A blog from the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service

EU forced labour regulations: an addition to the Windsor Framework?

September 26, 2025

Megan McDermott

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Context

In July 2025 the European Commission published a proposal to add the new EU regulation on forced labour to the list of laws that apply in Northern Ireland (NI) under Article 13(4) of the Windsor Framework (WF).

Many EU laws, similar to this one, which relate to either the EU customs code or single market rules for goods, are contained in Annex 2 of the WF. There is a mechanism by which a new law such as this one can be added to Annex 2 to apply in NI, but this would be subject to UK Government agreement.

The European Commission proposal for a Council decision to add Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 (Import Ban on Forced Labour) (with the exception of Article 36) to WF Annex 2, is the first step in forming the EU’s position before it is presented to the UK for consideration. The next step would be for the Council of the EU to adopt a Decision establishing that this is the EU’s official position. The EU would then bring the proposal to the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee set up to consider arrangements post the UK’s exit from the EU.

The process for adding new EU Acts to the Windsor Framework, including the role of the NI Assembly, is further explained below.

What is forced labour?

The EU Regulation uses the definition of ‘forced labour’, agreed in Article 2 of International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No 29, including forced child labour:

all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.

In July 2025 the Westminster Joint Committee on Human Rights found that ‘the UK imports a significant volume of goods (over US$26 billion worth) from five sectors where high levels of forced labour are found: electronics, garments, fish, timber, and textiles’.

More information on the definition of forced labour, and the overlap between forced labour, human trafficking and slavery, is available on the relevant ILO webpage.

What is the EU regulation on Forced Labour?

Forced labour import and export ban

The EU Regulation prohibits the sale of a product in the EU, or the export of a product out of the EU, where that product was made in whole or in part with forced labour ‘at any stage of its extraction, harvest, production or manufacture’ (Article 2(7)).

The ban will apply from 14 December 2027, with the preparation between Member States and the Commission having commenced in December 2024 (Article 39).

Who will enforce the ban?

Where a product is being made with forced labour and sold into the EU, the European Commission will take the lead on enforcing the ban. Where a product is made with forced labour inside the EU, the designated competent authority within that Member State will enforce the ban (Article 15). Where forced labour is found in supply chains, custom authorities will be alerted and charged with ensuring the relevant product is not placed on the EU market (Article 26).

How will the ban be enforced?

Where a product is found to be made in whole or in part with forced labour, the Commission or the competent authority within the Member State will be able to:

Prohibit the product being placed on the market in the EU (Article 23(a)).
Prohibit it being exported from the EU (thus stopping the banned product from being ‘dumped’ on another market outside the EU) (Article 23(a)).
Order that any existing product be removed from the market, including online listings of it (Article 23(b)(d)).
Order that the products be disposed of, either in its entirety or in part (if the banned part is found to be replaceable) (Article 23 (c)).

At various stages of any investigation, companies will have the opportunity to provide evidence that their product is not made with forced labour or that they have eliminated forced labour from the supply chain. (Article 20(5)).

Penalties

Member States are to lay down the penalties for those found in breach of the forced labour ban. But it will be up to the European Commission to produce guidance for Member States on the method for calculating financial penalties and the applicable thresholds. This guidance will be available by 14 June 2026 (see Article 37(4) and Article 11 (i)).

What laws does the UK have to tackle forced labour?

The Modern Slavery Act (2015)

The UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights has described the UK as having a ‘patchwork’ of domestic law that exists to tackle forced labour in supply chains. Of these, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) is the main tool for doing so. The MSA lays down offences of slavery, forced labour and human trafficking. The relevant part of the MSA (Part 6), focusing on transparency in supply chains, extends to NI. Legislative authority for import and export controls generally rests with Westminster as these are reserved matters.

Reviews of the Modern Slavery Act

Under the MSA, corporations with £36 million or more annual turnover must report annually on what actions they have taken to address modern slavery in their supply chains. However, a 2019 Independent Review of the MSA commissioned by the Home Secretary found that ‘a number of companies are approaching their obligations as a mere tick-box exercise’ and that ‘around 40 per cent of eligible companies are not complying with the legislation at all’ (para 15). This was despite the fact that companies can comply with reporting requirements simply by stating that they have taken no steps to address modern slavery in their supply chains (See MSA Section 54 (4)(B)).

In 2024, the House of Lords appointed a Select Committee to review the functioning of the Modern Slavery Act. The Committee found that current modern slavery legislation is ‘too limited to have significant practical impact’. It felt ‘there should be progression towards international best practice concerning due diligence and import bans on companies producing services and goods made with forced labour’ (see review report page 3).

In late July 2025 the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ Report on Forced Labour in UK Supply Chains described the current UK law as ‘inadequate to address forced labour in UK supply chains’ (para 30) and called for the introduction of mandatory human rights due diligence (para 31), penalties for non-compliance (para 107), and import bans on goods linked to forced labour (para 126).

The UK has ratified a number of international treaties relevant to preventing forced labour though their enforceability in practice is limited, as highlighted by the Joint Committee on Human Rights report (para 23).

The Committee report highlighted that the UK also supports certain voluntary UN initiatives and OECD guidelines for businesses to tackle forced labour, though these are advisory and not enforceable in the UK (para 26).

Government considering strengthening Act

The UK Government confirmed on 7 July 2025, that, alongside a review of its approach to Responsible Business Conduct policy, it is considering how to strengthen Section 54 of the MSA (‘transparency in supply chains’), including ‘the reporting requirements, the turnover threshold, and penalties for non-compliance’.

Process for adding new EU Acts to the Windsor Framework

Under the Windsor Framework, there are a number of existing EU laws listed with which NI must keep pace whenever they are amended or replaced by the EU. However, the EU may adopt a new Act which neither amends nor replaces an EU law listed in the WF, but which does fall within its scope. In such an instance, the EU can request that the new law be added to the WF, so that NI would keep pace with it (pursuant to Article 13(4)).

To begin the process of applying the new EU law in NI, the EU must inform the UK that it considers this law to be within the scope of the WF. The UK Government would have to agree in order for the law to be added to the WF.

Role of the Assembly

The UK Government must notify the Assembly of any proposal to add a new EU Act to the WF. The WF prohibits Government from agreeing to add a new EU law to the Framework, unless the Assembly has indicated cross-community support by passing an ‘Applicability Motion’. For example, in April 2024 the Assembly passed an Applicability Motion agreeing that the new EU law on labelling of organic pet food be added to the WF to apply in NI. The EU UK Joint Committee then met in May 2024 and agreed to add the Act to the WF.

However, under Schedule 6(B) of the Northern Ireland Act, the Government may agree to the law applying in NI, even if no Applicability Motion has been passed, if:

there are ‘exceptional circumstances’, including if there is no Assembly or Executive in place; or
the new EU law ‘would not create a new regulatory border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.’

If the Government proposes to agree to the addition of a new EU law to the WF in one of these cases, it must make a statement to Parliament explaining the reasons for its decision. For example, in April 2025, the UK Government agreed that a new EU law on protecting geographical indications for craft and industrial products would apply in NI without an Applicability Motion having passed.

If the EU and UK do not reach an agreement in the Joint Committee to add the new EU law to the Framework, they will ‘examine all further possibilities to maintain the good functioning of [the Windsor Framework] and take any decision necessary to this effect’. If no decision is made ‘within a reasonable time’, the EU may take ‘appropriate remedial measures’ (Windsor Framework Article 13(4)).

The diagram below shows the process for new EU laws to be added to the Framework*

A diagram showing the process for new EU laws to be added to the Framework* — Image: RaISe

*This flowchart summarises the process. It should be read in conjunction with the relevant legislation and documents.

Next steps / timeline for any Applicability Motion

EU UK Joint Committee

If the Council of the EU adopts the stance that the EU’s forced labour regulations should be added to the WF, a decision on whether to do so would be made at the next meeting of the EU UK Joint Committee which must be held before May 2026. If the UK Government is not content to add the new EU law to the WF, it can ask for an exchange of views on the law, as it did with the EU AI Act and the Cyber Resilience Act in 2025.

Applicability Motions

Schedule 6B was added to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 under the Windsor Framework (Democratic Scrutiny) Regulations 2024 and Part 4 lays down the process for triggering Applicability Motions.

It outlines that no Applicability Motion may be tabled until the UK Government notifies the Assembly or the WF Democratic Scrutiny Committee of the new EU Act, which it has not done as of yet. This notification ‘may be made if a new EU Act is being considered by the Joint Committee under Article 13(4) of the Framework’.

No definition is provided as to when a new EU Act can be classified as under consideration by the Joint Committee, which has announced one meeting annually for the past two years. Precedent would indicate that consideration by the Joint Committee does not have to wait for an official, annual meeting of the co-chairs, Minister for the Cabinet Office, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP and European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.

For example, there have been two previous occasions when the Assembly has debated an Applicability Motion on new EU Acts (in March and April 2024). In both instances, the Government notified the Assembly of the relevant Regulation before the European Commission published a proposal for a Council decision to add the new Act to the WF, and the Assembly debated its ensuing Applicability Motion before the Joint Committee officially met to consider the addition of the new EU Act.

Latest EU developments

For now, the proposal to add the new EU law to the WF is still making its way through the EU decision-making process. The Council of the EU has a preparatory body called the Working Party on the UK, which meets regularly and deals with all matters pertaining to the EU’s relationship with the UK. On 9 September the Working Party on the UK received a presentation from the Commission on its proposal for a Council decision to add the Forced Labour Regulation to the WF.

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