In true traditional style many West Country Farmers have chosen to ignore the rules and have continued to use unlicensed labour and now run the risk of material fines.
Business Lawyers say it is now becoming clear that the scope of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) is far wider than many farmers previously suspected and we now have the Agency Workers Directive (AWD) looming on the horizon.
In the four years since the GLA started work, there have been relatively few prosecutions, most of them involving the use of foreign labour. But the fact that the GLA are now pursuing 21 dairy farmers, mainly West Country based through the courts for their use of contract milkers is putting it in a very different light.
Any supply of labour must be made by a licensed gangmaster and the gangmaster in turn has to comply with the legislation and the on costs mean greater expense to the farmer. Farmers love of cash deals does not sit easily with the regulators. Farmers can easily check out who is regulated by visiting the GLA website.
The same rules apply to a single British worker or to the supply of a coachload of Polish workers here to pick potatoes . If a farmer takes workers from an unlicensed gangmaster then he commits a criminal offence and faces a fine or a jail term – unless he can show that he had made reasonable checks and we know farmers love of paperwork.
Commenting on the GLA and AWD rules Guy Bottard a Director of Somerset based Sirius Business Law Limited said. “Even as a business lawyer it is difficult to interpret the legislation with any certainty and some aspects will only be decided by the courts in due course. However, if in doubt, talk to an expert or the regulators and seek a professional opinion for your own protection. There are also help sites available and we’d be delighted to steer clients in the right direction and to discuss certain exclusions that exist and might be appropriate. To date the GLA has been fairly lenient but farmers need to recognise the severity of the actions that can be taken. In addition to fines the GLA can seek confiscation orders, where the GLA would seek to recover the difference between the sums farmers paid for staff and the amounts it considered should have been paid."
The Agency Workers Directive also contains anti avoidance provisions for those that choose to flout the law.
Moreover HMRC has recruited another 100 inspectors and a key target area is recruitment abuse.
Farmers need to overhaul their procedures and make sure they have due diligence records in place and should never assume that what looks like a routine investigation could not lurch into other areas and give rise to wider concerns.
“It is best to take legal advice ahead of problems arising. It is a specialist area so if your current business lawyer can’t help we’d be pleased to talk to any West Country farmers on the basis that prevention is better than cure” offered Guy who can be reached on 08442098500
Author: Lucilla Priddle
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