In vulnerable work situations, workers run a high risk of being denied employment rights and do not have the capacity or means to protect themselves from eventual abuse. Both factors must be present for a working situation to be considered vulnerable (a worker may be susceptible to vulnerability, but that is only significant if an employer exploits that vulnerability).
(adapted from the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform [UK],
Success at Work
Protecting Vulnerable Workers, Supporting Good Employers, 2006, visited 2010-11-15)
Abusive Work / Employment Practices
Vulnerability is generally linked to worker exploitation through illegal employment practices. However, it is important to note that illegal employment practices are not a prerequisite for vulnerability – "the limitations of legal protections available to some groups of workers mean that they can be vulnerable to exploitation whilst their employers are operating within the confines of current employment rights legislation."
(Trades Union Congress,
Commission on Vulnerable Employment, visited 2010-01-26)
The balance of power between employers and workers has a direct impact on the risk of experiencing
vulnerable employment and can be influenced by a wide range of factors. These include: the employer/employee relationship, personal factors, the nature of the work being undertaken, government regulations and legislation, and wider social factors.
(adapted from the Commission on Vulnerable Employment,
The 139th Annual Trades Union Congress , Congress 2007, visited 2011-04-20)
Vulnerable Workers
"Vulnerable workers are traditionally defined to include workers whose work patterns deviate from the traditional definition of a permanent and full time worker. Vulnerable workers work: through a temporary agency, as ‘independent contractors,' in sequential short term employment, in multiple jobs, in non-permanent part-time work, in self-employment when the worker does not hire anyone else. In many cases, these workers do the same tasks as permanent workers, have the same workload, and work along side one another."
(adapted from Little, D.,
Vulnerable workers: The legal challenge, 2005, visited 2011-03-21)
Vulnerable workers experience problems including low pay,
unsafe workplaces, limited rights to leave, and insecurity at work. They are being trapped in low wage work for longer periods of time than was previously the case. In addition, precarious work is highly racialized and gendered: visible minorities and recent immigrants are much more likely to be found in low-paying,
vulnerable work. Migrant workers are especially vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking.
Categories of Most Vulnerable Work
The ILO has established categories for the worst forms of labour exploitation. These include: hazardous work, slavery, forced labour, commercial sexual exploitation and illicit activities. Child labour is a special case to be considered separately.
(adapted from the U.S.A. Department of Labour,
The Department of Labor's 2004 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, 2005, visited 2009-04-20)
"Some forms of
vulnerable employment are very difficult to measure, particularly when they result from illegal employer practice."
(Trades Union Congress,
The Commission on Vulnerable Employment, visited 2011-01-26)