Did These Venues Support Modern Day Slavery?

Old Time Sailors are connected to a modern slavery case involving former members of the band. Three former members have been officially identified through the UK National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as victims of modern slavery.

The musicians travelled to the United Kingdom as visitors and performed paid shows during the tour. According to the musicians and the records currently available to us, none of the venues listed below asked them to provide evidence that they were legally permitted to undertake the performances.

This is the central concern addressed on this page. Venues regularly provide a stage, audience and payment for live performances. Basic checks can help identify situations in which performers may be working without the correct immigration permission or may be vulnerable to exploitation.

However, inclusion on this list does not mean that a venue knew about the exploitation, deliberately supported modern slavery or has been found legally responsible. The venues may have relied on information supplied by Old Time Sailors Ltd, the band's management, a promoter, an agent or another booking representative. We are therefore contacting venues to understand what they were told and what records they hold.

• Who made the booking and signed the agreement.
• Which person or company received payment for the performance.
• Whether the venue was given any assurance that the musicians were permitted to perform in the UK.
• Whether any visa, Certificate of Sponsorship, Right to Work evidence or other immigration documentation was requested or provided.
• Whether the venue still holds contracts, invoices, emails or payment records relating to the performance.

UK immigration rules do not give visitors a general right to undertake unrestricted paid work. Musicians may only perform through an immigration route or exception that applies to their particular circumstances. Depending on the engagement, this may include the Creative Worker route, a qualifying permitted paid engagement or a performance at an event on the official Permit Free Festival List.

The legal duty to carry out a formal Right to Work check depends on the contractual relationship. A venue that directly employed a performer may have had obligations different from a venue that purchased a performance from a company, promoter or agency. For that reason, this page does not claim that every listed venue committed a legal offence. It records that, based on the information currently available, the musicians were not asked by these venues to demonstrate that they were permitted to perform.

Why this matters

Checking who is actually performing, who is employing or supplying them, and what permission they have to work can help venues protect artists, identify possible exploitation and avoid becoming part of an unlawful arrangement without knowing it.

What venues should do

1. Identify the contracting party
   • Confirm whether the venue is dealing with individual performers, a limited company, a promoter or a booking agent.
   • Keep the booking agreement, invoice, payment record and relevant correspondence.
   
   
2. Ask what immigration route permits the performance
   • Request clear confirmation from the band, company, promoter or agent.
   • Where relevant, ask for evidence of sponsorship, the applicable visitor permission or a qualifying festival exemption.
   • Do not assume that ordinary visitor status permits a musician to undertake a series of paid commercial performances.
   
   
3. Carry out any formal check required by law
   • If the venue directly employs a performer, follow the current Home Office Right to Work guidance before employment begins.
   • Use the official online checking service when a share code is provided, or follow the applicable document-checking procedure.
   • Keep the required evidence securely and comply with data-protection rules.
   
   
4. Raise concerns when something does not appear right
   • Ask further questions where performers appear unable to explain who employs them, how they are paid or what permission they have to work.
   • Preserve all relevant records where exploitation or illegal working is suspected.

Official guidance

• Home Office: Right to Work checks — employer's guide
• Check a job applicant's Right to Work
• Creative Worker visa
• Creative Worker concession
• Standard Visitor: permitted paid engagements

Permit Free Festival List

This page is intended to document the performances, request information and encourage better safeguarding. It is not a finding that every listed venue knowingly participated in exploitation or has been legally liable for it.

The following festivals appear on the UK government's Permit Free Festival List and were therefore subject to different immigration rules for eligible performers:

• Download Festival
• Glastonbury Festival
• Boomtown Fair
• Camp Bestival
• Womad

List of Venues & Dates Where Old Time Sailors Performed

The schedule below records 223 performances during a 180-day tour, including 42 days with 2 shows, 5 days with 3 shows, and 1 day with 4 shows at Glastonbury. It raises serious questions about whether the performers received adequate time for rest, washing and personal needs, particularly when the distances travelled by the band are taken into account.