Government unveils plans to protect vulnerable workers

01/06/07 17:12

Plans to hunt down rogue employers and protect workers from being exploited were outlined by the government today.

Businesses, unions, enforcement and advice bodies will come together to discuss how best to protect vulnerable workers, it was revealed.

According to Trade and Industry secretary Alistair Darling, the Vulnerable Worker Enforcement Forum will bring together employers and unions to identify how to strenghten enforcement.

Pilot schemes in Birmingham and London have also been launched to provide businesses and employees with better access to information and help them understand their rights.

Darling said: “All workers deserve decent minimum standards - a minimum wage, the right to paid holidays or the right to work in a safe environment.
“We need to protect vulnerable workers. I want to make sure that if abuses occur they are dealt with as soon as possible.”

However, the scheme is also intended to benefit businesses, the government stressed.

Commenting on the London pilot scheme, which will be led by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), employment relations minister Jim Fitzpatrick, said: “Business will also benefit as the project will make employers better aware of the support available to them and of their legal obligations. It will also support good employers by tackling those who break the law and undercut legitimate businesses.”

Matt Hardman, a spokesman for the Forum of Private Business (FPB), added: “The majority of owners of smaller businesses understand the need to protect employees rights, as there is a strong business case for a balance of the interests of both parties.

“This scheme must make sure that rogue employers who deliberately abuse vulnerable workers are dealt with, as it is both the employee and the law abiding competitors of the rogue employer who lose out.”