Exclusive: A previously unseen protected disclosure signed by 11 Candidsky employees raised concerns about 5 Villages Group and chairman Don Iro in late 2025, as Solent University opens an assessment into its pro-chancellor, references to a policing oversight role are removed from his university biography following enquiries, and the agency’s website is temporarily replaced by a gambling site.
A total of 11 Candidsky employees signed a collective protected disclosure raising concerns about payroll, pensions, supplier payments and the governance of parent company 5 Villages Group months before the Manchester agency’s former chief executive resigned, Prolific North can reveal.
The previously unseen document, addressed to 5 Villages Group chairman Don Iro and the group’s board and emailed directly to Iro in late 2025, provides insight into the scale of concerns inside Candidsky following its acquisition earlier that year.
The disclosure was made after the sexual harassment complaint against Iro previously reported by Prolific North, but several months before then-chief executive David Vernon left the agency in March 2026.
It was signed electronically by 11 members of staff on November 28, 2025. Prolific North understands this represented all but one of Candidsky’s workforce at the time.
Prolific North put the new disclosure and related questions to 5 Villages Group and Iro on Monday, August 17, giving them until noon on Wednesday, August 19, to respond. No substantive response had been received ahead of publication today.
The employees described themselves as a “united workforce” and said their concerns related to “payroll, pensions, supplier payments, workplace culture, and group-level governance”.
The employees explicitly separated those concerns from the leadership of Vernon and Candidsky’s senior team.
The document said: “None of the issues raised in this letter relate to David’s or the SLT’s leadership or the internal management of Candidsky. Our concerns relate solely to the ownership, governance, and actions of 5 Villages Group and Donald Iro.”
Later, under the heading “Collective Loss of Confidence in 5 Villages Group”, staff said employees across departments had independently raised concerns about compliance, payroll and pension data, suppliers and communication from the Group.
They said they saw “repeated warning signs” and believed the Group’s governance posed a risk to their financial security and wellbeing.
Iro promised to investigate
Emails obtained by Prolific North show Iro personally acknowledged the disclosure after it was formally emailed to him on December 1.
He replied: “I confirm receipt of your email and the contents therein.
“I take these concerns seriously and will investigate asap. Most of these issues are already on course for resolution.”
Iro also proposed an all-hands call, saying “most of these issues can equally be resolved via effective communication.”
The employees responded that they wanted a full written response before any meetings or calls, saying it was important to establish “a full audit trail” to maintain transparency and accountability.
More than two weeks later, on December 16, the Candidsky team chased Iro again.
“We’re just politely following up on a written response that addresses all the points we’ve made,” they wrote. “Appreciate there’s been some communication here and there on a few of the matters, but a full written response would help address everything in one go.”
Former employees have told Prolific North they did not subsequently receive a comprehensive written outcome to the disclosure.
Prolific North asked 5 Villages Group what investigation was undertaken, what conclusions were reached, whether employees received a formal response and what action followed.
The Group did not respond to requests for comment or clarification.
Payroll concerns emerged months earlier
The disclosure also establishes that concerns over Candidsky’s payroll arrangements were being formally raised by staff by November 2025.
This provides additional context to the timeline previously given to Prolific North by 5 Villages Group.
The Group previously acknowledged salary delays across parts of its businesses in April, May and June 2026, saying these arose from short-term cashflow pressures.
It said: “There have been occasions in recent months when salary payments across parts of the 5 Villages Group have been delayed. These occurred at different points during April, May and June 2026 and arose from short-term cashflow pressures, including the timing of receipts from key customers.”
The newly obtained disclosure does not establish that salaries themselves were paid late during 2025. However, it shows employees were already raising a series of payroll problems months earlier.
Staff alleged incorrect tax deductions, inconsistent payslip information, problems with National Insurance information, missing employer pension contributions and difficulties accessing historical payslips.
The employees said this demonstrated “a loss of confidence in group-level payroll governance”.
They also expressed concern that problems arising from changes to payroll could ultimately result in altered HMRC tax codes and employees having to make up underpaid tax.
Missing pension contributions
The disclosure contained particularly detailed concerns about pensions.
Employees said that after contacting NEST they had discovered contributions deducted from salaries had not reached their pension accounts for multiple months and employer contributions also appeared to be missing.
In the disclosure, the employees said they had been advised by NEST that Candidsky’s direct debit had been deliberately cancelled, leading them to question why contributions had been delayed.
They said they were considering contacting The Pensions Regulator if the matter was not immediately resolved.
Prolific North has subsequently obtained further documentation concerning the pension issue.
As previously reported, 5 Villages Group acknowledged that some pension contributions had been remitted later than intended and that amounts remained outstanding.
But it also told Prolific North: “There have, however, been no enquiries or investigations by The Pensions Regulator or any pension provider.”
New documentation seen by Prolific North includes a NEST letter dated December 13, 2025 stating: “We’ve reported Candidsky Ltd to The Pensions Regulator.”
Prolific North has also seen material indicating employees separately raised concerns with The Pensions Regulator and that a complaint was lodged with The Pensions Ombudsman.
Correspondence also shows that on November 13 Iro wrote that “ultimately I am accountable for Pensions” and said he would look into the issue “also with the pensions regulator”.
Prolific North asked 5 Villages Group whether it now wished to amend or clarify its previous statement concerning regulatory involvement and whether all outstanding pension contributions have since been paid. It did not respond to our requests.
Suppliers and safeguarding
The collective disclosure went considerably further than payroll and pensions. Employees said suppliers had contacted Candidsky staff directly concerning overdue payments and that some matters had escalated to debt collection agencies.
They said some supplier payment problems had affected their ability to do their jobs and “put our clients and contracts at risk”.
Staff also raised concerns about safeguarding and HR governance following the acquisition.
The disclosure praised Candidsky’s internal leadership for taking employee wellbeing seriously but said previous events had caused some employees to question “whether safeguarding and HR processes can operate independently and effectively while ultimate authority sits with 5 Villages Group rather than within Candidsky’s own governance structures.”
Those concerns were raised months after an internal HR process began following a sexual harassment complaint against Iro (allegations he has always vigorously denied).
As previously reported by Prolific North, Iro unequivocally denies sexually harassing the former employee or behaving improperly towards her.
5 Villages Group has said the HR process did not reach a formal determination and no finding was made against Iro. He has acknowledged that personally arranging a private hotel meeting with the employee to discuss what he describes as a potential employment concern, and choosing that setting, was an “error of judgement”.
University opens assessment
The latest disclosures come as Southampton Solent University, where Iro is Pro-Chancellor, has confirmed it has begun an ‘initial assessment’ following Prolific North’s reporting.
The university said it had not previously been aware of the details of the complaint and would consider the matter under its normal procedures.
It subsequently clarified: “Our procedures call for an initial assessment, followed by a further review if required. We have now begun that initial assessment.”
The university said it could not provide further information while the process was underway.
Policing role removed from biography
Separately, Solent University has removed references to Iro’s claimed involvement in policing oversight from his online biography following enquiries by Prolific North.
The biography had stated that Iro had been involved with the “Forces Strategic Independent Advisory Group (FSIAG)” and was “recently chair for the Custody Scrutiny Panel for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police”.
However, after Prolific North contacted Hampshire and Isle of Wight’s Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, it said: “Mr Iro has never served on an OPCC-run body concerned with scrutiny of police custody in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.”
It added: “The OPCC Independent Custody Detention Scrutiny Panel (ICDSP) commenced in January 2024. Don Iro has never been a member of this panel.”
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary also told Prolific North: “We are unable to comment on an individual’s employment or volunteer status. The Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner took over responsibility for police custody within Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in 2024 and have already confirmed their position.”
After investigating the biography, Solent University told Prolific North that governors were required to declare other roles annually and said: “the last time Mr Iro declared this role was for the 2021-22 academic year.”
“We have now updated his biography on our website,” it added. The reference to Forces Strategic Independent Advisory Group (FSIAG) and chair for the Custody Scrutiny Panel for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police have since been removed.
Prolific North asked Iro, via 5 Villages Group, to clarify precisely what policing body he chaired, when he served, who appointed him and whether he could provide evidence of the role.
No response was received before publication. Prolific North has also attempted to contacted Iro directly multiple times ahead of publication.
Candidsky website temporarily replaced by gambling site
There was further disruption this week when Candidsky’s website became inaccessible.
Visitors to candidsky.com on Monday were instead presented with an Indonesian-language gambling website branded “SLOT88”, promoting online slot games.
The page remained visible for several hours.
When contacted by Prolific North at the time, Candidsky’s Buddhika Amis said: “We are aware of the website issue. Our hosting provider is tracing the logs and investigating the cause. There has been no change to Candidsky’s trading status or operations.”
No response to latest questions
Prolific North sent the latest detailed allegations and documentary findings to Candidsky and 5 Villages Group on Monday, August 17.
The company and Iro were asked to respond to the collective protected disclosure, the payroll and pension material, the disputed policing role and the university assessment.
They were given until noon on Wednesday, August 19, to respond. No substantive response to the latest questions had been received by the time of publication on Thursday, August 20.
5 Villages Group and Iro have engaged extensively with Prolific North during previous stages of this investigation, and their responses, explanations and denials have been reported in detail. No substantive response was received to this latest set of questions before publication.
The Group has previously said Candidsky remains financially viable, is not in administration or subject to formal insolvency proceedings and is expected to return to profitability during the current financial year.
It has also said the business has experienced a “challenging trading period”, acknowledged tight cashflow, client losses and staff departures, and said it is rebuilding its leadership, client base and market position.
