New sentencing guidelines covering modern slavery and trade mark offences commence on 1 October 2021

New sentencing guidelines for modern slavery offences and unauthorised use of a trade mark come into effect on 1 October 2021.

Modern slavery offences

The first sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of modern slavery offences including slavery, forced labour, human trafficking or an offence committed to facilitate human trafficking will come into effect on 1 October 2021.

The new guidelines will give judges and magistrates dedicated guidance to follow when sentencing offenders guilty of offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The guidelines apply to adult offenders in England and Wales and cover the following offences:

Holding someone in slavery, servitude and forced labour (section 1), including physical restraint or imprisonment, threats or treatment which make escape from their position an impossibility

Human trafficking – transporting people for purposes of exploitation (section 2), which may involve recruiting, harbouring, receiving or transferring people cross-border

Committing an offence with the intention of committing a human trafficking offence (section 4)

Breach of a slavery and trafficking prevention order or a slavery and trafficking risk order (section 30)

Unauthorised use of a trade mark offences

New sentencing guidelines for individuals and organisations convicted of unauthorised use of a trade mark in England and Wales come into effect on 1 October 2021. The two separate guidelines apply to the single offence of using a trade mark without the owner’s consent contrary to section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 – which can include possessing or selling counterfeit goods, or counterfeiting or possessing the means of counterfeiting goods, with a view to making a gain or causing a loss.

The guidelines, Organisations: Unauthorised use of a trade mark, and Individuals: Unauthorised use of a trade mark, will apply to adult offenders in all courts across England and Wales. They will replace the 2008 magistrates’ courts guideline, which applies to individuals only. .