Agencies shouldn’t be forcing workers to take insurance they don’t need

Commenting on the news today (Thursday) that the government is to investigate claims that some employment agencies have been mis-selling insurance to thousands of low-paid workers, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“In most cases workers are covered by their employer’s workplace insurance policy but many may not know this. Unscrupulous agencies should not bank on the ignorance of those on their books to force them to sign up for costly insurance premiums they neither need nor can afford.

“Recent cuts to the number of government inspectors policing the behaviour of agencies may mean we see more incidences of agency workers being over-charged for services they don’t need. Where unions offer similar insurance policies this is not conditional on joining the union.

“Employers shouldn’t try to claw back wages they are required to pay by law through clever schemes that leave already low-paid workers even worse off. Any deduction at source which takes a worker’s hourly rate below the minimum wage is illegal and we demand that the law is fully enforced.”

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