Careers Wales were asked by the Equality of Opportunity Committee to submit:

Their observation about the need for the creation of a Fair Employment Commission (transcript of 4/06/08, para 171).

Careers Wales wholeheartedly supports the principle that we should protect workers from being exploited by safeguarding their legal rights and will not promote any job vacancy to young people that does not comply with these basic employment rights.

Presently 4 bodies are responsible for enforcing these rights - namely:

HM Revenue and Customs

The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

The Health and Safety Executive

The Gangmasters Licensing Authority.

It is evident that there are gaps in how these organisations presently enforce these rights and Government should consider a more proactive enforcement regime, but at the same time minimising any additional burden placed on the majority of good employers, as the 2006 CBI report Lightening the Load argues "legislation is never going to impact on (rogue) employers as they don’t care about compliance in the first place.” Government therefore need to target those employers who feel they can flout the law with impunity.

Careers Wales welcomes the Prime Ministers commitment in September 2007, to examine how the enforcement agencies can become more effective, by bringing their powers together and should also take this opportunity to close the gaps in the enforcement framework.  The proactive work of HMRC targeted inspections with regards to the National Minimum Wage seems to provide a good model to further develop, extending this approach to all basic statuary rights, with the appropriate sanctions - i.e. the "teeth to bite”

In conclusion, the focus at this stage should be to ensure we develop an effective integrated approach as described by the Prime Minister, to ensure all workers can enjoy their employment rights.

Further details of the British Regional Training Scheme, run by Coleg Llandrillo (transcript 4/06/08, para 149 & 150)

The local careers company took the information from the Miller Report - an  Assessment & Analysis of Overseas Workers within the Tourism Industry of Wales, which identified the course as best practice. However the course is no longer run.

26 June 2008