A warning to employers exploiting foreign staff

British entrepreneurs employing migrant workers from Eastern European countries need to ensure the rights of their workers.

A recent case surrounding the ill-treatment of three Polish migrant workers highlights the increase in migrant workers who are experiencing unequal treatment in the workplace. This is the latest in a series of cases where Polish workers have suffered discrimination.

The Polish immigrants won a racial discrimination claim of £16,000 between them for being racially abused by their employer through taunts of “Polish slaves” and “Polish bitches” and being forced to work excessively long hours.

The sisters' Glasgow lawyer, Alexander McBurney, said that this was not an isolated case.

"I'm getting a lot of Polish clients who are not getting their rights. A lot of them are being exploited...they are working long hours or not getting paid," he said.

McBurney said stories of poor wages, long hours and a lack of employment contracts were familiar, but warned that bosses would be sued if they continued to break the law.

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) has recently released figures that show that racism is still widespread in workplaces across the UK. The most common complaint received by the CRE from ethnic minorities surrounds workplace bullying, lack of career progression and being unable to secure interviews.

Recent analysis from the Employment Tribunal Service revealed that there was a 23.7% increase in racial discrimination cases in the last year.

The Race Relations Act 1976 prohibits all forms of discrimination based on colour, nationality, race, ethnicity or national origins.