Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Offences

Internal Investigations

It is often a business, rather than the police or an investigating/enforcement agency that begins an investigation.  The internal investigation has become an increasingly common feature of the UK corporate landscape.

A whistleblower alert, a discrepancy thrown up by internal audit or a query raised by a supplier or customer may each point to potential criminal activity or a regulatory breach, meaning that an organisation needs to discover the facts.

How this is handled can have significant legal, financial and reputational consequences.  We are adept at managing all aspects of an internal investigation – from agreeing its necessary scope to managing the technical and legal pitfalls of data collection and then conducting interviews, whether in person or remotely. We can also give you the advice you need on whether and, if so, when to report to relevant authorities and we have the experience to help you manage the resolution stage.

We can assist with discreet, focused exercises to large-scale and high-profile international investigations.

Corporates

Our team of lawyers has many years of experience advising on human rights, corporate governance and investigations, organisational change and policy implementation.  Find out more about Business and Human Rights.

We advise on compliance with the Modern Slavery Act, including Modern Slavery statements.

Investigations into corporates raise complex questions of criminal law and regulation, and present the company with a raft of commercial, employment and reputational issues to confront. Drawing from across the firm, we have the skills and experience to provide the company with the advice it needs to manage the situation in the round

Court Convictions

Information relating to convictions will appear on an individual’s Police National Computer record and will remain there until the individual’s 100th birthday, at which point it will become “stepped down” i.e. only visible to law enforcement authorities. It is currently not possible to remove convictions from a person’s PNC record save in very limited circumstances, such as the disregards and pardons scheme for historic same-sex sexual activity convictions.

Certain convictions may become spent after a certain period of time pursuant to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. A spent conviction will not appear on a Basic Criminal Record Certificate, but may be disclosed following a Standard or Enhanced criminal record check depending upon the age of the conviction and the offence. This is because a different set of rules governs when a conviction becomes spent and when it will be “filtered” from DBS certificates.

The only means by which an individual is usually able to have their conviction removed from their record is if they successfully appeal against it to a higher court. There is a separate process governing appealing a conviction. Details about how Kingsley Napley can assist with such appeals can be found on our appeals and miscarriages of justice page.

Individuals

Individuals caught up in investigations also require expert advice before they respond to requests by their employers or investigative authorities for the provision of information through interview.

Whether being called as a suspect or witness, it is essential to have advice from specialist advisers to protect your interests whatever the wider context.

Our lawyers have advised in hundreds of interviews on a myriad of matters, including investigations launched by the GLAA.