SIA hosts security business leaders at Labour Exploitation Summit

The event forms part of Operation EMPOWER, which is the SIA’s response to labour exploitation. EMPOWER involves a dedicated multi-disciplinary team that includes intelligence specialists and criminal investigators.

Paul Fullwood hosted the summit, which he described as “unique”, at the SIA’s offices. Fullwood, who leads Operation EMPOWER and is the SIA’s director of inspections and enforcement, said: “This is the first time that we’ve held a meeting of this kind and we hope everyone will use this opportunity to make their voices heard. We’ve seen that there’s an appetite throughout the industry, from top to bottom, to address labour exploitation. The unfairness and distortion it brings is bad for everybody, not just the individuals who are directly affected.”

Michelle Russell, CEO at the SIA, opened the event with a welcome and an explanation of why the prevention of labour exploitation matters so much.

“Labour exploitation undermines the integrity of, and public trust in, the private security industry,” asserted Russell. “It undermines the good work of companies that operate lawfully and ethically and undermines the raison d’être of the industry, which is to protect people. By working together, we can stop the exploitation of people working in the private security sector.”

Work of HMRC

Liam Emmerson of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) gave a presentation on the work that HMRC is doing in conjunction with the SIA. He explained that HMRC ordinarily expects operatives employed by a business in the security supply chain to ensure that PAYE tax and National Insurance are properly accounted for by the host company.

Ronnie Megaughin, the SIA’s head of compliance and inspections, spoke to the group about some of the intelligence-led operational activity that his team has put into action since the launch of Operation EMPOWER. Megaughin described how the SIA has mobilised its compliance and inspections and criminal enforcement investigators across the UK with some significant degree of success.

The group then took part in an open round table discussion. Among the subjects under discussion were further work by the Government, the regulator and the industry to tackle labour exploitation; educating buyers of security in the benefits of purchasing services on the basis of quality rather than price and the overriding need for ensuring compliance and fair employment practices throughout the supplier chain.

Participants put forward suggestions including improved co-operation between statutory agencies, a requirement that Government contracts for security should be restricted to SIA Approved Contractors and greater transparency and effective auditing of sub-contracted suppliers.

The summit finished with a commitment for the group to meet again in Spring 2025 and to widen participation to include more of the top businesses in the UK’s private security industry.