New figures reveal that since April the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate has won back over £125,000 in unpaid wages for agency workers from rogue employment agencies. Money was recovered from agencies operating in a wide range of sectors including cleaning, teaching, hospitality, engineering, modelling and entertainment.
In June, Employment Agency Standards inspectors recovered over £17,000 for four engineers in West Sussex. As a result of not being paid on time, one man had to sell his car to pay his rent, and another had to borrow money from relatives to pay his mortgage. But once EAS inspectors were contacted, the workers received £15,000 within three days, with the remainder arriving shortly after.
The Employment Agency Standards team also recovered almost £30,000 owed to 55 models after a London agency ceased to trade.
Over the past year, the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate has been given more staff and power to protect agency workers.
Business Minister Pat McFadden said:
"I'm pleased that the bigger, more powerful agency standards team is out there delivering results for agency workers.
"The recession should not be used as an excuse to deny people their employment rights, and the agency standards inspectors are a crucial tool in ensuring this."
The Employment Agency Standards team has recovered money for workers in a number of circumstances, including where rogue employment agencies had not paid wages owed, where money had been unfairly deducted by the agencies and where workers were charged for services by the agencies that they had not signed up to.
** Additional Information & Advice **
If you're an agency worker, you can learn more about your rights on Directgov and FindLaw, or you can call the Pay and Work Rights helpline on 0800 917 2368.
Depending on the circumstances of your case, however, it may be better to
speak with a solicitor who specialises in employment law.
You can be matched with an employment law solicitor in your area for free via solicitor matching services, which can also help you to understand the best course of action for your situation and whether you are ready to hire a solicitor.
And, again depending on your situation, they may be able to help you find a solicitor willing to take your case on a "no win no fee" basis, which means you don't have to pay for the solicitor's services unless you win your case.
