Agency fined

Employment agency Fast Tec International, based in the South West, has been fined £2,000 and ordered to pay another £4,400 in compensation after a court heard that the company had underpaid a worker contracted by it to work in Germany. The court found that the company had broken the law by not keeping proper records, not providing a written statement of terms and conditions, not obtaining a written statement about the work from Germany and making no arrangements to pay the employee's fare home if the contract ended.

Alan Johnson, minister for competitiveness, said: "This case reinforces our clear message to the industry that we will act against any agency that wrongly withholds money from its workers".