Irregular Operations Lead to Loss of Licence in Lincs

A Lincolnshire recruitment agency that was unable to account for regular monthly payments to a „mystery recipient‟ has had its licence revoked by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.

Recruit Solutions (UK) Ltd, of Tennyson Street, Gainsborough, lost its licence when GLA officers unearthed a number of concerns with its operations during a recent inspection.

Simon Nash, a director of the company, was informed of the intention to revoke his licence in March after the GLA found him to lack the competence required to manage the business compliantly.

Though his company lodged an appeal, this has now been withdrawn causing the licence to be revoked with immediate effect.

A spokesman for the GLA said: “On inspecting this business in detail it soon became clear that the company‟s named principal authority lacked the competencies required to hold a GLA licence.

“Although the licence was revoked on the, fit and proper‟ person test, which is one of our critical standards that must be met, we identified issues in no less than six separate areas in total.

“The fact that the company chose not to proceed with its appeal is effectively an admission of guilt and lends further support to our decision to revoke the licence and prevent the company from supplying workers in the GLA regulated sector.”

Recruit Solutions was licensed and supplied workers to a producer of cooked meats and vegetables in Northamptonshire.

Providing labour for food processing and packaging requires a licence from the GLA and it is a criminal offence to provide workers for this role without one. However, inspectors discovered that several Licensing Standards were being breached by the company.

These included issues with the staff handbook, which had a stipulation that workers must retire at 65, which is considered discriminatory under current UK law.

It also breaches one of the GLA‟s licensing standards. Another standard was failed as there appeared to be no paper contract between Recruit Solutions and the main labour user.

The failure to provide a satisfactory explanation for a regular monthly payment of £469.13 to a named personal recipient also raised serious concerns. The company initially said this payment related to its food processing contract but then blamed a director who was based in South Africa.

No detailed explanation for the payment was ever given to the GLA despite numerous requests and promises that it would be given.

ENDS

Press release issued by GLA Communications and Information Officer Paul Fearn. Contact 0115 959 7069 or email communications@gla.gsi.gov.uk.

Notes to Editors

1. The GLA operates throughout the UK and is a Non Departmental Public Body.

2. The authority was formed in 2005 in the wake of the Morecambe Bay cockle picking disaster when 23 Chinese workers drowned on the sands.

3. The GLA licences companies that supply labour (gangmasters) to agriculture, horticulture, food processing and packaging, forestry and shellfish gathering.

4. Its main strategic priorities are to prevent worker exploitation, protect vulnerable people and tackle unlicensed and criminal activity.

5. Under the Gangmasters Licensing Act (2004) it is illegal both to operate as, or employ the services of, an unlicensed gangmaster.

6. Nearly 1,200 labour providers are licensed by the GLA.

www.gla.defra.gov.uk