Government to protect vulnerable workers

The government’s strategy to protect vulnerable workers and clampdown on rogue employers was published last month.

Success at Work outlines the government’s commitments to ensure workers have minimum wage and holidays.

Under the strategy, bank holidays will be in addition to the minimum of four weeks holiday a year. The government said that there is evidence that bad employers have been forcing staff to work bank holidays or take it as one of their holidays.

Pilots will be launched to crackdown on employers and agencies that abuse workers’ rights. There will also be tougher action on employers that use illegal migrant labour.

Information on websites will be improved and helplines expanded to ensure that employees have increased knowledge of their rights.

Trade and industry secretary Alan Johnson said that rights put forward by Labour have taken root in industry and that the government can “now concentrate our enforcement on the minority of bad businesses which take advantage of the most vulnerable workers.” 

• For more go to www.dti.gov.uk/er/successatwork.htm