Activists from construction union UCATT will stage a protest this Friday in Bridlington outside the offices of major payroll company Hudson Contract Services. UCATT is campaigning for the end of payroll companies.

The protest will be held at 10am at Hudson Contract Services, Millbank Lane, Bridlington.

Hudson Contracts are the largest payroll company operating in the construction industry. Rather than find or provide work to construction workers, a payroll company's sole function is to place workers on a self-employed contract and administer their pay.

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As the worker is officially self-employed they do not have any employment rights so they can be dismissed without warning, they do not receive holiday pay, sick pay or have pension entitlements. The payroll company then deducts up to £25 a week from the worker's pay to process their wages.

In the vast majority of cases workers are effectively falsely self-employed, as they have all the characteristics of an employee but none of the rights. The payroll company is used by the real employer to further disguise the relationship. By categorising workers as self-employed, employers avoid paying national insurance contributions of 13.8% and also avoid other employee costs such as holiday pay.

Rob Morris Regional Secretary for UCATT Yorkshire Region, said: "UCATT members are angry that payroll companies are responsible for denying

thousands of construction workers their rights, this causes misery to the workers and their families."

(CD)