A pre-action protocol letter has been sent to Biffa, Smart Solutions, and the latter’s umbrella company FS Commercial, warning that legal action will be launched on behalf of three victims of the “largest-ever modern slavery ring uncovered in the UK”.
In response, Biffa said all allegations against it “are denied and will be defended in any court proceedings”, while Smart Solutions said it had been working in partnership with West Midlands Police and other UK forces to support their investigations.
Letter
According to Leigh Day, the law firm which sent the letter, the individuals worked sorting waste for Biffa through Smart Solutions and FS Commercial in 2015 and 2016. They are said to have been “under the control of a criminal trafficking gang” and “received no money for their work”.
Leigh Day said the individuals had travelled from Poland to the UK following promises of a decent wage and secure work in the West Midlands.
A pre-action letter sent to Biffa by Leigh Day solicitors on behalf of the three victims says the company had a duty to prevent forced labour in its workforce
The legal firm said: “Bank accounts were opened in their names, which were controlled by the criminal gang and to which they had no access. The workers were registered at the recruitment agency, Smart Solutions, and then taken to work at Biffa. Their wages were paid into the bank accounts controlled by the criminal gang.”
The pre-action letter sent to Biffa by Leigh Day solicitors on behalf of the three victims says the company had a duty to prevent forced labour in its workforce. Parallel proceedings, said the firm, are to be launched against Smart Solutions.
‘Zero tolerance’
In a statement published yesterday (14 January) a Biffa spokesperson said: “Biffa takes a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery of any kind. As a founding member of the Slave Free Alliance, we work closely with Hope for Justice, the international anti-human trafficking charity, promoting awareness of this important global issue across our business, supply chains and wider industry.
“All allegations against Biffa are denied and will be defended in any court proceedings”
“We cooperated fully with West Midlands Police at the time of this investigation in 2016. We regularly review our practices and protocols to ensure we continually follow best practice on this important issue and our proactive stance and commitment to safeguarding our organisation and supply chain from modern slavery has been publicly recognised by the Slave Free Alliance.
“We can confirm that Leigh Day have asked us to agree more time for them to prepare their case and we have agreed to this. However, all allegations against Biffa are denied and will be defended in any court proceedings.”
Operation Fort
West Midlands Police carried out an investigation known as ‘Operation Fort’ into the criminal gang and believe that more than 400 Polish individuals were among its victims.
The last of the Polish human-trafficking ring was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 5 July 2019 (picture: Shutterstock)
The three people connected to the Leigh Day’ letter were among more than 80 claimants across two criminal trials which took place in 2018 and 2019, described as the UK’s largest modern slavery conviction. Eight members of the gang were convicted of crimes including trafficking, conspiracy to require another to perform forced labour, and money laundering and were sentenced to between three and 11 years in prison (see letsrecycle.com story).
Leigh Day solicitor Liana Wood is representing the claimants. She said: “Our clients have been through horrific experiences at the hands of an organised and far-reaching criminal gang. The perpetrators of these crimes have been convicted, but our clients believe that answers still need to be sought about the structures that enabled this exploitation to take place in plain sight.
“Our clients’ case is that companies have a duty to prevent modern slavery in their workplace: it is very unlikely that these crimes could have taken place if proper procedures had been in place to prevent them. It appears that a blind eye was turned while vulnerable people went through these terrible ordeals.”
Infiltration
Leigh Day says one of the criminal defendants, Natalia Zmuda, worked for Smart Solutions. Her role in the criminal conspiracy was to register victims with Smart Solutions and place them into work.
“We have worked tirelessly to ensure that we are continuously developing in our approach to hidden labour exploitation”
A spokesperson for Smart Solutions said: “We adopt a proactive approach to reporting any suspicions of hidden labour exploitation to the relevant authorities. Since October 2015 we have worked in partnership with West Midlands Police and other UK forces to support their investigations. These relationships are still active, and we continue to work closely with the police to stamp out modern day slavery.
“Since we were first made aware that our workforce had been infiltrated, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that we are continuously developing in our approach to hidden labour exploitation. We work to educate our clients, supply chains and external businesses so, as a collective, we can try and put an end to modern day slavery. We are committed to stamp out slavery and continue to do all we can.”
Modern slavery
A Biffa spokesperson told letsrecycle.com that the waste management company had worked hard to combat modern slavery.
Biffa’s October 2020 anti-slavery campaign saw its refuse collection vehicles re-branded to highlight the firm’s ‘Zero-Tolerance to Modern Slavery’
Biffa joined the Slave-Free Alliance organisation to mark Anti-Slavery Day in October 2018 (see letsrecycle.com story).
In October 2020 Biffa launched a campaign in partnership with charity Hope for Justice to raise awareness of modern slavery in the waste sector, which saw its waste collection trucks re-branded (see letsrecycle.com story).
Gary Booth, manager of the Slave-Free Alliance, said: “Biffa have made significant strides year on year and have adopted a proactive stance to mitigate risks. They have responded to emerging risks and worked collaboratively with suppliers and have been open and transparent with regards to sharing best practice across business sectors. There is strong commitment and engagement from key stakeholders in the business and a desire to be a market leader in the modern slavery agenda.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
