Worker Exploitation: ‘Tis the season…
Calvin posted this on Nov 27th 2007 at 14:10 under Business, Career Moves Column, Writing
"Working it" column published in the Career Moves section of The Evening Echo on 26/11/2007
Ah, Christmas… deck the halls, feel the joy and hit the shops. This is, obviously, the retail sector’s most important time of the year. Every year Irish consumers seem to break all records when it comes to the amount of money they spend over the Christmas period. If you listen very carefully, beneath the irritating background carol music cascading from the shopping centre’s tinny speaker system, you’ll hear a curious, almost imperceptible rumble: the sound of thousands of credit cards groaning softly under the strain!
As we pump our credit to the max again this Christmas, overindulging in the shops, the pubs, the restaurants and the bars, most of the time we’ll be blissfully unaware of who, in fact, is serving us. Suddenly there are lots of new faces manning the tills and counters, as an army of teenagers take on seasonal jobs to earn a bit of cash over the holidays.
There’s a massive market in part-time seasonal jobs to bolster existing retail teams against the holiday rush. That’s great, in that it provides plenty of opportunities for young people to make a bit of extra money over the holidays, and gives employers access to much needed resources to cope with the leap in demand. However, it also presents the very real potential for exploitation of this relatively cheap and inexperienced transient workforce.
There are strict rules governing the employment of young people. Laid out in The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996, these rules govern things like minimum age limits, clearly defined rest intervals and maximum working hours depending on whether it’s term time or school holidays. They also specifically prohibit the employment of under 18s for certain jobs. Billy Kelleher, the Minister for Labour Affairs has issued a warning to businesses that part-time seasonal workers are still protected by employment legislation, and has vowed that the authorities will be particularly vigilant this year.
Most employers abide by the rules, of course, but the truth is that no matter how vigilant and exacting the authorities are, the threat of exploitation is is always there. The only way to protect yourself against it is to know where you stand from the start. Before you take on a seasonal job, make it your business to find out what your rights as an employee are, make sure your terms and conditions of employment are clear, and that you’re provided with a full job description detailing exactly what’s expected of you.
The Minister stresses that it’s essential that young workers are treated appropriately, that their health is protected and that their education doesn’t suffer when they take on part time work. All laudable aims, certainly – but for all the inspections and spot-checks that will be conducted by authorities over the holiday season, in the vast majority of cases it is ultimately down to the individual employee to ensure they’re being treated fairly at work. Bottom line: know your rights – and stand up for them.
If you’re worried that your employer might be taking advantage, and you want to discuss it further you can contact the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), who operate an information line on 1890 808090.
