Unlicensed Preston labour provider fined £3.5k by GLA
28 August 2013
A labour provider based in Preston has been handed a fine of £3.5k by the Gangmaster Licensing Authority after ignoring repeated warnings that it was trading illegally, the organisation says.
Wed, 28 Aug 2013A labour provider based in Preston has been handed a fine of £3.5k by the Gangmaster Licensing Authority (GLA) after ignoring repeated warnings that it was trading illegally, the organisation says.
UR Workforce Solutions (URWS) continued to provide workers to Preston Meats despite five separate written warnings sent last year by the GLA, which regulates labour provision in the sector and other areas.
The GLA says URWS’s director Tina Walker had previously run a lawful agency between 2007 until it went into administration, before the new business began trading in 2012.
Steph Varle, prosecuting, told the court that while there had been no exploitation of workers in the case, the company had knowingly chosen not to apply for a licence and profited significantly from unlawful trading over a period of several months.
The GLA has been busy of late, and last Friday issued a warning to inexperienced business operators applying for licences. Other recent GLA enforcement activities include Recruit Solutions (UK) and UK Payroll losing their respective licences.
UR Workforce Solutions (URWS) continued to provide workers to Preston Meats despite five separate written warnings sent last year by the GLA, which regulates labour provision in the sector and other areas.
The GLA says URWS’s director Tina Walker had previously run a lawful agency between 2007 until it went into administration, before the new business began trading in 2012.
Steph Varle, prosecuting, told the court that while there had been no exploitation of workers in the case, the company had knowingly chosen not to apply for a licence and profited significantly from unlawful trading over a period of several months.
The GLA has been busy of late, and last Friday issued a warning to inexperienced business operators applying for licences. Other recent GLA enforcement activities include Recruit Solutions (UK) and UK Payroll losing their respective licences.
