SLAVERY CASE
£1m pay-out to chicken workers
Six Lithuanian men have won a settlement of more than £1m from a gangmaster couple who trafficked them to work on egg farms.
The landmark legal ruling represents the first High Court action brought by migrants over modern-day slavery.
Husband and wife Darrell Houghton and Jackie Judge, of DJ Houghton Catching Services Limited, in Linton, agreed the compensation deal after the ruling in June.
The six chicken catchers worked on farms producing eggs for high-street brands, including Happy Eggs and McDonald’s.
In June, Justice Supperstone found the defendants – described by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) as “the worst UK gangmaster ever” – had failed to pay the national minimum wage, made unlawful deductions from wages for spurious reasons such as leaving a mug unwashed and failed to provide adequate facilities to wash, rest, eat and drink.
The court heard the claimants were trafficked to the UK by a Lithuanian who was paid by DJ Houghton.
The men, aged between 19 and 58, said they were driven from farm to farm across the country, travelling up to seven hours before being put to work in filthy conditions.
They were paid according to the number of chickens caught and wages were often docked or withheld entirely, with workers claiming they were threatened and abused by supervisors, including using rottweilers.
DJ Houghton’s licence was revoked by the GLA in October 2012 and 38 workers were referred to the UK Human Trafficking Centre, which confirmed all the men were victims of trafficking.
Ten other workers are now expected to bring similar cases.
Shanta Martin, partner at law firm Leigh Day which represented the men, said: “Our clients have faced enormous difficulties since they came to the UK thinking they would be earning a decent living for honest work, but found themselves being terribly exploited by a British business.
“Our clients are so pleased to finally be getting not only wages they were owed, but a substantial sum to settle claims alleging physical and psychological abuse.
“The very large bill being faced by the defendants for both the compensation and their defence costs is also a salutary lesson to others who might seek to profit from modern slavery.”