The Naughty List: A Christmas Campaign from the Work Rights Centre

By Emma McClelland - 01 December 2021

For families that celebrate the occasion, getting children to behave on the run up to December 25th is a piece of (Christmas) cake. Santa simply won't show up if he's put you on the naughty list, no matter how many mince pies you leave out for him. We wish it were as easy for employers to behave. 

Our team encounters examples of unscrupulous behaviour from companies and individuals on a daily basis - behaviour that would absolutely land them with a stocking full of coal on Christmas morning. As a charity, we've recovered over £130,000 in unpaid wages and holiday pay on behalf of our beneficiaries, often after a lot of chasing. 

In other instances, we hear of employers making people work in unsafe conditions, ignoring complaints or requests for protective equipment, and even verbally abusing them. Some of our beneficiaries have been paid below the National Minimum Wage and experienced discrimination, unfair dismissals and - for self-employed workers - non-payment for services. 

For EU nationals, the new immigration system has led to some employers being overcautious, refusing to employ - and sometimes suspending - people whose EU Settlement Scheme application was still being processed by the Home Office. They share a place on the naughty list with the Home Office- let's be honest, they're in this together. 

This is the background to our Christmas campaign, which we've playfully called #TheNaughtyList. We're calling on our supporters to help our small but mighty team of advisers to help individuals put their employers on the naughty list and take them to justice. And while the campaign may be tongue-in-cheek, the effects of bad behaviour are real and have lasting consequences on people's finances, health and sense of self-worth. 

Join the #naughtylist campaign

There are several ways to hop aboard:

• Make a donation - Every £1 you donate helps our team go after employers who break the rules. We get them to listen, pay workers what they're owed, and if they still don't behave, get the big-stick from employment tribunals and enforcement agencies.
• Use the #naughtylist tag on Twitter. Share your experience with a bad employer, and encourage others to share theirs. Every post sends a clear message that workers deserve better, and there is help available. 
• Get visual like Jackie. Send us a short video to support the campaign, filmed in landscape. Email submissions to emma@workrightscentre.org or DM us on Twitter. 

 

Watch #NaughtyList ambassador Jackie Weaver's appeal. To read our Naughty List of bad employer behaviours, click here.

 

 

Thank you for helping us put bad employers firmly on the naughty list this Christmas. If you think your employer should be on the #naughtylist, please get in touch. Our team is here to help. 

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