A Southampton gangmaster’s licence has been revoked for a number of serious breaches of workers’ rights.

Following an investigation by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority operation (GLA), it was found that Saphire Trading had placed his workers at risk not only in the workplace but also in the housing that was provided for them.

The evidence provided by the GLA included:

• accomodation breaching fire regulations
• workers were afraid of providing evidence to the inspector for fear of risking their jobs and housing.
• only one out of the ten properties inspected had a valid Gas Certificate
• none of the buses used to convey workers were registered as Public Service Vehicles (PSV)
• workers did not receive pay slips and had no National Insurance numbers and the workers were not registered with HMRC
• deductions from wages for accommodation and transport were made without the knowledge of workers and cash was taken directly from wages
• workers had not received pay for up to 10 days
• payslips often contained incorrect information; there was no credible evidence that Statutory Sick Pay was being paid to workers and no evidence that any scheme was in place to identify who was entitled to be paid under the scheme.