Peterborough-based labour provider Vital Recruitment has moved into new custom-built 5,000sqft premises, as it gears up for sweeping changes in its sector later this year.
Vital is one of the first labour agencies to have been granted a licence by the Gangmaster Licensing Authority, since applications were first invited on May 6.
Having met ethical and social requirements, the emphasis has now switched to putting its structural house in order. Vital’s new headquarters include expanded office space for its multilingual, multicultural team, as well as state-of-the-art training facilities, enabling it to provide clients with a workforce of 600 suitably trained and therefore more cost-effective staff.
“Our sector is heading for radical change if the GLA is going to run the licensing system as tightly as it says it will,” Vital’s Terry Waite told FPJ. “We have always aimed to be leaders in our field and welcome the introduction of the GLA licence.
“The GLA is levelling the playing field, which is a very good thing. Our new facilities are excellent. As more companies move into high care, it is vital that the staff we provide are properly trained for the roles they are needed to perform.”
Waite, with 12 years experience in fresh produce with firms including Russell Burgess and JJ Barker, joined Vital this year to bring a new dimension to the company, which provides temporary and permanent labour to fresh produce companies across the UK. Most of its workforce emanates from eastern Europe.
After October 1, it will be illegal for any agency to supply labour into the fresh produce industry without a GLA licence. Two months later, the responsibility will equally fall on the shoulders of users, who will be punished if their labour provider is unlicensed. The penalties for non-compliance will include prison sentences.
“We believe that the industry will benefit from the range of services that Vital can offer now more than ever,” said Waite, “and as fresh produce packers re-evaluate their options, they will find that Vital has all the right criteria in place.”
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