UK to create new workers’ rights watchdog to stamp out modern slavery
The government has announced the creation of a new workers’ rights watchdog that will be charged with enforcing minimum wage laws, protecting agency workers and stamping out modern slavery.
Formerly these three areas were overseen by separate bodies, however the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) will bring it all under one watchdog.
A Beis spokesperson said the new watchdog will act as a “single, recognisable port of call for workers so they know their rights and can blow the whistle on bad behaviour”.
It comes after the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority last year launched an investigation into worker exploitation in Leicester factories.
The investigation was launched after allegations that clothing manufacturers linked to online fashion giant Boooo were paying staff £3.50 an hour – well below the £8.72 legal minimum wage for workers aged 25 and over.
Business minister Paul Scully said: “The vast majority of businesses want to do right by their staff, but there are a minority who seem to think the law doesn’t apply to them. Exploitative practices like modern slavery have no place in society.
“This new workers’ watchdog will help us crack down on any abuses of workers’ rights and take action against companies that turn a blind eye to abuses in their supply chains, while providing a one-stop shop for employees and businesses wanting to understand their rights and obligations.”
The initiative will see the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage Enforcement rolled into one to create the new authority.
The new authority, which is yet to be named, will continue the government’s “naming and shaming scheme”, which calls out companies who fail to pay workers what they are owed and can hit rogue employers with fines of up to £20,000 per worker.
It will also examine ways to cut back on modern slavery in the garments industry, potentially by creating a “garment trade adjudicator” to investigate retail supply chains.
There were 5,144 modern slavery offences recorded by the police across England and Wales in the year to March 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Labour’s shadow employment rights secretary Andy McDonald said successive Conservative governments had been responsible for “cutting funding for enforcement bodies”.
“On their watch, insecure employment in the gig economy has spiralled and fire and rehire has become commonplace, while the long-promised Employment Bill has been ditched,” he said.
“Without outlawing fire and rehire and strengthening employment rights, this announcement falls well short of providing all workers with the decent and secure employment they deserve.”