Two million workers are trapped in a cycle of low pay and insecure work, according to findings from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The Commission on Vulnerable Employment, set up by the TUC and involving employers and independent experts as well as trade unionists, says government, unions, employers and consumers must now all play a part in ending exploitation at work.

Commissioners say that they were shocked both by the extent of vulnerable work and that much of the poor treatment they found was perfectly legal. The report says that “employment practices attacked as exploitative in the 19th century are still common today” and that the “poor treatment at work that we have found should not be tolerated”.

TUC general secretary and chair of the Commission Brendan Barber said: “All the commissioners – whatever their backgrounds – were shocked at just how vulnerable some workers are in today’s Britain. Their treatment is a national scandal, and we need urgent action.

“But we have to cut thought the sterile debate that has turned any proposal to help even the most exploited people at work into a pro-union, anti-business old Labour move. Good employers have nothing to fear – and much to gain – from policies that stop them being undercut by bad employers who break the law or use loopholes to get round it.”

The report says that vulnerable workers suffer because they do not know their rights, lack an escape route from vulnerable jobs, cannot get their rights enforced – and often suffer when they try to – and that they fall through gaps in employment law that mean they do not enjoy the decent minimum standards to which the government is committed. The report reveals Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) research showing that the UK has less employment protection than any other advanced economy apart from the USA.

For the full report, together with its recommendations, see www.vulnerableworkers.org.uk