What a gangmaster's licence is and who needs one

A gangmaster is a person or business that supplies workers to specific sectors in the UK.

The sectors are:

• agriculture
• horticulture
• shellfish gathering
• food processing and packaging

You’re also a gangmaster if you:

• use workers to gather shellfish
• instruct shellfish gatherers to collect items from a specific bed
• have an agreement to buy a catch drectlydirectly from shellfish gatherers
• buy a crop and use your own or other workers to harvest, process or pack it

To operate as a gangmaster, you must have a licence from the Fair Work Agency (FWA).

This document is general guidance on who needs a gangmaster’s licence.