Employment agencies
Unlimited fines for employment agencies that exploit workers
Employment agencies will face a legal crackdown to stop them exploiting workers after unions exposed a stream of abuses, suffered mainly by migrant workers.
John Hutton, the Business Secretary, told the TUC yesterday that the number of employment agency standard inspectors would be doubled to 24, and that the practice of forcing workers to pay for accommodation or transport or other things they may not want will be made illegal.
The punishment for abuse will be unlimited fines.
The move comes after a series of high-profile campaigns highlighting the treatment of workers by some employment agencies.
Last month, Domino’s Pizzas was at the centre of exploitation allegations at one of its franchises, after Eastern European workers were said to have been forced to take out loans to buy cars.
It was alleged that the loans meant that workers sometimes received negative net pay or only tiny amounts.
Mr Hutton said: “Vulnerable workers can be exploited by employers prepared to flout the law, no matter the nature of their employment or which sector they work in.”
The Business Secretary told the unions’ conference in Brighton that it was important to toughen employment agency regulation to maintain Britain’s flexible labour market.
He announced the changes after listening to the TUC’s debate on vulnerable workers.
Mr Hutton told delegates that he had witnessed exploitation while working as an employment lawyer in the North East.
While welcoming the tougher laws, unions pressed Mr Hutton to go further and back the European agency workers’ directive, which calls for the same rights for temporary workers as permanent staff after six weeks of employment at one workplace.
Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, said: “As a former employment lawyer, Mr Hutton must know the reality of exploitation and casualisation from the sharp end. We need rigorous enforcement of existing laws, making examples of the worst employers, who should go out of business or be sent to jail.
"The ministers’ announcements are welcome, but the law also needs to be extended. Crucially, the law should guarantee equal treatment of agency workers and the directly employed.”
Mr Hutton was circumspect on Britain’s position on the directive: “We want to see discussions on the directive come to a successful conclusion with a fair and lasting solution.”
This week, the CBI said that 250,000 temporary jobs would be lost if the directive was implemented. It said that employers would not bear the extra cost of equal rights.
(Published by Times Online, September 13, 2007)
______________________