Modern slavery victims being ‘exploited in plain sight’ across UK retail sector

Modern slavery victims are being "exploited in plain sight" across the UK retail sector, filling supermarket shelves and staffing convenience store checkouts, a new report warns.

Analysis from anti-slavery charity Unseen reveals that reported instances within the retail industry nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025.

Human rights are being compromised to protect profit margins and personal incomes in a sector facing headwinds such as the growing popularity of online shopping, the organisation said.

Modern slavery covers human trafficking, servitude, forced or compulsory labour, and slavery.

Unseen’s helpline identified 201 prospective modern slavery victims in retail during 2025, up from 100 a year prior and marking a steep increase from just one report in 2021.

While skilled worker visas for this sector are reserved for managers and directors, Unseen said “many migrant workers are being brought to the UK to be exploited in entry level roles that are commonplace in the retail sector”.

The charity said recent changes announced to cut ties between victims and exploitative employers under the visa “helps after exploitation has happened but does not prevent it”.

Sri Lankan was the most common nationality among potential victims between January 2025 and June this year, where someone’s nationality was known, following by Indian then Pakistani, according to the charity’s report.

The sector was the fifth most common industry for modern slavery cases reported to the helpline in 2025, behind the care sector, hospitality, construction and services.

Unseen said most of the modern slavery cases reported in the retail sector where the type of business was known involved supermarkets (69%) and convenience stores (76%).

Many potential victims told of having wages withheld, living in accommodation tied to their employment and threatened with having their visa revoked or being reported to immigration authorities or the police.

The report, published on Wednesday, said “significant challenges” including “changes in consumer behaviour and the boom in online shopping”, impacts of the pandemic, cost of living crisis and inflation “have created an environment where human rights have been compromised to maintain or increase profit margins and personal income”.

It added: “Whilst understanding around exploitation in global manufacturing supply chains exists, there is little awareness that modern slavery is taking place on high streets and corner shops in neighbourhoods across the UK.”

Justine Carter, deputy chief executive at Unseen, said: “Modern slavery is often described as hidden, but in retail it is happening in places many of us visit every day. Behind the counter, people are being exploited in plain sight.

“In addition to the human suffering and human rights violations, failing to tackle the exploitation of foreign nationals also poses a significant risk to the UK retail sector itself.”

She said Government, enforcement bodies and the retail sector “must work together to close the loopholes that allow exploitation to happen and ensure that workers understand their rights before they arrive in the UK”.

Revised rules, which will take effect from October 8, mean that if someone is formally recognised as a victim of modern slavery, the restriction tying them to a specific sponsor will be lifted and they can take another job for the rest of their skilled worker visa without affecting their immigration status.

The restriction will only be lifted at the point the person is given what is known as a conclusive grounds decision through the Government’s national referral mechanism (NRM).

To access support and have recognition of their circumstances in the UK, victims of slavery and human trafficking have to be assessed under the NRM.

While the restriction will automatically be removed for those who have a conclusive grounds decision on or after October 8, it is understood people deemed to be victims of modern slavery before that date but who have time left on their visa will be able to apply to UK Visas and Immigration to have theirs lifted.

Unseen warned that the change “helps after exploitation has happened but does not prevent it” and that any tightening of access to support through the NRM could undermine the effectiveness of the change.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Since the election, we have stripped more than 6,600 rogue sponsors of their licences to exploit overseas workers.

“Victims of modern slavery on skilled worker visas will also have the freedom to leave abusive workplaces without losing their immigration status, and we have created the Fair Work Agency to enable a consistent response to labour exploitation.

“We continue to work with brave survivors of modern slavery and have taken immediate action to reduce the backlog of cases, ensuring victims get swift decisions and the support they need to rebuild their lives.”