Five million workers across Britain’s supply chains risk being cheated out of their entitlement to holiday pay and the minimum wage, unions have warned. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said...that workers at outsourcing companies, franchises and recruitment agencies are vulnerable because they cannot challenge their parent employer if they do not receive their legal entitlements. It has called on the UK government to emulate Australia’s Fair Work Act, under which franchisors and holding companies can be held jointly responsible if their franchisees or subsidiaries do not follow workplace laws. The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said millions of UK workers – from fast-food outlets to building sites – cannot challenge their parent companies over workplace abuses. “Employers have a duty of care to workers in their supply chains. They shouldn’t be allowed to wash their hands of their responsibilities,” said O’Grady.