SPARE a thought for more than 1.1 million people who will be at work this Christmas Day, the TUC has said.

Tens of thousands are in low-paid and insecure work, with care workers, nurses and retail staff usually the busiest occupations over the festive period, official figures suggest.

“Christmas Day is a special day that millions of us spend with our nearest and dearest,” said TUC general secretary Paul Nowak.

“So we should all spare a thought for the people who will be hard at work keeping the country running. 

“Many on duty on Christmas Day will be on low pay and on zero-hours contracts — especially in sectors like social care and hospitality.”

In social care alone, one in five workers are employed on zero-hours contracts. 

Delivering the Employment Rights Bill in full would be the “perfect Christmas present” for many working over the festive holiday, he said.

“The Bill will introduce a fair pay agreement in social care to improve pay and working conditions, which will help address the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector,” Mr Nowak said.

“And it will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, so workers no longer have to worry about what they will be paid from one week to the next.”

The government faces pressure from big business to water down the Bill.

Work Foundation think tank director Ben Harrison said that while most of us are aware that for lots of people, work doesn’t stop for Christmas, “what’s often less well recognised is that many of these workers face insecurity every day of the year, and may not have a choice as to whether they spend the festive period with loved ones or hard at work, keeping the country running.

“The measures outlined in the Employment Rights Bill can ensure that, in the future, all those who work at Christmas have the protections they need and the pay they deserve.  

“But this will only happen if government backs up changes in the law with investment in enforcement.”

He urged the government to ensure that the new Fair Work Agency has the resources and capabilities to effectively enforce any new employment regulations, including rewarding Christmas Day workers proper overtime.

Figures show 371,000 workers were underpaid the National Minimum Wage this year, with British employers likely to be inspected by the current Labour Market Enforcement regime on average once every 500 years.