The High Court has ruled in favour of a group of Lithuanian men who were put to work in terrible conditions by a British company, catching chickens at farms all over the country. The chickens were caught for businesses such as Noble Foods, a leading egg producer and owner of the Happy Egg brand. The Court ruled that the workers who brought the case were subject to a gruelling and exploitative work regime by their employer, DJ Houghton Catching Services, and by its sole director, Darrell Houghton, and the company secretary, Jackie Judge. The Court upheld the workers’ summary judgment application against the company, and found it liable for serious contractual and statutory breaches. In a landmark decision, the Court also ruled that Mr Houghton and Ms Judge were personally liable to the workers for the serious contractual and statutory breaches of their company. The Court ruled that they had caused the company to act in breach of its obligations and knew that this was what they were doing.
https://www.leighday.co.uk/News/2019/April-2019/High-Court-rules-chicken-catcher-bosses-exploited
