Modern slavery?

[Youaremysunshine6]

I’ve been reading a few articles on Modern Slavery after a conversation with a friend about the nail salon I’ve gone to for a little while. Am now feeling terrible if I have been inadvertently supporting something like that.

It’s a typical salon run by Vietnamese (I think) people and some of the ‘signs’ I have been reading (including that!) have made me really concerned.

I don’t want to cause a massive fuss for the poor people if it’s a legitimate family business or something - but has anyone ever reported anything like this before?

Main things that have rung alarm bells:

• Vietnamese
• cash only
• don’t really speak any English other than to ask what you want or to ask for payment
• not much chat between themselves
• quite cheap in comparison to other more high end salons
• a few young men work there as well as a woman and man who I think own it

Any thoughts??

Young men? No chat? Tensed? Report it! It doesn't sound like a normal salon to me

@NavyBerry I wouldn’t say it is ‘tense’, they have music playing etc. but I wouldn’t say it’s a jolly atmosphere where they seem to chat with each other? The young men I had presumed were their older teenage sons or something but I am just now looking at it quite differently and feel quite mortified I have used it and didn’t even realise.

You’ve just described the last 5 nail bars I’ve been too!

I’m not clued up on what is signs but if you feel it’s off, report it.

The fact they’re underpricing similar establishments would be the main issue . How can they afford to? Sounds rather dodgy .

@Earlywalker if you google ‘modern slavery nail salons’ you will see a list of warning signs that are pretty much what I just listed! A lot of particularly young men brought over from south east Asia and made to work for little/no pay to ‘pay them back’...

Makes you think very differently!!!

@Purpletigers as an example it is £25 for shellac, including soaking off old shellac - when I think you would usually pay £30+ with an extra charge for soak off...

Oh god it sounds bad doesn’t it?

www.modernslaveryhelpline.org/

Got this link from the gov website.

@MyOpinionIsValid interesting but if they’re coming over and being paid very little is that not technically slavery? Or if it’s family is it ok? I’m really not sure! I would obviously hope that mine is a situation like that!

Maybe they are money laundering? Low prices and cash only can be a hint in that direction?

So does anyone know what happens if you report something, do they go barging in to arrest people? Do an undercover investigation?

Also probably a stupid question but if I admit I have used their services multiple times (before I had realised the possible slavery situation) then could I get in trouble??

A lot of these places are caught up in money laundering too.
I know of a nail bar attached to a takeaway where the Thai womem did nails 10am - 6pm then takeaway cooking until midnight. Their children kind of wandered around and the men dealt with the cash. I never went back there and should have reported it. I wasn't aware of modern slavery at the time, naively.

If you are on holiday for a couple of weeks, that isn't traffiking and slavery.

All cash business has the potential for money laundering.

If you feel you have to report it, you have been given the links to do so

I was talking to My daughter about a similar situation today.

A nail bar in the middle of a shopping centre. All the employees appear to be of the same ethnicity, male and female. I thought their ethnicity was Vietnamese or similar.

Would traffickers really be so brazen as to use such an open position?

My daughter thought it was a bit iffy.

Should I report it? I don't want to cause the workers any trouble But I don't want to walk past a potential slave shop without doing something

@user this is my thought too - it’s in quite a busy area with lots of passing traffic and lots of ‘walk ins’

The people turn over is high, its like my local East European car wash - never see the same blokes twice.

The authorities will know, but if you have concerns then report it.

Factories, takeaways, beauty industry, taxi driving, fruit pickers - all the cash based industries, and those with 'gang masters'

Such establishments are regularly a money laundering operation and yes - exploit workers. They're unlikely to be paid properly. Vietnamese cannabis farming (massive in UK and also highly exploitative) is often closely linked.

This sounds dodgy, I think you should report it.

Just saw your question a few posts back - don't think anyone would go barging in, they would probably be investigated (also by HMRC for potential tax evasion) and if there was enough evidence to suggest it were a case of modern slavery then police would get involved (I think).

Some businesses only take cash as they are laundering women, including ones where people are enslaved.

Nail bars are notorious for money laundering

Thanks all - I am going to report it. If it’s a legitimate business and nothing weird going on then I suppose there’ll be no damage done! If it is dodgy, whether that’s money laundering or slavery or whatever else then it’s important it is investigated!

It’s highly possible this could be slavery. Young people and adults trafficked from Asian countries.
I’d definitely report.
I’m not sure how they get away being in plain sight though , but I’d imagine it’s not the same staff around for long which probably makes investigating it difficult.

I delivered to an Indian textile business a while back and they had a huge unit crammed with people on sewing machines. Most were women and there were a few fairly young kids.

My understanding is that reporting is adding to intelligence/alerting authorities rather than being the key witness in a case against them iyswim. I would definitely report. No harm done. These businesses CAN be brazen because largely people don't like to know about the dark side of life that sits alongside us all the time.