A trade union report contained first-hand reports from temporary workers of abuses such as illegal low pay, unlawful deductions from wages and the withholding of holiday pay.
Source: Life on the Edge, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: TUC press release
Date: 2005-Oct
A report by an employers' organization said that companies were very concerned about the complexity of new employment tribunal procedures, even though the number of tribunal cases had fallen since reforms were introduced in 2004.
Source: A Matter of Confidence: Restoring faith in employment tribunals, Confederation of British Industry (020 7395 8247)
Links: Report (pdf) | CBI press release | TUC press release
Date: 2005-Sep
A trade union report highlighted the lack of protection for temporary workers in the United Kingdom.
Source: The EU Temp Trade: Temporary agency work across the European Union, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Report (pdf) | TUC press release
Date: 2005-Jun
A report said that in at least 1 in 20 cases where workers were awarded compensation by employment tribunals, employers simply refused to pay up. The high rate of non-compliance by employers represented a serious threat to the effectiveness and credibility of the employment tribunal system.
Source: Richard Dunstan, Hollow Victories: An update on the non-payment of employment tribunal awards, Citizens Advice (020 7833 2181)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary | Citizens Advice press release
Date: 2005-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said it was not convinced that the burden of employment regulation was either excessive or damaging to competitiveness.
Source: UK Employment Regulation, Seventh Report (Session 2004-05), HC 90, House of Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BCC press release
Date: 2005-Mar
The Welsh Assembly government announced a code of practice designed to protect the rights of new staff joining organizations delivering public service contracts. Not only would staff transferring from the public sector to another organization retain their terms and conditions, but any staff later recruited would also be employed on a package that was overall no less favourable.
Source: Press release 18 March 2005, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: WAG press release
Date: 2005-Mar
The government began consultation on proposals to strengthen legislation protecting employees' rights when companies changed ownership.
Source: TUPE: Draft Revised Regulations, Department of Trade and Industry (0870 150 2500)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | DTI press release
Date: 2005-Mar
The government announced an extension of the code of practice preventing the emergence of a two-tier workforce in cases where public sector employees were contracted out to a service provider. The code, which had been operating in local government, would be extended to the wider public sector - including the civil service, National Health Service and maintained schools - with immediate effect.
Source: Press release 18 March 2005, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Cabinet Office press release | Code of Practice | TUC press release | UNISON press release
Date: 2005-Mar
A report said that migrant workers, including those with the right to work, were subject to such levels of exploitation and control that they met the international legal definition of forced labour .
Source: Bridget Anderson and Ben Rogaly, Forced Labour and Migration to the UK, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Report | TUC press release
Date: 2005-Feb
An investigation by The Guardian newspaper found a widespread pattern of allegations against the labour agencies - so-called gangmasters - who controlled hundreds of thousands of foreign workers. It found the abuse and underpayment of foreign workers, and also identity fraud, large-scale tax avoidance, benefit fraud, crime and violence.
Source: The Guardian, 10 January 2005
Links: Guardian special report (1) | Guardian special report (2)
Date: 2005-Jan