UK commits to legislate for mandatory human rights due diligence: What businesses need to know
Written by: Charlotte Barker, Technical Specialist | Last updated: 10.11.2026
Modern slavery statements may soon sit alongside a broader due diligence duty. Here’s what the Government has announced, what remains unclear and where businesses can start.
On 4 November, the UK Government committed to legislate for mandatory human rights due diligence for large businesses. Those in scope would need to identify, assess and address human rights abuses and labour exploitation across their operations and supply chains.1
It’s a significant development for businesses with complex supply chains. For now, businesses can take stock of their current approach and consider how this proposal fits alongside requirements in other markets.
What has the Government announced?
The proposed regime would apply to UK businesses with global turnover above £350 million, and non-UK businesses with UK-generated turnover above £350 million. It would cover services across the UK and goods in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the Government says the EU Forced Labour Regulation will apply under the Windsor Framework.
The proposed regime is intended to be risk-based and proportionate, aligned with established standards including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct. Businesses in scope would be required to identify, assess and address risks of human rights abuses and labour exploitation in their operations and supply chains.
The Government also plans to give a regulator power to investigate businesses suspected of placing forced-labour goods on the Great Britain market. Where forced labour is identified and due diligence obligations have not been met, the regulator could direct the goods’ withdrawal.
A wider due diligence picture
The UK proposal comes as the EU’s amended Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) introduces due diligence requirements on human rights and environmental impacts for the largest companies in scope, with the amended rules due to apply from July 2029. For businesses exposed to both, existing work on supply-chain mapping, risk assessment and governance may provide a useful foundation. As the UK regime takes shape, businesses can build on that work and assess any additional requirements as the detail emerges.2
The commitment is clear; the detail isn’t
This is a commitment to bring forward legislation, not a law that businesses need to comply with today. The Government has not yet set out a timetable, the detailed requirements or who the regulator will be. It plans to work with stakeholders on the regime’s design and introduce the measures as soon as parliamentary time allows.
The commitment also sits alongside proposed changes to the Modern Slavery Act in the Immigration and Asylum Bill. These are separate developments. The Bill proposes more specific content for modern slavery statements, approval and sign-off requirements, reporting duties for qualifying public authorities, and potential financial penalties for non-compliance. It is still progressing through Parliament.3
The Government has not yet explained how these reporting requirements would interact with the planned due diligence regime. Businesses should keep track of both as they develop.
What’s interesting is that businesses don’t need to wait for the final rules to begin. They can use this announcement as a prompt to connect the work already happening across procurement, sustainability, risk and compliance, and check whether it helps them act on human rights risks.Charlotte BarkerTechnical Specialist
Where can businesses start?
The final requirements are not yet known, but businesses can use this time to take stock of what they already have in place:
Understand potential exposure: consider turnover, UK activities, supply chains and whether you provide goods or services.
Review your current approach: how do you identify, prioritise and address human rights risks across your operations and supply chains?
Connect policy with practice: are responsibilities, supplier engagement, escalation routes and follow-up actions clear?
Keep a record of action: can you show what risks were identified, what decisions were made and what happened next?
For many organisations, the challenge is connecting work that already sits across sustainability, procurement, risk and compliance teams. A clearer view of supply-chain risks can help teams prioritise action and build a more consistent approach.
Simply Sustainable’s due diligence and traceability support helps organisations identify and prioritise human rights and environmental risks across their value chains, and embed due diligence into procurement, supplier management and governance.
If you’re reviewing your supply-chain due diligence or want to understand what these proposals could mean for your organisation, get in touch with our team.
Simply Sustainable’s due diligence and traceability support helps organisations identify and prioritise human rights and environmental risks across their value chains, and embed due diligence into procurement, supplier management and governance.
We help you understand how your business impacts the world around it. And what it depends on. So you can manage risks, uncover opportunities, and make smarter, more sustainable decisions.
