Agency workers at Makerfield to be paid below AA Band Minimum?

By our calculations the situation is more disgraceful than even we suspected. 

The job advert has now been tracked down and shows that the actual wage starts at the National Minimum Wage of £6.50ph, and the maximum is 8.62ph but that this is "dependent upon experience".

At these hourly rates if the agency staff were to work our contracted hours of 37 hours a week this would mean an annual rate of £12,506pa if paid at £6.50ph, and £16,584 if paid at £8.62.    

The DWP AO minimum is £16590pa. Both advertised rates of pay and any inbetween are lower. The £6.50ph rate (based upon 37 hours a week) amounts to 75.38% of the AO minimum.

However, it is worse than that:

The DWP AA minimum is £15,150 pa. The £6.50ph rate is therefore below even the pay band minima of the grade below AO.

Neither therefore comply with the DWP statement that they will be paid at the AO minimum. 

The only way that they can earn the AO band minimum is if they are on the £8.62 rate but work an additional 6 minutes per day, equivalent to an additional 26 hours work over a year, or an additional 3.51 days.

What a rip off against the agency workers. What an insult to our Contact Centre members.