Cash workers 'ordered to hide in manure heap' if police turned up

The farm labourers were non-EU foreigners without papers and working cash-in-hand with no contract, Social Security or tax paid on their behalf, in extremely poor conditions of hygiene and safety and forced to rent old farm buildings to sleep and eat in.

Police and the work inspectors got wind of the fraud and exploitation after fake job contracts were detected relating to a non-existent worker – a person who was in cahoots with the boss but not actually an employee – drawn up in order for the owner to benefit from 'certain administrative benefits'.

Work inspectors were contacted by the Foreigners' Office in Murcia, and paid an unannounced visit to the site.

Two pensioners, both foreign nationals, were working there, and revealed that their employer made them work very long hours and gave them a series of guidelines as to what to do if the police turned up on the premises.

If they were on the job at the time, they were ordered to bury themselves in the manure heap until the authorities had left.