A local young woman from East London is supporting a national campaign, set up by the charity Young Women’s Trust, that calls for stronger rights at work when it comes to job security, pay, and protection from discrimination.
After having her rights denied in the workplace, Hansnii Aukhjee, aged 24, wants to help shine a light on the campaign and ensure a brighter future for other young women.
Currently, workplaces are far from fair for young women and laws that are in place are failing to protect them. Young Women’s Trust research found that:
3 in 10 (30%) HR decision makers are aware of instances of young women being discriminated against in the past year.
More than a fifth (22%) of young women told us that they have been paid less than the minimum wage they were entitled to
Almost a quarter (23%) of young women told us that they had been paid less than male colleagues in their workplace who do the same or similar work.
Furthermore, young women are silenced from standing up for their rights with almost half (45%) saying that they have put up with unfair treatment whilst working in insecure work because they were worried about not getting the hours they needed if they challenged it.
The new campaign is specifically calling for proper funding for enforcement of the laws that exist to protect workers; better information for young women about their rights; and more protection for those who do speak up.
Hansnii knows only too well how powerless she has felt in exploitative workplaces. She said:
“I was messaged by a director for a job role and they rejected me because I don’t speak ‘native-English’, even though I had submitted written documents and they never had a face-to-face interview with me.
“At a make up academy, I was accused of something I didn’t do and I genuinely believe it was because of the colour of my skin. I felt discriminated against and powerless to challenge as I worried that I wouldn’t get paid or that they wouldn’t want to work with me in the future.
“In another role as a creative studio assistant it was advertised as a paid position but after the interview I was told that I would be expected to do a ‘trial’ for 3 days per week for 4 weeks – unpaid.
“It’s common for people like me in insecure work to get contracts that don’t align with advertised pay. I was offered a separate job for 3 hours per week at £15 per hour, but after securing the position, I was presented with a contract which stated I’d only be paid a fixed rate of £60 per month. I asked for some time to think over the contract and did manage to get the contract hours changed. However, they did increase the hours and kept the pay the same. I was told that I am allowed to have time to think about the contract, then, abruptly, 2 days later my contract was terminated without communication. I have had to work unpaid opportunities to gain experience, but I can’t continue to work for free as I suffer from chronic health conditions. I still haven’t been paid for an internship I did 6 months ago.”
Claire Reindorp, chief executive at Young Women’s Trust, said: “The laws that are supposed to make our workplaces fair are failing to protect young women. It’s time that rogue employers are held accountable. We hear from young women who are having to put up with sexual harassment; who are being underpaid, paid late, even not being paid at all. The Employment Rights Bill is a big step forward for worker’s rights, but we want to see much stronger enforcement. We must ensure that our laws work in practice and not just on paper otherwise everyone loses out – young women are denied the future they want and our economy doesn’t benefit from the skills of an entire talent pool.”
