- In November 2025, the Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME) published a review of Operation Tacit, the multi-agency programme examining labour conditions in Leicester’s garment manufacturing sector between 2020 and January 2023.
- Operation Tacit was triggered in response to significant media and NGO investigations into modern slavery conditions in Leicester’s garment sector, particularly concerning migrant workers.
- The review summarises enforcement activity across more than 250 factory and workshop visits conducted by HMRC National Minimum Wage (NMW), the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Immigration Enforcement. Agencies also engaged workers off-site and distributed information leaflets to around 3,000 workers in community locations.
Modern slavery conclusions
- Importantly, the investigation found that no cases meeting the legal definition of forced or compulsory labour were identified.
- The report states that “the degree of non-compliance with NMW in the garment sector in Leicester was lower than they [Operation Tacit] find in other manufacturing, and worker exploitation that amounts to forced or compulsory labour as defined by the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was not found.”
- The report further states that “using the language ‘modern slavery’ to describe their [workers’] situation may reflect how workers feel, but the behaviours, however reprehensible, do not pass the statutory test of ‘forced or compulsory labour’.”
- However, the report also notes that “as Operation Tacit was undertaken by law enforcement bodies, the potential success measures were orientated towards law enforcement outcomes rather than compliance outcomes.” This implies that the investigation focused on criminal forms of forced labour and may not have investigate ILO forced labour indicators more broadly.
Additional findings
- HMRC issued 36 notices of underpayment and recovered approximately £200,000 in arrears. The review highlights ongoing issues related to payroll accuracy and employment record-keeping.
- HMRC also issued four Labour Market Enforcement Undertakings for record-keeping breaches.
- The GLAA issued one Slavery and Trafficking Risk Order involving a supervisor taking payments from workers.
- Health and safety issues were observed, although inspectors faced access challenges, including closures and refusals of entry.
- One case of illegal working was identified by Immigration Enforcement during the period reviewed.
- Inspectors noted recurring concerns about incomplete employment documentation, a lack of written contracts, and limited visibility over working patterns.