Tue, 11 Jun 2013The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) has revoked the licence of a London-based gangmaster who paid workers less than the legal minimum wage, withheld their holiday pay and placed them in cramped accommodation that she rented out to them.

The GLA investigation focused on two three-bedroom properties in Plumstead, South-East London, owned by Tajinder Singh, which were rented out to workers employed by Singh’s Superior Service Co and their dependents, the GLA said. A total of 17 adults and three children were living in the properties.

When interviewed, Singh denied owning any houses or renting them to her workers.

The Superior Service Co provided food processing and packaging workers, as well as agricultural labour to fresh produce companies and farms in Kent.

The GLA investigation revealed that the business had failed five different critical standards – though one is enough to result in a loss of licence. The failures included:

• Workers were forced to pay for personal protective equipment required to do their jobs

• This payment took their pay below the National Minimum Wage

• Workers were denied all or some payments when they took leave, and further investigations at the company offices revealed almost £250,000 worth of holiday entitlements, which had gone unpaid during the last two financial years

• Overcrowded minibuses were used to transport the workers to their work sites, and the GLA said the minibuses were inadequately insured.

A GLA spokesman says that steps had been taken to find alternative accommodation for the workers involved, and that they had been found alternative employment directly with the farms they worked at or with other licence holders.

Singh’s licence was suspended on 16 May and revoked with immediate effect on 24 May. The Superior Service Co did not lodge an appeal by yesterday’s (10 June) deadline.

• Click for more on another labour provider sanctioned by the GLA last week.