Staffline Recruitment Group has denied accusations in a BBC Inside Out documentary that it exploits Eastern European workers.

The documentary claimed that the jobs and wages which the workers were promised in Poland were not always delivered when they arrived in the UK. And it alleged that accommodation in the UK, provided by the recruiter, was often overcrowded and in poor condition.

Staffline Recruitment Group managing director Andy Hogarth dismissed the claims.

“The allegations and insinuations in the BBC programme were entirely unfounded and based on poor information,” he argued. “From showing ’cramped’ accommodation, which we had not provided, to filming a former contractor who bemoaned the lack of expected overtime.”

Hogarth said the company, which employs 3,500 workers from Europe, consistently engages with relevant agencies to ensure workers’ interests are protected. These include the Gangmaster Licensing Authority, the Agricultural Labour Providers Association and the Temporary Labour Working Group, as well as the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers.

Meanwhile the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has voiced concerns about the generally negative portrayal of recruitment agencies and the suggestion that migrant workers are systematically exploited.

Tom Hadley, the REC director of external relations commented: “Instances of bad practice must of course be addressed but the general tone of the programme is wide of the mark.

“The vast majority of agencies provide a valuable and ethical service to job-seekers looking to work in the UK and to employers with staff shortages.”