“Seasonal worker operator fury after licence revoked”

Recruitment company Ethero has had its seasonal worker licence revoked, The Grocer understands…

Ethero said it had been deemed to pose a threat to UK immigration rules by the Home Office. However, the operator strongly denies the claims – and said it had proven its case to UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI).

The … operator said that “to the day of our licence revocation, our operation was working fully within the key contractual measures that were in place between us and UKVI/Home Office”…

According to the Ethero team, the revocation was based on different interpretations of the 32-hours pay rule…

While the Home Office believes workers should be guaranteed 32 hours of work every week, the operators and the Government’s Migration Advisory Committee interpret the rule as stipulating an average of 32 hours a week…

Guaranteeing the same number of hours every week can be particularly tricky amid issues such as this year’s bad weather. ..

The Home Office does not comment on individual cases, however a spokesman told The Grocer: “We do not tolerate abuse in the labour market and sponsors must meet their obligations to workers or potentially face removal from the sponsorship register…