Modern slavery warning signs missed by UK firms
Most UK businesses lack the basic systems needed to identify and prevent modern slavery, despite over half believing they are capable of managing the risk, according to new research published by the Institution of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH).
The findings, published in IOSH’s new white paper Hidden in plain sight: confronting modern slavery in today’s economy, reveal significant gaps in organisational preparedness that could leave workers vulnerable to exploitation. IOSH warns that modern slavery remains embedded in workplaces and supply chains.
The Institution commissioned YouGov to survey 1,011 senior decision-makers and found that:
- 70 per cent of organisations have no formal assessment or mapping process for modern slavery risks.
- 62 per cent have no formal commitment to addressing modern slavery and no plans to develop one.
- 62 per cent provide no formal training to help staff identify and respond to modern slavery risks.
- 44 per cent have no dedicated mechanism for workers to raise concerns about modern slavery.
Read more on the HSM website.
Packaging manufacturer fined for second time in less than a year after worker’s hand crushed in laminator machine
A plastic packaging manufacturer has been fined for the second time in less than a year after a worker suffered a severe crush injury when their hand was drawn into the rollers of a laminating machine at its site in Telford.
Reflex Flexible Packaging Limited was sentenced in November 2025 after an employee died when he became trapped in an unguarded machine at the company’s site in Langley Mill, Derbyshire. This latest case relates to a separate incident on 17 January 2025, at the company’s Telford premises, when a worker suffered serious injuries while cleaning a machine.
The worker, a laminator operative and shift supervisor employed by the company, was injured while cleaning a laminator machine at the company’s premises on Halesfield, Telford.
The worker was cleaning the machine’s rollers using rags after a production run had finished. As they cleaned the machine, a rag became caught between two in-running rollers and pulled their left hand into the nip point between them. Their hand was drawn into the machine up to the wrist.
Read more on the HSE website.
Network Rail fined £1.2m over wall collapse
Network Rail has been fined £1.2 million after pleading guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, following an investigation and prosecution by industry regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
The incident happened on 16 September 2022, when a boundary wall beside a car park at Rugby railway station collapsed onto 81-year-old pedestrian Edward Hanlon, who was using the adjacent alleyway.
Mr. Hanlon suffered several fractured ribs, a punctured lung and a blood clot in his lung, and spent two weeks in hospital. The incident had a lasting impact on him both physically and mentally, leaving him in persistent pain, restricting his mobility and preventing him from returning to many of the activities he had previously enjoyed. Mr. Hanlon died in January 2025 following a diagnosis of lymphoma.
Read more on the HSM website.
How to stop safety getting lost in translation
IOSH Student member Muzammil Rafi recently completed a dissertation on safety communication within multicultural construction environments for his MSc at the University of Portsmouth.
The UK construction industry relies on a culturally and linguistically diverse workforce. This diversity contributes valuable skills and experience, but it also creates challenges when safety information is not communicated in a way that everyone can fully understand.
One of the most important findings was that language barriers can come from much more than a worker’s level of English. Communication can also be affected by accents, speaking speed, use of slang, colloquial expressions, background noise, time pressure and the mental effort required to process instructions while completing demanding tasks.
This means communication problems should not simply be treated as individual weaknesses. They are organisational safety risks influenced by the working environment, leadership approach and the way information is delivered.
Read more on the IOSH website.
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