The pilot, which will promote JobsAware’s free help and advice services to workers, is part of a wider set of co-regulation schemes developed by JobsAware and the UK Government with the aim of raising standards in the labour market and stamping out non-compliance.

With a change of prime minister imminent, the announcement comes against a backdrop of uncertainty for both the Employment Bill and Single Enforcement Body, both initiatives designed to help protect UK workers.

Umbrella company Workwell and Pendragon Umbrella, a trading brand of Pendragon Consultancy, are the scheme’s launch partners and will be the first umbrella organisations to promote the free JobsAware service to workers. They will initially be able to show their support for worker rights by advertising the JobsAware service via payslips, among other means, a JobsAware statement said.

The move comes after the JobsAware Payment Intermediaries sub-committee, a joint committee of payroll companies, trade bodies and government agencies, agreed a first set of principles for joint working and promotion of the service.

The agreed principles of joint working with the umbrella sector are:

• Demonstrate that payment intermediary partners are working proactively to protect contractor rights
• A place to refer contractors that have concerns about their employment
• A place to refer contractors that need general employment help or advice
• An opportunity for payment intermediary partners to engage with UK government, through the sub-committee, to discuss issues and opportunities in the sector
• A place for payment intermediary partners to report abuse, such as contractor fraud.

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