Hudson: excellent opportunity

Whitehouse: opportunity

Whitehouse: opportunity

Labour users concerned to know more about the gangmasters that provide them with workers are now being given an extra helping hand by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA).

Any firm using a licensed labour provider (gangmaster) can check if they have been inspected by the GLA on the authority’s website.

The list of inspections will be updated on a weekly basis but will only include inspections where the final report has been officially completed.

The reports reveal:

• if the GLA is revoking the gangmaster’s licence

• any additional conditions which may have been added to the licence

• whether an application for a licence has been refused

• if no issues were raised at the inspection

The GLA encourages any labour user who may have further questions to contact their labour provider direct.

The names of 67 labour provider businesses that have been inspected and have been notified of the results of the inspections have been published on the GLA website.

The website also provides a published list of every company that has had its licence revoked by the GLA.

All those labour providers who have been inspected are sent their own GLA decision letter.

Paul Whitehouse, chairman of the GLA, said: “This is an opportunity for labour users to find out the results of inspections of the labour providers they use and make an informed choice as to whether they are happy with their service.

“Knowledge is power. The cataloguing of gangmaster inspections in the public domain is an extra piece of information which is available for the responsible labour user with the ultimate aim of protecting workers.

As a result of inspections, so far 70 gangmasters’ licences have been revoked by the GLA since it became operational in 2006, of these revocations seven were with immediate effect.

Philip Hudson, chief horticultural adviser at the National Farmers’ Union, said: “The new inspection reports provided by the GLA give labour users an excellent opportunity to check up on their labour provider. I would urge all to take advantage.”

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