Job agencies 'charge migrants'

Migrant workers were asked for upfront fees

Some employment agencies are breaking the law by charging clients a fee for finding them work, the TUC has said.

When TUC undercover investigators and BBC reporters posed as migrant workers, two-thirds of agencies they visited asked for a fee to find them work.

One of the agencies said that £100 could lead to waiter's job, whilst it would cost £50 for a position as a kitchen porter.

The TUC said it receives a large number of complaints about such charges.

Inspections

Charging jobseekers a fee for finding work placements contravenes the 1973 Employment Agency Act.

The body representing UK recruitment agencies said there were not enough Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) inspectors to police the fast-growing sector.

"We believe there are 11 inspectors covering the UK. We believe they have targets of agencies to visit of between 75 and 110 per annum," Marcia Roberts, deputy chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Federation told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"According to my calculations, it would take them 17 years to visit every branch in the UK," Ms Roberts added.

The TUC said that the UK government ought to drop its opposition to EU laws guaranteeing agency workers the same rights as full-time employees.

In addition, the TUC called for all UK recruitment agencies to be licensed and said migrant workers that whistleblow should not be threatened with immediate deportation.