The Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority has revoked the licences of all seven labour-providers supplying three of supermarket-supplier Bomfords packhouse sites, one with immediate effect.
These are the first revocations of any licences since the GLA was set up in 2005.
The authority visited packhouses of the Tesco supplier at Atherstone, Salford Priors and Pershore, last week and chairman Paul Whitehouse said the authority was appalled at its findings. “We are dismayed that Bomfords has allowed this to go on, because some of the failures by the labour providers would have been clear to Bomfords.”
The breach of the licence by one provider, Dynamic Workforce Ltd, is so serious that it must cease trading until an appeal is heard. “Revoking a licence with immediate effect is a serious decision and is only taken when we find significant non-compliance. The GLA was set up to curb the exploitation of workers and in the case of Dynamic Workforce Ltd, we had to take action immediately to protect the workers.”
If a licensed business cannot demonstrate continued compliance we will revoke the licence," Whitehouse added. "A business must earn their licence not just on a specific day when they are first inspected but at all times. We have shown we are conducting unannounced operations and we will continue to do so. I’d advise all businesses operating with a licence to maintain continuous compliance with the GLA standards or they will meet the same action.”
The contraventions of basic employment law mean that the GLA will now be informing other agencies, a move that could see Bomfords become the first fresh produce operator prosecuted since the GLA came into being. The agencies include HM Revenue & Customs, which is charged with enforcing the national minimum wage.
As far as Bomford’s day-to-day operations are concerned, the vegetable grower and packer may continue trading using the labour supplied to it by six of the providers as they can carry on operating until any appeal they make is heard and a ruling given.
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