Modern Slavery in Construction: What to Look for in Your Supply Chain

22nd May 2026 | News, Blog Posts

In construction, our supply chains are the backbone of every project. At John Perkins Construction, we believe strong, sustainable relationships with our partners are key to delivering great work – and that means ensuring those relationships are ethical and transparent.

Modern slavery can exist beneath even the most well-managed supply chains. This blog explores what it means for construction, why it matters, and how to spot the warning signs in your own supply chain.

Why this matters

The construction sector faces a higher risk of labour exploitation and modern slavery. With materials and labour often passing through many tiers, it’s vital to spot the warning signs and act. For us, this goes beyond compliance – it’s about living our values of honesty, openness, integrity, and flexibility, while protecting our people, reputation, and the communities we build for.

What you should look for

Here are key indicators and practices to help identify modern slavery risk in your supply chain.

1. Risk areas in the supply chain

• Labour-intensive, low-skilled work is more vulnerable – especially when there are multiple sub-tiers involved.
• High reliance on migrant labour, temporary workers, or labour agencies can raise risk levels.
• Materials sourced from geographies with known higher prevalence of exploitation, or from sectors where subcontracting is layered and opaque.

2. Signs on site or from your supply partners

• Workers who appear unusually isolated, not free to leave, or whose documents (ID, right to work, labour contract) are held by someone else.
• Excessively long working hours, no rest breaks, restricted movement, inadequate living accommodations.
• Lack of transparency or reluctance from a supplier or sub-contractor to allow visits, audits or supply-chain traceability.

3. Your procurement and supplier management processes

• Do you carry out a risk-based assessment of your supply chain (including Tier 1, Tier 2) to prioritise scrutiny where risk is highest?
• Are your contractual terms clear about labour standards, human rights, and your expectations around ethical behaviour?
• Are you auditing or visiting higher-risk categories, engaging workers in their native languages, and creating a culture of openness and reporting?
• Is there training for your team and your supply chain on spotting and responding to modern slavery and labour exploitation?

What our supply chain approach means in practice

At JPC we regard our supply chain as part of our team, not simply as external parties. That means we aim to work collaboratively, bringing our subcontractors in early, sharing knowledge, and making sure we all uphold the same values.

To that end:

• We vet key suppliers and subcontractors to ensure they understand our expectations around ethics, labour standards and transparency.
• We maintain open lines of communication with our subcontractors, encouraging them to raise concerns or flag risks early.
• On site, we are vigilant about living conditions, contract compliance, working hours and documentation – especially where labour is provided via agencies or layered supply routes.
• We strive for “performance beyond compliance”, recognising that simply meeting minimum standards is not enough.

Clients, consultants, and supply chain partners all play a part in tackling modern slavery. Start by mapping where labour comes from, reviewing contracts and procurement for ethical compliance, and providing training on exploitation and human rights.

On site, look beyond the paperwork – check worker welfare, documentation, and conditions. Most importantly, create open channels for concerns to be raised safely and respond quickly when issues arise.

We believe that building is about more than bricks and mortar. It’s about people, communities and long-term value. Protecting human rights within our supply chain is non-negotiable. Recognising the risk of modern slavery, taking practical steps to address it, and working collaboratively with our supply partners ensures we continue to deliver projects with integrity, quality and care.

If you’d like to speak to us about supply chain ethics, labour standards or how we can work together on a project, please get in touch.