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The vulnerable worker in Britain and problems at work

Pollert, Anna; Charlwood, Andy

Authors

Anna Pollert

Andy Charlwood



Abstract

This article investigates the experience of low paid workers without union representation. It reports on the findings of a recent survey of 501 low paid, non-unionized workers who experienced problems at work. The results demonstrate that problems at work are widespread and, despite a strong propensity to take action to try to resolve them, most workers failed to achieve satisfactory resolutions. In the light of these results, we argue that the current UK Government definition of vulnerability is too narrow because our results suggest that a large proportion of low paid, unrepresented workers are at risk of being denied their employment rights. Therefore we question the ability of the UK's current system of predominantly non-unionized employment relations to deliver employment rights effectively and fairly. © 2009 BSA Publications Ltd®.

Citation

Pollert, A., & Charlwood, A. (2009). The vulnerable worker in Britain and problems at work. Work, Employment and Society, 23(2), 343-362. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017009106771

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jun 1, 2009
Journal Work, Employment and Society
Print ISSN 0950-0170
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 23
Issue 2
Pages 343-362
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017009106771
Keywords employees, workplace
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/995807
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0950017009106771




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