Violence against Women and Girls Crime report contents

Forced labour
A factory owner who employed large numbers of Hungarian men as a "slave workforce" in his
multi-million pound bed manufacturing business was sentenced for 27 months imprisonment
for conspiracy to traffic. These men were vulnerable and desperate for work; they were
promised good wages and accommodation. Once in the UK they faced a very different reality
living in shared, squalid and grossly overcrowded accommodation. They worked for anything
up to 20 hours a day, five to seven days a week, for little or no wages. The money they earned
was passed to the trafficking gang, who then handed over minimal amounts to the victims.
In December 2015 the trial judge found that there was no case for the factory owner to
answer. He indicated that there was no evidence capable of proving that the defendant was a
party to the conspiracy to arrange or facilitate travel of any of the victims; there was no
evidence that the defendant was a party to the conspiracy; and he had insufficient evidence
of knowledge of exploitation of the victims. The CPS appealed this decision and the case was
taken to the Court of Appeal. The Court found in favour of the CPS on the point of law and
agreed that a conspiracy to traffic offence would cover the circumstances of this case.
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