Rogue employers ‘underpaying migrant workers’

Some rogue employers are breaching employment laws by underpaying migrant workers, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The union revealed that migrant workers are more likely to receive less than the national minimum wage than other employees. It also found that female migrant workers are most likely to face wage discrimination at work.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, insisted a zero tolerance approach to employers who underpay migrant staff must be adopted.

"The minimum wage is making a real difference to the lives of many low-paid migrant workers and we must continue to crack down on mean bosses not pay staff the wage they are entitled to," he remarked.

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Research from the TUC also reveals that migrant workers are more likely to work more than the average 39 hours per week, with 15.4 per cent working more than 48 hours compared to 13 per cent of workers generally.

Employers are required to check the legal status of any migrant staff they recruit before they start work. Failure to do so could result in large fines if a worker is subsequently found to be living in the UK illegally.