{"id":15149,"date":"2018-05-03T13:02:55","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T12:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=15149"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:46","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:46","slug":"unite-umbrella-companies-ripping-workrs-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=15149","title":{"rendered":"Unite: \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Stop this scourge\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 call"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The scandal of umbrella companies siphoning off the hard-earned wages of temporary workers is continuing to grow, despite wide-spread calls for it be halted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Today (May 3) it was revealed that a group of joiners working in Skegness, Lincolnshire, have been left more than \u00c2\u014115,000 out of pocket by a shady employment agency.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, an analysis of pay slips from major construction sites in London showed that payroll companies have been siphoning off more than \u00c2\u014120 a week from low-paid workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 wages.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joiner Paul Robinson, from Sheffield, was one of those who was ripped off while working on a holiday park site in Skegness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He told the Mirror, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re owed more than \u00c2\u014115,000. The job was advertised at \u00c2\u014121 an hour by employment agency Worker Direct, but we only got \u00c2\u01418.75 an hour.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI later discovered that the joinery firm had only agreed to pay \u00c2\u014117 an hour, so we were never going to get \u00c2\u014121. In hindsight I should have known, because no one would pay \u00c2\u014121 an hour for local joiners. We were ripped off.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joiner Martin Fey added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe worked in a snowstorm for three days. We spent more on accommodation, food and diesel than we got paid, which has put me in arrears with my gas, electricity and council tax.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Labyrinth<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The joiners received their wages through a labyrinth system of companies. The work was untaken on behalf of David Green Limited, advertised by Worker Direct Limited, paid by Outsauce Financing Limited, while the payroll was managed by NMW Contracting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Worker Direct Limited, which has been blamed for withholding the lion\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s share of the cash, has now ceased trading.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Worker Direct Limited boss Karl Fairbrother said he was not aware of the contract but said \u00e2\u20ac\u015bit could have been other people at my company\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe business has now gone so there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not much I can do.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said the scourge of umbrella companies exploiting workers has to end.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Deliberately confusing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUmbrella companies appear to be deliberately making payslips as confusing as possible in order to befuddle workers and hide how much money is being taken from their wages,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Cartmail.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere is absolutely no benefit for workers to be paid via an umbrella company. All the advantage is with employers who avoid paying their share of national insurance contributions, and holiday and pension provision.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf the government had any sense of moral decency it would outlaw umbrella companies tomorrow.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meanwhile it was revealed that some of the lowest paid workers on construction sites in London are also having their wages skimmed by payroll companies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An investigation by the Construction Enquirer found that traffic managers, security guards and sweepers on some of the biggest sites in the capital are losing \u00c2\u014122.75 a week from their pay packets because of payroll company deductions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese workers have no choice \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they are forced to work through a payroll firm. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like electricians or other skilled workers who may be able to claim something back in expenses,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite London region officer Harry Cowap.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese workers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who are the lowest paid on site \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are simply facing another fee for being employed through a payroll company designed to save money for the firms who should be really employing them.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cowap described the endemic use of umbrella payroll companies as a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bscam which spread like a cancer through the industry\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt needs to be stopped. Workers also lose out on holiday and sick pay rights \u00e2\u20ac\u201c even though they are working on some of the most prestigious jobs in the capital.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The scandal of umbrella companies siphoning off the hard-earned wages of temporary workers is continuing to grow, despite wide-spread calls for it be halted.   Today (May 3) it was revealed that a group of joiners working in Skegness, Lincolnshire, have been left more than \u00c2\u014115,000 out of pocket by a shady employment agency.   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[167,712],"wps_subtitle":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Umbrella\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 workers are still being ripped off","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15149"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26219,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15149\/revisions\/26219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}