Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA)

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) is a UK Government agency stopping worker exploitation. Funded by the Home Office, we are an evolved version of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), which was established following the death of 23 cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay in Feb 2004. This tragedy led to the introduction of the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 and within that legislation was a provision to create a licensing authority - the GLA. Since 2005 we have regulated the supply of temporary labour into the UK fresh produce sector - farming, horticulture, shellfish gathering and all associated processing and packaging. We issue licences, check on the compliance of licence holders and investigate unlicensed supply of labour into the regulated sector. Unlicensed supply is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of 10 years. Entering into arrangements with unlicensed providers is also illegal and carries up to 6 months. After a switch of sponsor department from Defra to the Home Office in 2014, a greater national focus was given to labour exploitation, sparked by the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act in 2015. The act called for a public consultation on the role of the GLA. Responses informed the drafting of a new Immigration Act in 2016, which called for the formation of an evolved authority - the GLAA. In our new guise we have the same aims and objectives but a much larger remit and additional powers to perform an enhanced role in the UK. The GLAA became fully operational in Spring 2017 and can address labour exploitation across the entire labour market in England and Wales while retaining the licensing function. GLAA investigators now have police-style powers and can investigate offences under the Modern Slavery Act – such as forced labour and human trafficking. They are also able to tackle offences under the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and Employment Agencies Act, as well as Gangmasters legislation.