Tens of thousands of Scottish workers are earning less than the legal minimum wage, according to shock new research by a leading charity.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has revealed 36,876 people are being exploited by unscrupulous employers after analysing official HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures.
It says the findings should be a “wake up call” to government to create better employment conditions. The National Living Wage means all workers over 25 should be paid no less that £8.21 an hour, while the Minimum Wage means under 25s should get at least £7.70 by law.
But staff around the country are being consigned to poverty – languishing well beneath these figures because their employer is either breaking the law or finding a way around the legislation.
The Sunday Mail spoke to “volunteer” Edinburgh Fringe worker Shira Kaliski’s who worked for less than the living wage at the world famous festival.
She said: “It is completely demoralising, you want to work hard and do something that you really love, but people who are working deserve to make a decent living and be able to pay their bills.”
Meanwhile, former delivery driver Barry Scade has told how his status as “self-employed” meant he was paid nothing for weeks while delivering parcels for internet giant Amazon.
The dad-of-two said: “I ended up in terrible debt with rent and council tax despite doing everything to bring home a good wage for my family. How hard can it be to make work pay?”
CAS estimate that, on average, offending companies owe employees £6500 in lost wages.
The charity’s Social Justice spokeswoman Mhoraig Green said: “These 37,000 workers are just the tip of the iceberg. Many more in the informal economy won’t be identified in these numbers.
“This should act as a wake-up call to our new Government to ensure that 2020 is the year the minimum wage must become a legal reality.
“Our network in Scotland sees hundreds of thousands of people every year and a significant proportion of our clients experience in-work poverty.
“With living costs rising and social security support reducing, people who go out to work should be able to earn a wage that allows them to live a decent life, provide for their family and live in dignity.
“That’s clearly not the case for too many households.”
Earlier this year, CAS ran an awareness campaign to boost young people’s knowledge about their rights at work.
It is also backing a new body to have the powers to investigate minimum wage violations.
The agency would enable workers to confidentially report breaches of maternity, holiday, sickness, pay, dismissal, and redundancy rights.
Green added: “Our advisers gave out almost 12,000 pieces of advice relating to pay and entitlements at work last year and we regularly see cases of employers paying illegally low rates or refusing to pay holiday pay, which all workers are entitled to.
“Particularly common are cases involving non-UK nationals, and workers who are paid ‘cash in hand’ or not given written contracts or payslips. The figures we publish today are simply unacceptable. Employers need to understand that paying the statutory minimum wage rate for their workers isn’t optional, it’s the law.”
Labourers who were paid just £1.80 an hour were among workplace exploitation cases in a dossier CAS handed to the UK Government’s Low Pay Commission in September.
The three foreign workers were employed on a building site for 80-hour weeks and were fired when they complained about the conditions. Another of the charity’s clients was paid just £850 a month for a 50-hour week and refused a contract at a tattoo parlour in the north of Scotland.
A report, published by the Resolution Foundation think-tank earlier this year found one in 20 workers does not have access to paid holidays.
The Sunday Mail’s Horrible Bosses campaign has featured Amazon and delivery giant DPD among other employers.
We have highlighted shocking examples of workplace exploitation. While CAS’s new figures have revealed 37,000 are on less than the legal minimum wage, a further 115,000 are thought to earn just that and not a penny more.
Many will not even know from week-to-week if they will earn enough to pay their bills due to zero-hour contracts.
There are also examples of tips being withheld from bar staff while bullying and harassment remains widespread.
Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: “Employers who pay below the minimum wage must face the consequences. Children brought up by parents in work still face poverty and hunger.
“Employers who cause this misery must be brought to book.
“We need to build a fair society where people are properly rewarded for their labour, and work to make a living wage the minimum people should receive. In the meantime, the Scottish Government must do all within its power to crack down on bad employers and ensure that no employer flouts the law and line their own pockets at the expense of their workforce.”
The Scottish Greens said: “Minimum wage levels are already less than people need to have good wellbeing and a secure life. It’s unacceptable that anyone in the 21st century can live below the breadline.
“That’s why we need to look at a different economic model, including exploring a universal basic income.”
Lib Dem Women and Equalities spokeswoman Christine Jardine MP said: “The UK Government needs to take strong action to get workers the wages they are due.”
SNP MSP Tom Arthur said: “Everyone deserves to be paid fairly and all companies should comply with their legal obligations towards workers.
“But it’s clear that workers across Scotland are being short-changed by this Tory Government.”
