Human Rights Working Group: EU Forced Labour Regulation | November 2026

About the Human Rights Working Group

Purpose

A pre-competitive, confidential forum for senior human rights, ethical trade, and sustainability leads across various retail sub-sectors to:

• Hear about UK policy and regulatory updates from BRC and/or officials
• Discuss views, questions and challenges regarding incoming regulation or policy developments across the UK and EU, and where appropriate, feed in views to inform BRC positions and conversations with Government
• Hear from industry experts on key issues and topics, and share best practice, approaches and learnings with retail peers across sub-sectors

Format

x3 core meetings per year (x2 online, x1 in-person). Additional ad hoc meetings organised as required.

Missed the previous Working Group in July? Catch up now - read the meeting note here.

Session 2: EU Forced Labour Regulation

Join the next Human Rights Working Group on 24 November for a deep dive into the EU Forced Labour Regulation (EU FLR) and wider UK human rights policy updates.

Objectives

• Policy update on what we know so far about the UK approach to forced labour, looking at the enforcement of EU FLR in Northern Ireland and the wider direction of travel for the UK under the Responsible Business Conduct review.
• Expert insight on EU developments regarding guidance and enforcement, alongside an assessment of the broader impacts of other international regulation across the EU, US, and China.
• Peer discussion on readiness, challenges, and emerging approaches toward EU FLR compliance, with views directly fed back to Government officials.
• Wider updates on the UK human rights policy landscape, including the Responsible Business Conduct review, due diligence, Modern Slavery Act reporting requirements, and the Fair Work Agency.

Draft Agenda

09:30 | Housekeeping & Introduction (BRC)

09:40 | Presentation: UK regulatory approach to forced labour: EU FLR in Northern Ireland and UK-wide approach (BRC)

09:55 | Presentation: Wider developments - EU updates and impact of international legislation (ETI)

10:15 | Q&A and Discussion: EU FLR - readiness, challenges, emerging approaches (BRC Members)

Government officials covering the Responsible Business Conduct review and EU FLR will be in listening mode until this point, in order to hear and take back retailer questions and concerns.

11:00 | Presentation & Discussion: Wider human rights policy updates (BRC & Members)

11:25 | Next Steps (BRC)