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The TUC has issued a 10 point plan to combat employers who seek to pay less than the national minimum wage. It also identifies 10 groups of workers who, in claims are particularly at risk. These cover apprentices, migrant workers, domestic workers, interns and bogus volunteers, false self-employment, zero-hours contracts including temporary agency workers, social care, workers whose accommodation is dependent on their job, seafarers, and umbrella employment schemes.
CEO of umbrella service providers Parasol, Rob Crossland, said: “We welcome and applaud the TUC’s call for tougher enforcement of the national minimum wage. Any business that pays its employees less than the minimum wage is behaving unethically, as well as illegally.
“However, by naming workers employed by umbrella companies as a vulnerable group, the TUC has again shown a worrying lack of understanding of our sector.
“It’s true that some rogue umbrellas will use artificial schemes to avoid paying workers the minimum wage.
“At the same time it’s equally true that professional and compliant umbrellas, such as Parasol, always adhere to employment law – including minimum wage legislation.
“Indeed, legitimate umbrellas offer a wide range of benefits including guaranteed hours of work, holiday pay, sick pay, paternity/maternity pay and access to a workplace pension. Respectable umbrella employers do not operate salary sacrifice schemes.
“Once again, union leaders have unfortunately tarred all umbrella companies with the same brush. The sensible and grown-up debate we crave will remain out of reach for as long as this ignorance persists.”
This is the third time in as many weeks that umbrella companies have been in the news. Firstly with a Government review on their status and then a tribunal ruling which suggests that they would not have any protection when client switches provider.
The Government's review has led to a consultation document on proposed ways forward relating to travel and subsistence claims and, once again, there are concerns among the compliant umbrella companies that their business model might be caught up in the net aimed at catching the 'rogue' operators.
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2015
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