The Car Wash: Washing away Legal Requirements?

In the news recently, there has been much controversy regarding the activity of many car washes in the UK, with the car wash association stating that up to 80% of hand car washes do not act in accordance with legal requirements.

It is claimed that, due to the nature of cash in hand payments, car washes may be a hot bed for workers who are not legally allowed to work in the UK. There are of course, many car wash companies in the UK that do comply to regulations, with a focus on environmentally friendly techniques and rigorous safety conditions. Those car washes that do apply to regulations feel as though they are being short changed by those companies who ignore these legal guidelines. Operating legally of course costs more, involves more paperwork and administration than avoiding these requirements. Employees who do not pay national insurance or income tax are avoiding certain civic responsibilities on which this country is based, and for many car wash owners this is putting a black mark on an otherwise necessary and lucrative industry.

Last year, a car wash in Colchester was found to have been operating with three men working who held no valid work permits, these men, originally from Milawi are now faced with deportation from the UK. The problem here is not the workers who are acting illegally, but more so the employers of these people who have allowed this to happen in their business. Company owners need to ensure that they check legal documents and Visas before hiring any potential employees and further make sure that they are taxed correctly and in accordance with their pay.
The car wash has had for some time a bad reputation as hubs for criminal activity. There are now approximately ten thousand more hand car washes in the UK than there was ten years ago, and many are beginning to think that they are an easy way of running a business and avoiding the law.

In Manchester in 2007 three men were arrested after a raid on an illegal car wash for employing men without the legal papers to work in the UK, for money laundering and also for trafficking drugs. With stories such as this constantly seen in the press it is no wonder then that the car wash is building up a bad reputation
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This however, is a great shame. There are many car wash companies in the UK that do operate under legal requirements, and offer excellent services at inexpensive prices. Not only this, but hand car washes offer an excellent way of providing people with employment opportunities, something that is becoming increasingly rare as machines continue to take over humans for certain labour jobs.

It needs to be the case that those car wash companies who do operate legally salute themselves for doing so, and do not feel disheartened that they are paying extra costs and taking up extra administration that other car washes are managing to avoid. The police are continuing to monitor car washes that look as though they may be operating illegally and hopefully these can be wheedled out so that we are left with a proud industry that offers an invaluable service and added employment to many communities across the UK, something that is increasingly becoming a necessity in these difficult times.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/cars/the-car-wash-washing-away-legal-requirements.html