Tiscali Press Release - UK Employers continue to capitalise on workers' confusion over rights

40% of employees don't know their statutory minimum holiday allowance

Over half don't know paternity leave entitlement

Two-thirds don't know rights on stakeholder pensions

UK employees are still in the dark over such basic worker rights as paternity leave, holiday allowance, working more than a 48-hour week, stakeholder pensions and drug tests at work, according to a new poll.

A thousand employees responded to a Tiscali.co.uk survey, run in partnership with the TUC, which found that:

51% don't know their paternity leave entitlement

41% don't know their statutory minimum holiday allowance, with 14% believing they have no rights to any holiday at all

20% believe they can be forced to work more than a 48 hour week

67% don't know their rights on Stakeholder Pensions.


Additionally, the research found that a third of employees think they can be drug tested at work, 91% don't know where they stand if their company is taken over by another, 44% still don't know what the minimum wage is and half believe their income tax allowance is higher than it actually is.

Richard Ayers, Editor of www.tiscali.co.uk, says: "Some of these findings are pretty alarming, particularly in light of the amount effort that the Government has put on work-life balance in the last year. People don't even know their basic working rights.

"The situation is just as worrying on pensions. Employers are responsible for giving information about stakeholder pensions to every employee who has been in the company more than three months. If nearly two-thirds don't know about it then it implies that many companies are not fulfilling their obligations".

Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary, says: "The last seven years have seen big changes to employment law, so it's understandable that staff are a little confused. However, whilst good employers make sure they comply with new laws, there are bad bosses out there who try to duck their responsibilities whenever they can. That's why it's so important for staff themselves to know where they stand. Using Tiscali Jobs is now a good way to do just that."

The tiscali.co.uk jobs channel now incorporates WorkSMART content from the TUC which helps today's workforce by providing comprehensive information about rights at work, health in the workplace and straightforward advice on pay, taxes, and pension options.

More information can be found at http://tiscali.worksmart.org.uk