Stars rally behind charity’s Christmas campaign to put bad employer behaviour on the #NaughtyList
Public figures from a variety of sectors have come together to help the Work Rights Centre, an employment rights charity, raise awareness of precarious work practices, and to urge everyone affected to reach out.
The charity’s campaign, the #NaughtyList, highlights a range of bad behaviours encountered by advisers every day, from non-payment or underpayment of wages, to discrimination, unfair dismissal and failure to provide a safe working environment. Supporters are encouraged to share their experiences of #NaughtyList behaviour and to make a donation to help the team assist vulnerable workers.
Public figures supporting the campaign include viral video star Jackie Weaver, whose own brush with bullying during a now-infamous Handforth Parish Council Meeting went public earlier this year.
Also backing the campaign is former political strategist and Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor, whose 2017 report on workers’ rights in the gig economy heavily influenced public policy.
Other supporters from backgrounds spanning music to politics, will be making surprise appearances in the campaign as it gathers momentum between 1st - 17th December.
On her involvement in the campaign, Jackie Weaver commented: “We all need to be aware of how our actions (or in-actions) affect others and particularly at this time of year we should shine a light on unfairness; discrimination and unkindness wherever we see it. This sort of thing can only grow in the dark so a campaign like the #NaughtyList Christmas campaign that shines that light is something I really want to be involved with.”
The Work Rights Centre has used its caseload over the past year to create a compilation of bad behaviours that could land employers a spot on the #NaughtyList. Examples include employers who:
Think paying the National Minimum Wage is optional.
Have a playbook of excuses for not paying employees and contractors.
Think conversations and comments of a sexual nature are appropriate,
Play health and safety roulette by flouting regulations.
Dissolve companies to avoid paying people what they’re owed.
Discriminate against employees based on protected characteristics.
The Work Rights Centre’s Director, Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, commented: “We encourage members of the public, particularly those who have experienced behaviour like this, to support us by sharing this campaign with their friends and family and sharing their own stories by tweeting @WORCRights. We want this to be a society where people can speak truth to power and stand up to unscrupulous employers. To do that, we need the public’s support.”
Examples from the charity’s caseload over the past year include a woman whose employer, a cleaning company, appeared to believe statutory maternity pay was optional (the Work Rights Centre helped her recover over £2,800) and a Romanian HGV driver who was forced to work overtime, break speed regulations, sleep in his truck, and was still unpaid (the Work Rights centre helped him recover £3,200 in unpaid wages).
To watch Jackie's video appeal, visit the Work Rights Centre’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Nz4IQqiec54
To make a donation to the campaign, visit the charity's fundraising page: https://bit.ly/3DTecTf
ENDS