Cleaning, caregiving, hospitality and construction among worst industries
Around two million workers in the United Kingdom are "trapped in a continual round of low-paid and insecure work where mistreatment is the norm," according to a new report.
The report from the Commission on Vulnerable Employment, set up by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), found vulnerable workers suffer because they do not know their rights, lack an escape route from vulnerable jobs, cannot get their rights enforced - and often suffer when they try to - and that they fall through gaps in employment law.
The report also revealed research from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development showing the U.K. has less employment protection than any other advanced economy apart from the United States.
Among the abuses uncovered by the commission were workers who were fired if they complained about working 70-hour weeks for $3.96 Cdn an hour and found migrant domestic workers who had been beaten or sexually assaulted but lived in too much fear of deportation to report their abusers.
The research shows that problems at work are experienced across all sectors of employment. However, abuse is particularly common in care homes, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, hairdressing and beauty, construction and security.
"During my time on the commission, meeting vulnerable workers and hearing the evidence first-hand for myself, I have become increasingly surprised by my own and society's ignorance of these issues," said commissioner Kevin Beeston.
"It's disappointing to see how low the morals of some unscrupulous employers can be, and it's time society stopped turning a blind eye to these workplace abuses that are shaming the world of work and tarnishing the reputations of good employers."
The commission, which included employers and independent experts as well as trade unionists, stated that government, unions, employers and consumers must now all play a part in ending exploitation at work.
It recommends more funding for enforcement agencies such as the Health and Safety Executive and the minimum wage enforcement unit of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs; a new fair employment commission; and a reform of employment status laws that deny rights to workers who do not have an employment contract.
The report from the Commission on Vulnerable Employment, set up by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), found vulnerable workers suffer because they do not know their rights, lack an escape route from vulnerable jobs, cannot get their rights enforced - and often suffer when they try to - and that they fall through gaps in employment law.
The report also revealed research from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development showing the U.K. has less employment protection than any other advanced economy apart from the United States.
Among the abuses uncovered by the commission were workers who were fired if they complained about working 70-hour weeks for $3.96 Cdn an hour and found migrant domestic workers who had been beaten or sexually assaulted but lived in too much fear of deportation to report their abusers.
The research shows that problems at work are experienced across all sectors of employment. However, abuse is particularly common in care homes, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, hairdressing and beauty, construction and security.
"During my time on the commission, meeting vulnerable workers and hearing the evidence first-hand for myself, I have become increasingly surprised by my own and society's ignorance of these issues," said commissioner Kevin Beeston.
"It's disappointing to see how low the morals of some unscrupulous employers can be, and it's time society stopped turning a blind eye to these workplace abuses that are shaming the world of work and tarnishing the reputations of good employers."
The commission, which included employers and independent experts as well as trade unionists, stated that government, unions, employers and consumers must now all play a part in ending exploitation at work.
It recommends more funding for enforcement agencies such as the Health and Safety Executive and the minimum wage enforcement unit of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs; a new fair employment commission; and a reform of employment status laws that deny rights to workers who do not have an employment contract.
