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Service not servitude: join Unseen for free webinar on modern slavery in hospitality 

Anti-slavery charity Unseen is delivering a free webinar on modern slavery in the hospitality sector. 

The event, which takes place from 1pm to 2pm on Wednesday 17 September, will provide exclusive data and insight on the exploitation of migrant workers in the hospitality sector. 

Attendees will hear from experts, understand root causes, and discover the urgent action needed to protect migrant workers in areas including holiday accommodation and food and drink establishments. 

Register now

Learn from experts on modern slavery in hospitality

Webinar attendees will hear from Unseen’s modern slavery experts Justine Carter, Deputy CEO, and Natasha Mitra, Head of Helpline Services.

Our guest speaker Madeline Fitton is Head of Growth –  Supply Management at Sodexo, a global leader in sustainable food.

Madeline, who is also founder and chair of BSA Modern Slavery Council, will share insights on how businesses
can lead the way in tackling exploitation.

She will discuss:

  • Why it’s essential for hospitality businesses to tackle modern slavery.
  • How to spot the signs of modern slavery in hospitality.
  • Practical advice on how hospitality businesses can tackle exploitation and protect their corporate reputations.

Who should attend?

This free event is essential for anyone invested in combating modern slavery within hospitality, including: 

  • Hospitality sector businesses, including directors, managers and professionals looking to strengthen ethical practices. 
  • Statutory and non-statutory professionals working in the anti-slavery sector. 
  • Policy-makers shaping laws and regulations. 
  • Police and legal professionals addressing exploitation cases in hospitality. 
  • Civil servants and local and national government staff working on social justice. 
  • Academics and researchers with an interest in tackling modern slavery in hospitality. 
  • Supporters and donors passionate about ending exploitation in hospitality and other sectors. 


All attendees will be emailed a copy of our hospitality sector report after the webinar. 

Date: 17 September

Time: 1pm to 2pm BST

Location: Online (link provided on registration)

Register now

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Tackling Modern Slavery Across Supply Chains and Communities

This article first appeared in the London Universities Purchasing Consortium’s, Autumn 2025 edition of Linked Magazine: Modern slavery is one of the world’s fastest-growing crimes, embedded in global and local supply chains. Every organisation has a role to play in eradicating it. Unseen partners with businesses, policymakers and communities to uncover exploitation, support survivors and help build a slavery-free future.

Read More »
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Justine Currell

As I came to understand more about the issue, including through a visit to an Unseen safehouse, I knew I needed to do more to stop this abuse and exploitation.

For the last five years of my Civil Service career, I was the Modern Slavery Senior Policy Advisor in the Home Office and led on development of the Modern Slavery Act, including the transparency in supply chains provision and business guidance.

I joined Unseen to lead the development of the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, and Unseen’s work with businesses. I am regularly called upon to present at national and international conferences and use my experience of working with Ministers to influence other governments internationally to take action to address modern slavery and, in particular, business supply chain issues.

In my spare time I enjoy keeping fit, music, reading and travelling.

Andrew Wallis

What ultimately compelled me to act was a report on how people from Eastern Europe were being trafficked through Bristol airport to the USA. Kate Garbers, who went on to be an Unseen Director, and I wrote to all the city councillors, MPs and the Police Chief Constable challenging them on the issue. The challenge came back to us: this city needs safe housing for trafficked women. And so Unseen began.

But we never wanted Unseen to be just about safe housing. We wanted to end slavery once and for all, and that remains our driving focus.

I chaired the working group for the Centre for Social Justice’s landmark report “It Happens Here: Equipping the United Kingdom to Fight Modern Slavery”. This is now acknowledged as the catalyst behind the UK’s Modern Slavery Act of 2015. It was a great honour to be awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours that year. On the other hand, I’ve also been described as “the loveliest disrupter you could ever hope to meet”.

This job has taken me from building flat-pack furniture for safehouses, to working with businesses to address slavery in supply chains, to delivering training, raising awareness and advising governments around the world.

When not at work, I enjoy travelling, spending time with my dog Harley, cooking, supporting Liverpool and Yorkshire CC, music (I’m a former DJ) and endurance events such as the Three Peaks Challenge and Tribe Freedom Runs – which I vow never to do again. Until the next time.