As part of proposals to crack down on rogue employers who abuse vulnerable workers, enforcement agencies will be able to share information and carry out more joined-up action on investigations.
The changes are outlined in a report published by the Vulnerable Workers Enforcement Forum, which was established to examine abuses of employment law. A Fair Employment Enforcement Board will be set up to coordinate the work of Revenue & Customs, the Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate (EASI), the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, and the HSE. The Board will include representatives from business, unions, and enforcement bodies.
Other measures include a single telephone helpline for vulnerable workers to report abuses to enforcement agencies, and a £6 million campaign to raise awareness of employment rights and encourage workers to report abuses.
The CBI welcomed the Forum’s emphasis on tackling non-compliance of existing laws. The organisation’s head of employment, Neil Carberry, said: “New laws and regulations do little to tackle unscrupulous firms, who simply ignore the law while they undercut law-abiding businesses. This package of reforms will not increase the burden for honest businesses but will help protect workers who are being denied their employment rights.”
Construction union UCATT applauded the plans for closer working between enforcement bodies, and the single telephone helpline, but slammed the refusal to back the licensing of gangmasters or employment agencies in the construction industry. It also believes the EASI, which increased from 12 to 24 inspectors earlier this year (see SHP April, News) is too under-resourced to deal with abuses in the sector.
Said UCATT’s national policy officer, Jim Kennedy: “To imply that EASI is capable of policing this sector is not a real-life proposal and, quite frankly, lacks credibility. I hope the reluctance to extend gangmasters legislation will not come back to haunt the authors of the report, as I believe it is only a matter of time before we encounter a Morecambe Bay-type incident in the construction industry.”
The Forum’s report can be downloaded here.
