In December 2014 Professor Jason Heyes, along with Dr Paul Lewis from the University of Birmingham, co-hosted a one-day workshop on ‘Regulating work and employment: recent changes/future prospects’. The event was attended by representatives of ACAS, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the CIPD and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), as well as leading academics and early career researchers. The workshop was the culmination of a two-year project, funded by the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust, which has assessed the consequences of labour market policy reforms in the EU since the start of the economic crisis in 2008. During the workshop, Jason Heyes, Paul Lewis and Mark Beatson – chief economist at the CIPD – discussed the implications of employment rights reforms for workers and employers while Dr Tim Vorley (Sheffield), Professor Ute Stephan (Aston) and Professor Simon Down (Anglia Ruskin) spoke about the impact of employment regulations on small businesses. Mark Heath from the GLA and Professor Linda Dickens from the University of Warwick assessed long-standing and emerging challenges facing government agencies responsible for ensuring compliance with employment rights while Tony Thomas and Paula Lovitt provided insights into BIS’ review of employment status. We are hosting many slides from this event on Slideshare. Find out more about the Work, Organisation & Employment Relations Research Centre (WOERRC) here: http://www.woerrc.group.shef.ac.uk/

1. Gangmasters Licensing Authority
Mark Heath
Head of Business Change and Development
• Working in partnership to protect vulnerable and exploited workers

2. • Who – Home Office - NDPB, 68 staff
• What - Regulate provision of labour
• Where - UK
• When - 2005 onwards
• How - compliance, enforcement, consent
• NIM compliant – intelligence led
• Ministerial Statement May 2012
The GLA

3. Tackling
unlicensed/criminal
activity & ensuring
those licensed operate
within the law
Protecting
vulnerable
workers
Preventing
worker
exploitation
PROUD
Values &
Principles
Working in
partnership to protect
vulnerable and
exploited workers

4. Licensing Process
• Application received and paid for
• Fees dependent upon turnover
• OGD Checks
• Application inspection
• Risk
• Criteria
• Reduce burden
• Inspection Reporting
• Licensing Decisions

5. Tasking
• National Intelligence Model
• Risk based – Exploitation/Licensing Standards
• Priority set and case allocated
• Ongoing review and reporting
• Effective resource allocation
• Tier 1 resolutions
• Compliance v Enforcement
• Partnership working and utilising other powers
• Outcomes

6. Compliance Continuum
Non compliance Compliance
Organised
crime
Complete
disregard
and evasion
Ignorant
avoidance
Honest
triers
Fully
compliant
Full scale
Regulatory/
enforcement
action
Disruption Ongoing
support and
advice
RISK ASSESSMENT

7. Better Regulation
• Regulators Compliance Code states Regulators
should:
• Act in a way that supports compliance and growth
• provide simple and straightforward ways to engage
with those they regulate and hear their views
• base their regulatory activities on risk
• share information about compliance and risk
• ensure clear information, guidance and advice is
available to help those they regulate meet their
responsibilities to comply
• ensure a transparent approach to regulatory activities

8. Better Regulation
• Economic Growth – De-Regulation Bill
• regulatory action is taken only when it is needed, and
• any action taken is proportionate
• Tackling unlicensed and non-compliant
• Remove the unscrupulous
• Level the playing field and promotes growth for
complaint

9. Emerging Trends
• Increase in number of OCGs involved in the
supply of labour
• Nationalities generally exploit “their own”
• Increase in labour exploitation – Eastern
European males
• Low risk/high return
• Under the radar
• Workers reluctant to complain, often through fear
• Links to benefit and tax fraud
• Credit Card Fraud

10. Recent Cases
• Workers recruited in home country
• Brought to addresses in the UK
• Placed in houses with a controller/enforcer
• Placed in work in regulated sector with licensed agencies
• No control over bank cards
• Taken to withdraw money
• Fear of assault if wages not paid over
• Actual assaults if step out of line
• Limited social contact
• Become alcohol-dependent

11. Associated concerns
• Community tension
• Increase in acquisitive crime
• Increase in assaults
• Health risks through alcohol and drug dependency
• Health and safety in the workplace
• Risk to workers family in own country
• Link of work and accommodation recognised as
opportunity for exploitation

12. Meeting Challenge and Change
• Greater collaborative opportunities - integration
• Risk based co-regulation/enforcement/disruption
• Community engagement/problem solving strategies
• Communications
• Illegal workers v Illicit working
• Stakeholder training
• Prevention initiatives
• Joint task force approach
• Serious and organised crime strategy
• Modern Slavery Bill

13. The future
• Earned Recognition
• Stakeholder Training
• Supplier Retailer Protocol
• Stronger Together
• Modern Slavery Bill

14. mark.heath@gla.gsi.gov.uk
07825 797107
intelligence@gla.gsi.gov.uk
0115 959 7052
Confidential Reporting Line
0800 432 0804
enquiries@gla.gsi.gov.uk
0345 602 5020
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