Knowledge Centre
27th August 2008

Mistreatment 'more prevalent among women in low-paid jobs'

Mistreatment at work is concentrated in female-dominated, low-paid jobs in certain sectors, a TUC report has found.

Employment advisers from Citizens Advice (CABx) and the Law Centres Federation were interviewed for the TUC's Commission on Vulnerable Employment.

They told researchers that people facing mistreatment in their jobs are most likely to work in private care homes, in hotels and restaurants, in the hairdressing and beauty sector, in wholesale and retail and in cleaning companies.

Some 79% of advisors said that they received reports of unfair dismissal at least once a week. Just as frequently, 67% said that they dealt with problems of pay, and 60% with problems concerning working time or contractual rights.

More than half of the advisors surveyed also said that they often came across 'repeat offender' employers.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the TUC was "shocked at the extent of abuses of employment rights reported".

"It is unacceptable that these practices exist today," he said.

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