A meeting jointly organised by the VWP and the trade union, GMB, to raise awareness in the Polish community of their employment rights heard that  issues that they were commonly facing included:

- workers not being paid for all the hours that they worked;

- employers making unauthorised deductions from wages including saying that workers had to pay insurance and retention money;

- hours being unilaterally reduced by the employer

- employers not allowing access to training by being inflexible over requests to change hours

- workers being asked to transfer to other sites at short notice and often some distance away

- employers charging workers for Health and Safety protection equipment.

These issues were all discussed at the meeting including the steps that workers can take to get their issues resolved. This includes the right to representation at any grievance or disciplinary hearing at which workers, who are trade union members, are entitled to be accompanied by a trade union. One of the outcomes was that the GMB made 15 recruits at the meeting.

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The Vulnerable Workers Project held a launch on 6th November to mark the establishment of its outreach services. The project has secured a licensing arrangement with Tower Hamlets Law Centre and will use this as a base for running employment rights advice and awareness raising sessions in the Law Centre and surrounding areas.   Around 35 people attended to hear Megan Dobney, SERTUC Regional Secretary, Georgina Morgan, Manager, Tower Hamlets Law Centre, and Councillor Assad, Lead Cabinet Member for Employment and Skills, Tower Hamlets Borough Council emphasise the importance of developing a partnership approach in order to effectively reach vulnerable workers and support them in using their employment rights to sustain their employment. More… 

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The GMB and TUC are joining forces to launch a free training service to improve Polish workers’ English and employment rights. Read more »

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The VWP Trade Union group meets on Tuesday, 18th September, 2.00pm at Congress House. Among the issues for discussion are delivering employment rights training to raise workers’ awareness of support available, developing referals and joint action with stautory agencies and running workshops on specific issues of vulnerability such as trade union discrimination.

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The first meeting of the Vulnerable Workers’ Project’s Employment Rights Group will be held on Thursday, 6th September at 2.00pm at the TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street in Syndicate Room 3. Read more »

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The VWP’s Employment Standards Group agreed that the VWP should pilot a model that proposes to improve

- better co-ordination and action between the stautory agencies

- extending the oportunities for employers to learn about employment legislative requirements and good parctice

- increasing the involvement and range of complaints on stautory infringements.

Read more »

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The Government agencies in the VWP’s Employment Standards Group pointed out that there are legislative barriers that prevent them sharing information even with each other. If an agency has started an investigation there may be difficulties in them, at some later point, divulging information to other bodies including other statutory enforcement agencies even when a potential breach of legislation that would warrant an investigation or intervention by another agency has  been uncovered. This, of course, can also significantly affect taking joint action.

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The Employment Standards sub-partner Group met to discuss challenges and issues facing those agencies that have statutory duties to raise standards in employment and, where necessary, take enforcement action i.e. HSE, HMRC, EASI and ACAS. The group found the severity of the gap between what is required and what is available disarmingly serious. For example, members of the Group reported that there is no-one in London who deals with complaints about the aspects of the Working Time Directive that require investigation through the HSE despite that fact that the Government’s own research, Employment Rights at Work: Survey of Employers 2005, found that, when combined, complaints about rest breaks and hours and days required to work are the most common problems experienced at work, even higher than pay.  Nor is there any  pro-active work undertaken in carrying out inspections or enforcing these rights. HMRC reported that any pro-active work that they undertake is mostly confined to targeted sectors and, as from November this  will be in the Hotel and Catering sector is unlikely to include much inspection of the Building Services sector.

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