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Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
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Awareness of Employment Rights on the rise
More than three quarters of people claim they feel well informed about their employment rights – a rise of 13 per cent - according to figures published today by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
More than three quarters of people claim they feel well informed about their employment rights – a rise of 13 per cent - according to figures published today by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
The 2008 Fair Treatment at Work Survey (FTWS) also shows that problems with specific employment rights have fallen with more people prepared to seek information and advice on problems that do arise. In particular, problems with pay and working time (including annual leave) have more than halved since 2005.
Minister for Employment Relations, Lord Young, said:
“The results of the Fair Treatment at Work Survey are very positive. They show the real progress we have made in raising awareness of workplace rights amongst employees and employers”.
“But whilst these are good results, there are a number of vulnerable groups who are still more likely to have problems at work and be less aware and knowledgeable about their rights than the general population. That is why the Government will be announcing further help for vulnerable workers later this month”.
Key findings include:
78 per cent of the working population feel well or very well informed about their rights generally compared with 65 per cent in 2005
85 per cent claim to know where to find information on their rights if they need it compared to 76 per cent in 2005
Specific employment problems affect around 27 per cent of the working population compared with 41 per cent in 2005
In particular problems fell significantly with; pay (22 per cent in 2005 to 10 per cent in 2008), hours/days required to work (12 per cent to 6 per cent); rest breaks (13 per cent to 5 per cent) and annual leave (13 per cent to 5 per cent).
More people with problems are prepared to seek advice or information for their problem (72 per cent) compared with 2005 (53 per cent)
The Government is currently in the second year of a three year campaign to raise awareness of the workplace rights they enforce. The first year targeted agency workers, and led to an increase of 300 per cent in calls to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate helpline. The next stage of the campaign will be announced later this month.
Notes to Editors
The 2008 FTWS is the first time a single survey has covered workers awareness of their rights and the support available to them, the problems experienced in the workplace and how such problems get resolved. It combines two earlier surveys; the 2005 Employment Rights at Work Survey (ERWS) and the 2005 Fair Treatment at Work Survey (FTWS).
Electronic copies of the survey are available to download at: http://www.berr.gov.uk/employment/research-evaluation/errs/index.html
The survey is designed to assess how well existing policies are working, what more needs to be done and to investigate the area of vulnerability and employment rights. Over 200 questions were asked in 4,010 face to face interviews with a representative set of current or recent employees across Britain.
Free advice on employment matters is available from a number of government and non-government sources. This includes the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), which provides information on all aspects of employment law, and about the employment tribunal process. Information on enforceable employment rights is available from the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. Citizens Advice Bureaux provides face to face advice. Comprehensive advice on employment matters is also available online for workers and business from www.direct.gov.uk/employment and www.businesslink.gov.uk/employingpeople
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Matthew Barker
Phone: 020 7215 5946
Matthew.Barker@bis.gsi.gov.uk
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