Vulnerable employees are set to be able to take advantage of a new helpline, which could help them to reduce personal stress by seeking advice on workplace rights and reporting any abuse of those rights.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has announced the launch of the Pay and Work Rights helpline, which aims to be a unified point of contact for both employers and staff.
Specific employment laws and rights the hotline will deal with are the national minimum wage, agricultural minimum wage, working times, employment agency standards and gangmaster licensing.
While five separate government bodies previously dealt with these issues, there is now one point of contact where workers can report multiple complaints.
Business minister Pat McFadden said: "This government has done a lot to improve rights at work but it’s also essential to make sure these rights are properly enforced. A simple system for reporting abuses and giving advice and information to employers and workers is a critical part of that."
The news comes after the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development revealed that employees are increasingly wary of taking time off from work ill, due to concerns about redundancies.
A good idea, but it would be interesting to find out whether this survived the budget cuts!