Employment advisers underfunded and overwhelmed by cases of mistreatment at work, says TUC

Hard pressed employment advisers are struggling to meet the needs of the UK's most vulnerable workers, a new TUC report reveals today (Saturday).

Employment advisers receive daily reports of mistreatment from workers across low paid and female dominated sectors of the economy - such as care, catering and cleaning - but often feel they do not have the necessary resources to challenge this exploitation.

Researchers from the Centre for Employment Studies Research at Bristol Business School, commissioned by the TUC's Commission on Vulnerable Employment, interviewed employment advisers from Citizens Advice (CABx) and the Law Centres Federation across the UK. The research highlights the extent of the problems that vulnerable workers face:

79 per cent of advisers receive reports of unfair dismissal weekly or more frequently;
67 per cent of advisers receive reports of problems with pay weekly or more frequently;
60 per cent deal with problems with working time/contractual rights weekly or more frequently.

These problems are concentrated in low paid sectors where most jobs are held by women. Advisers told the researchers that workers experiencing problems were most likely to work in private care homes, hotels and restaurants, hairdressing and beauty, wholesale and retail, or for cleaning companies.

With respect to problems with pay:

86 per cent of advisers had supported workers from private care homes;
79 per cent had supported workers employed by cleaning companies; and
72 per cent had supported workers employed in hotels and restaurants.

For each of the main problems that workers experienced, more than 50 per cent of advisers said that they often came across employers who were 'repeat offenders'.

The research shows that a large number of workplace grievances are experienced by workers on permanent contracts, but also demonstrates that agency workers were disproportionately likely to experience workplace problems - 62 per cent of CABx and 81 per cent of Law Centres saw temps on a frequent basis.

The majority of respondents also felt their organisation needed more funding and resources necessary to meet demand for advice; 70 per cent of CAB and 80 per cent of Law Centre advisers felt they had too few advisers to deal with the number of enquiries they received about mistreatment at work. Advisers also reported spending more and more time fund seeking so time available for advocacy work was decreasing.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'The study gives us a picture of vulnerable work through the lens of the two national agencies which provide free employment-rights advice and support to those without union representation. It is not a pretty picture.

'The TUC's Commission on Vulnerable Employment was shocked at the extent of abuses of employment rights reported by colleagues at Citizens Advice and the Law Centres. It is unacceptable that these practices exist today, and equally unfair that when they do, services to help vulnerable workers are left over-stretched and under-funded.

'Ministers have recently accepted the need for an information and awareness campaign for workers and employers on basic rights at work - which the TUC welcomes. However, sustainable funding is also needed for independent employment rights advice, so that when workers experience problems they can access support. Government, trade unions and employers need to work together to make sure this happens.

'The Government is also committed to enabling enforcement agencies such as the Health and Safety Executive and the minimum wage enforcement unit of HMRC to work more closely together and to better co-ordinate their work. However, these positive developments also need to be accompanied by more resources - agencies need the capacity to take proactive work that prevents mistreatment at work from happening in the first place. Extending the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) to other low-paid sectors characterised by temporary work would also make a huge impact.'

The research also revealed:

Only one in three CABx have a specialist volunteer employment rights adviser;
No Law Centres employed more than two full-time paid employment specialists.

Around two-thirds of advisers from both CABx and Law Centres felt they had too little legal experience to assist migrant workers, and almost three-quarters of CABx and 61 per cent of Law Centres also felt they had too few resources to provide advice and support to workers who do not have English as their first language.

CASE STUDIES

The report contains extensive qualitative evidence from employment rights advisers. For example:

'Some if these employers are repeat offenders yes, particularly the domestic employers. We have some dreadful ones. That's the other problem, they then close the company down, go into insolvency and start up again in the same place with a different company name. That's a big problem' (Law Centre Adviser, London)

'They go to work for some cleaning company or something like that, they have a complicated rota and they just don't get paid, and the employer pays them a bit but not everything, the employer then gets rid of them, they're £400-£500 to the bad, the Tribunal claims are massively complicated, therefore, there's a limit to what we can do...' (Law Centre Adviser, Inner London)

'The pay issue is one which applies particularly in the small industries, again it's the local food industry, the migrant workers, the agricultural workers, hairdressing is a particularly bad example. There, they pay on the national minimum wage and quite often below it. I am constantly surprised at the number of time I have to make a national minimum wage application, usually in conjunction with something else' (CAB Adviser, South East)

'I have, for example, a number of complaints from pubs where they employ cleaners and barmaids and barmen that they do not give any official letter to, they don't give them hours of work, they don't give them terms and conditions of employment. Obviously a problem arises and it tends to be a case of: 'Get out, I can't be doing with you. Go.' ' (CAB Adviser, East Midlands)

'I have had it a few times recently, where nurses and care workers have been brought over from various countries, they need to be in employment for 12 months before they have any rights and during that 12 month period are being treated appallingly, because, if they complain about the treatment then they will lose their job and therefore their right to say, because they're not going to work for 12 months. So they tend to put up with a lot more than they should do. They are trapped, if they complain they are out and then they haven't got the 12 months and they are out of the country, it seems to happen a lot in the care home industry' (CAB Adviser, North)

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The research is available at http://www.vulnerableworkers.org.uk/cove-evidence-gathering/cove-research/

- There are 144 Citizens Advice Bureaux offering specialist employment advice, and 53 Law Centres providing employment advice nationally. The research sample comprised 54 CABx respondents and 32 Law Centre advisers; 44 per cent of employment rights advisers working for these organisations nationally.

- The research was undertaken by: Pollert A, Danford A, Tailby S, Wilton N and Warren S (2008) Survey of Employment Rights Advisers From Citizens Advice Bureaux and Law Centres. Bristol: Centre for Employment Studies Research, Bristol Business School, University of the West of England.

- Citizens Advice is a generalist, volunteer-led service providing free advice on a range of issues, including employment problems, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Law Centre Federation brings together 64 Law Centres across the UK, 29 (45 per cent) of which are in London, and likewise provides free legal advice, including employment law advice. CABx provide general employment advice through general advisors, and some bureaux provide more specialised advice through 'employment specialists'. These may be paid, but the majority are volunteers and have been trained in employment law matters by the CAB. Law Centres, while engaging some volunteer workers, generally employ paid legal professionals to provide free

employment advice. Further details at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/aboutus/factsheets.htm and www.lawcentres.org.uk/lawcentres

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Register for the TUC's press extranet: a service exclusive to journalists wanting to access pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

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Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Elly Brenchley T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: ebrenchley@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk

Press release (1,500 words) issued 23 Aug 2008

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