Duty to Notify
The responsibility of authorities and institutions to recognise possible trafficking or exploitation and formally alert the appropriate safeguarding system, so that a person can be identified, protected, and supported.
This information is not legal advice – it is meant to signpost information only. Please seek a professional opinion before taking action.
Legal definition
Pre-2004 (before the Sexual Offences Act 2003)
There was no formal statutory duty to notify trafficking or sexual exploitation. However, public authorities were still expected, under general criminal law and emerging human-rights principles, to respond to credible allegations of serious abuse, particularly sexual violence.
2004–2015 (Sexual Offences Act 2003 era)
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 created trafficking offences for sexual exploitation but did not establish a formal notification mechanism. Nonetheless, once the UK ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (ECAT) (effective 2009), authorities became subject to binding international obligations to identify and refer potential victims of trafficking, even where exploitation had occurred earlier.
Post-2015 (Modern Slavery Act 2015)
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 introduced an explicit Duty to Notify. Specified public authorities must notify the Home Office where they encounter a person they reasonably believe to be a potential victim of modern slavery or trafficking (with consent for adults), even if the person does not enter the full National Referral Mechanism. This duty applies regardless of when the exploitation occurred. Where trafficking or exploitation took place before the Modern Slavery Act came into force, but is identified or disclosed after 2015, the duty to notify is still engaged. The relevant trigger is the date on which the authority encounters the potential victim, not the date of the offending. Accordingly, historic trafficking or sexual exploitation, when reported or identified post-2015, must still be notified in order to support victim identification, safeguarding, and the State’s ongoing obligations to prevent, investigate, and address modern slavery.
What it looks like in real life
Police, social services, healthcare staff, or local authorities recognising indicators of trafficking or exploitation
A formal notification being made even where the survivor does not want to engage with criminal proceedings
Records being created so patterns of abuse or institutional failure are not lost
Notification occurring years after the abuse, once disclosure becomes possible
