‘I feel like a slave’: SEND bus to school assistant working for West Northants Council contractor says they are paid just £4 an hour

Reports have been made to this newspaper that some school transport assistants helping children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Northamptonshire are being paid less than half the minimum wage.

Following an approaching from the Chronicle & Echo, WNC said it be contacting all contractors to “remind them they should fully comply with employment laws”.

A source, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Chron that assistants – many of them foreign nationals – are being paid just £160 a week for full-time hours, helping SEND students travel to and from school.

The source said: “They work from morning four hours and the evening four hours and they do five days a week (40 hours a week), and they are paid £160 a week, which is £4 an hour.

"This kind of exploitation is going on with every driver / contractor’s driver’s mate for over 10 years.

"It is absolutely shocking and deeply troubling to learn that individuals who are in desperate need of employment are being exploited in such a severe manner. When people are trying to earn an honest living to support their families, it is unacceptable that they are paid far below the legally required minimum standards. This kind of deprivation, happening within our own community, goes against basic human dignity and the statutory rights every worker is entitled to. It must be addressed urgently. No employer should be allowed to profit from the vulnerability of others. This situation needs sorting out immediately.”

One current assistant has spoken out, saying they ‘feel like a slave’. They said: “I’m very upset. This not right. We work hard, we deserve respect. Why they treat us like this? It feels like slave work to me. Please, someone must stop this. Make fair pay. We [are] all human.”

A West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) spokeswoman initially responded to the allegations with a statement which the Chron challenged. A revised statement was then issued for publication.

A WNC spokesman said: “We’re concerned to hear that this might be the case and would encourage anyone who feels they’re experiencing these issues to seek free and confidential guidance and advice from the appropriate independent bodies such as the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).

“Passenger assistants are employed by our contracted suppliers for this service, and throughout all of our contact with them we are clear that we expect all of them to comply fully with the employment rights and right to work laws, as stipulated in our contracts.

“We will be contacting all operators contracted by the council within this sector again to reaffirm their contractual obligations and responsibilities, and to remind them they should fully comply with employment laws.”

The council added that it currently has 130 contracts with providers who directly employ the assistants. Information about pay and conditions, they said, “needs to be sought directly from the contractors”.