15 September 2005
Read the Government’s response to this epetition.
Full response:
Thank you for your petition drawing the Government’s attention to some employment issues in the TV industry.
Most adult workers in the United Kingdom are entitled to be paid at least the minimum wage. If someone has a contract of employment they are a worker. Even if they do not have a contract of employment, they are a worker if they are doing work personally for someone else (under a worker’s contract) and are not genuinely self-employed. The contract does not need to be written; it may be an implied contract or an oral contract. People such as home workers, agency workers casual labourers, part time workers and workers on short-term contracts are all entitled to the minimum wage.
The minimum wage is enforced by the Inland Revenue and any complaints about non payment of the minimum wage should be made to the helpline on 0845 6000 678. We would encourage you or any of your colleagues to contact the minimum wage helpline if you believe you’re not being paid correctly. The Revenue will investigate third party or anonymous complaints, but it is obviously more difficult for them to tackle cases successfully if the workers will not come forward.
Turning to annual leave entitlement and the use of rolled up holiday pay, provided there is a clear agreement between the worker and employer and the payment is correctly calculated, we believe that rolled up holiday pay i.e. where holiday pay is received in instalments through the period of employment rather when leave is actually taken, may be the fairest and most efficient way of paying certain workers. It may be particularly appropriate for short term workers whose employment may finish before they can claim or receive any holiday entitlement or holiday pay or who work for more than one employer at the same time. Many workers may therefore prefer this approach and we do not believe it discourages them from taking annual leave.
However we condemn all breaches of employment rights and further, it is against the law for employers to force their employees to work for more than 48 hours a week on average.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) can give advice on whether TV Production Companies have breached any employment regulations and advise on an appropriate course of action. The can be contacted by telephone on 08457 474747
You may also wish to call the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on 08701 545500 an ask them to investigate on your behalf.
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