Punjab-origin job agency head disqualified for owing creditors ₹7.27 crore in UK

Sohal Singh, 41, was deemed ‘not fit and proper’ to hold a GLA licence, as he not been candid and truthful in all dealings with them

INSOLVENCY SERVICES

LONDON : Sukhjit Sohal Singh, who was director of a temporary staff employment agency based in the West Midlands, has been disqualified for seven years for failing to adhere to licensing standards, a UK government agency dealing with financial wrongdoing said.

Sohal Singh was a director of Phoenix Midlands Limited, which went into Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation in 2015 owing £841,566 (₹7.27 crore) to creditors.

Between 2013 and 2015, Singh failed to ensure that the company complied with licensing standards of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), the regulatory body.

The Insolvency Service said on Thursday that in particular, Sohal Singh, 41, was deemed “not fit and proper” to hold a GLA licence, as he not been candid and truthful in all dealings with them.

He did not demonstrate a readiness and willingness to comply with the requirements and standards of the regulatory system and with other legal, regulatory and professional requirements and standards. The GLA licence was, therefore, revoked, the service said.

As the company director, Sohal Singh’s irregularities included the company not being registered with Britain’s tax authorities, which meant that tax and national insurance had not been calculated and deducted from the workers’ wages.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot act as a director of a company; take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership; and be a receiver of a company’s property.

Aldona O’Hara of Insolvency Service said: “When directors of a company do not comply with legislation that is designed to protect employees, and avoidable losses result, the Insolvency Service will fully investigate the circumstances and take action where appropriate. These disqualifications send a clear message that exploitation of vulnerable workers will not be tolerated.”