a 45-year old woman were arrested, and have since been bailed pending further investigation.

The two victims have been safely rescued and have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism, the UK’s official system for identifying individuals who may be victims of modern slavery and connecting them with appropriate support services. There may be more potential victims.

GLAA Senior Investigating Officer Neville Bradbury said: “When we receive a report that someone is being exploited, we will never hesitate to act and ensure that not only those who are vulnerable are brought to safety, but we will also make sure we act quickly to root out those who are involved in this type of criminality.

“A lot of planning went into this warrant, and I want to thank our colleagues at The Metropolitan Police for supporting us.”

On Wednesday 10 December a man was arrested in connection with modern slavery offences following a joint operation in Ilford, Redbridge.

GLAA officers, supported by the Metropolitan Police, attended an address in Ilford, Redbridge in the early hours of Wednesday where a 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of committing forced or compulsory labour offences under Section 1 and 2 of the Modern Slavery Act.

He has since been released pending further investigation.

The arrest comes following a report that a woman was being forced to work at a care home in Merseyside without receiving payment. She has since been safeguarded and referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the UK’s official system for identifying individuals who may be victims of modern slavery and connecting them with appropriate support services. 

Senior investigating officer at the GLAA Mike Heyes said: “We are pleased that this operation went ahead successfully and although the investigation remains ongoing, we are clear that we have a zero-tolerance approach to anyone being exploited for their labour, and we will act accordingly.

“The victim has been safeguarded and continues to be supported by specialist officers as she begins the path of rebuilding her life.

“I’d like to thank the Met officers for their support, and we will continue to work closely with our partners to share intelligence, safeguard vulnerable people and bring those who would cause them harm to justice.”

Anyone who suspects that workers are being exploited for their labour should contact the GLAA, or if you feel there is an immediate danger, contact 999.

You can email us on contact@gla.gov.uk or use our online reporting from

Regulation update

The Licensing team have recently published two briefs.

Brief 88 – Changes to umbrella company regulations

Brief 88 details changes to umbrella company regulations and publishes guidance on these changes which come into effect on 6 April 2026. You can read Brief 88 which is published on our website and where you will also find a pdf version.

To support businesses on how the legislation will work, HMRC has published detailed Guidance ahead of the final legislation. This guidance may change if there are any changes to the legislation.

In addition you can also register for one of HMRC’s in-depth webinars to understand implementation requirements and ensure compliance readiness.

The Employment Status Manual has also been updated to reflect these changes Employment-Status-Manual/ESM2400 Umbrella Companies contents.

It is good practice to conduct regular due diligence checks on your labour supply chains. Please see the following link for Help with labour supply chain assurance.

Brief 89 – HMRC policy brief on organised labour fraud

This Brief explains how HMRC is raising awareness of new fraudulent models which are being marketed to employers and recruitment agencies offering ‘cheaper’ payroll services.

You can read Brief 89 on our website where you will also find a pdf version.

HMRC recently published a Tax fraud warning for employment agencies and employers: tax credits reducing liabilities for employers - GOV.UK.

Please review your labour outsourcing arrangements. If you think your supply chains may involve the use of this model, you need to act to remove the risk.

A good starting point is to conduct regular and robust due diligence checks. Please see guidance on Help with labour supply chain assurance.

If you find issues in your supply chain, you can Report tax fraud or avoidance to HMRC - GOV.UK or to the GLAA using contact@gla.gov.uk. Please quote GLAA Brief 89.

Join our next online meeting for stakeholders and partners 

Once a quarter, we invite stakeholders to attend our online meeting for updates within the labour market and the regulatory framework exploring how together we can make changes and improvements to stop worker exploitation.  

You could be a GLAA licence holder, supplying workers within our regulated sector. Or, you might be one of their clients, a labour user, who employs workers as part of your day-to-day business operations.  

We also welcome those from connected trade associations, unions, NGOs and retailers as well as anyone else connected with the UK’s fresh produce supply chain.  

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 13 January 2026 at 11.00am when we will be joined by Matthew Taylor who was recently announced as Chair of the Fair Work Agency.

To be added to the Stakeholder meeting mailing list or to suggest topics for future meetings, simply email us at communications@gla.gov.uk. Invitations to this meeting will be sent out in due course.

News

CEO Stakeholder blog

In November our CEO, Elysia McCaffrey shared her thoughts on our 2025 performance (April-September) and how we are stopping worker exploitation. She also looked ahead to the Fair Work Agency and the recent appointment of Matthew Taylor as the first Chair of the new agency. Read more in her stakeholder blog.

GLAA names meeting room after Mary Prince to mark anti-slavery day

In October, to mark anti-slavery day a formal ceremony was held to open a new meeting room after enslaved woman, Mary Prince. She presented her own petition to parliament calling for herself and other enslaved women to be free.

Read more about Mary Prince in our news section.