Our performance 2019-20

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has published its organisational performance for the 2019-20 financial year, detailing improvements in both its operational and regulatory functions.

The number of victims identified by the GLAA more than doubled in comparison with 2018-19, rising above 15,000.

Referrals to the GLAA, cases led by the authority, money recovered for workers, and convictions all increased compared with the previous financial year.

Significant progress has also been made in the time taken to complete application and compliance inspections, as well as speeding up the process in making licensing decisions.

GLAA Chief Executive Michael Rich said: "We're really proud of our achievements over the last year which have come at a time of growing demand for the organisation. These results are testament to the commitment of my colleagues in delivering our mission of protecting vulnerable and exploited workers.

"Despite this clear progress, our responsibilities are greater than ever. The current coronavirus crisis has created new opportunities for unscrupulous employers to attempt to flout our regulations. We are alive to these risks and the potential challenges around labour supply as the country begins to slowly ease its lockdown restrictions.

"That's why it's more important than ever for our partners and the wider public to be vigilant and report their concerns to us. Our operational teams have remained out in the field during the pandemic and we will continue to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle labour exploitation across the UK."

Anyone who suspects someone is being exploited for their labour should call the GLAA's intelligence team on 0800 432 0804 or email intelligence@gla.gov.uk.

Read the end of year performance report in full here.

Video transcript

Our performance: protecting vulnerable workers in 2019-20.

Victim identification in 2019-20 has more than doubled, from 7,550 potential victims in 2018-19 to 15,186 in 2019-20.

We received 2,741 referrals this year - one more than last year.

There was a substantial increase in cases led by the GLAA, up by 26% to 226 investigations in 2019-20.

We achieved our aim of increasing convictions by 10% with eight convictions - an increase of two on the previous year.

We issued 23 warning notices in 2019-20 and 43 enforcement notices. This shows good disruption of criminal activity within GLAA-regulated sectors.

There have been significant improvements in the time taken to complete application and compliance inspections as well as the time taken to make a licensing decision, whilst continuing to refuse and revoke licences where necessary.

We have also significantly increased the amount of money recovered for workers from just under £95,000 in 2018-19 to over £166,000 this year across both intelligence and compliance teams.

Our social media reach increased by 39% in 2019-20, with nearly 400,000 impressions on our social media platforms per month.

The past year's been a challenging one for our organisation, facing change and continuing growth in demand.

Despite that, we're really proud of the achievements set out here today.

That's all down to the commitment of our people to our mission.

Of course behind the numbers sit real stories of workers, vulnerable and exploited.

As we move into a new business year, we're relying ever more on you our partners to be vigilant in looking out for labour exploitation and letting us know where you see it taking place.

Thank you.

Modern Slavery Helpline 08000 121700.

GLAA 0800 4320804

www.gla.gov.uk

@UK_GLAA