Agencies are urging the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to crackdown harder on rogue employers and stop financially penalising those who comply with legislation.

The independent annual review of the GLA said that since its inception last year, gangmasters in the agricultural market had been drawn into the formal economy, and that there had been progress in contracts, health and safety and accommodation for workers.

A spokesman for Capital Recruitment, one member of the GLA, told Recruiter: "Before licensing, the 'man with a van' end of the business was undercutting legitimate agencies. Now we don't come across it as much, and we have seen rates go up."

The report also highlighted where the GLA had revoked licences for worker abuse.

However, respondents said more could be done, with only 6% saying worker exploitation wasn't an issue any more.

Part of the problem is smaller gangs who have evaded the system, said Anne Fairweather, head of public policy for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. She told Recruiter: "The real challenge is to catch people who haven't put themselves forward at all. The REC's priority is to focus on the best way of driving out the outlaws rather than simply adding extra costs on agencies that already comply with existing regulations and industry codes of practice."

The report also raised concerns about the double standards of licensed operators, such as bankrupts or those refused licences reapplying under another name, and crooks running agencies through front men.

Respondents called for more enforcement visits and prosecutions.

GLA chairman, Paul Whitehouse, told Recruiter: "In the first year we have brought people into the system. Now we are starting to deal with those who have chosen to remain outside. You can expect action in the next few months."

He said announced and unannounced enforcement visits would continue and the GLA is in talks "with more than one police force" about criminal activity in the sector.

Another criticism was the cost for legitimate businesses. Some 35% of agencies said fees had increased costs significantly, and 41% said they had a slight impact. Whitehouse told Recruiter that one way to bring down costs per head was to expand the remit of the GLA to cover the broader gangmaster industries. He said it would also stop criminals from moving to a similar unlicensed industry to escape. However, he noted that this was a matter for the government to de