Modern slavery statements and the UK's largest housebuilding companies: an exploratory research paper
ISSN: 0263-7472
Article publication date: 10 February 2022
Issue publication date: 29 September 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Modern slavery has been identified as a problem in the construction industry, but the issue has received very limited attention in the academic literature. This exploratory paper looks to explore one of the ways in which the United Kingdom (UK)'s largest housebuilding companies have publicly addressed the issue by reviewing their modern slavery statements.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a simple methodological approach to review the modern slavery statements of the largest housebuilding companies within the UK and offers some reflections on these statements.
Findings
The findings identified a number of policy and practice responses, which characterised the selected housebuilding companies' approaches to modern slavery. The companies' approaches to modern slavery statements were seen as aspirational and perhaps best described as a work in progress.
Research limitations/implications
The authors recognise that the paper has a number of limitations. The empirical material for the review is drawn exclusively from the corporate websites of the selected housebuilding companies at a set point in time and does not include any primary information supplied by, or obtained from, the companies' executives, managers or employees or any information obtained from the companies' contractors, subcontractors or suppliers.
Originality/value
The paper offers an exploratory review of the modern slavery statements published by the largest housebuilding companies within the UK. As such, the review makes a small contribution to addressing a gap in the academic literature on modern slavery within the housebuilding industry and will hopefully stimulate future research in the field.
Keywords
Citation
Jones, P. and Comfort, D. (2022), "Modern slavery statements and the UK's largest housebuilding companies: an exploratory research paper", Property Management, Vol. 40 No. 5, pp. 658-670. https://doi.org/10.1108/PM-06-2021-0043
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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