Commenting on the publication of the Gangmasters Licensing Authorityís Annual Review, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation has welcomed its assertion that the GLA must focus on enforcement in the coming year.
Anne Fairweather, the RECís Head of Public Policy said: ìThe REC supported the creation of the GLA to tackle worker abuse in the agriculture and food processing industry where labour providers are often working to very tight margins.
ìToday one tenth of the recruitment industry holds a GLA licence, showing that this regulation goes well beyond what people have traditionally considered to be Gangmaster activity.
ìOne year on, the challenge for the GLA today is to seek out those that operate in the sector without a licence. Professional recruitment agencies should not be undercut by those who are operating outside the law and this must be the first priority for the GLA.î
All recruitment agencies are governed by the Employment Agencies Act, which lays down strict rules about how these agencies should act. In addition to this agencies are governed by most employment legislation, such as payment of the national minimum wage.
Within this context Anne Fairweather goes on to comment about calls to extend the GLAís remit to other sectors.
ìAll recruitment agencies are governed by a considerable amount of legislation. We need to ensure that this regulation is effectively enforced before new regulations are considered.
ìIt is also worth observing that the regulatory and economic environment varies considerably between sectors. For example in some sectors, such as social care, there are further requirements to ensure that workers do not pose a risk to the vulnerable people they work with.
ìIt is also interesting to see that the strong economic pressures on suppliers in areas such as the food industry are not necessarily replicated across the economy. Any debate about extension of the GLAís remit should respond to these different regulatory and economic environments. The effectiveness of the current GLA regime also needs to be proven before any extension is proposed.î
ìThe RECís 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 Practiceî.
The REC is a member of the GLA Board.
GLA annual review reveals greater need for enforcement
.
