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It sounds ideal, no need for childcare, no commute, and the option of taking a break when you feel like it. Homeworking is an attractive work choice for many, but for some it's also a very low paid career.

The Department for Business estimates 70,000 homeworkers receive below the minimum wage. Piece workers, paid by the number of items they produce, are particularly poorly paid. A study of a 42 homeworkers by the National Group on Homeworking calculated the compared to the . In fact, the law says piece workers should receive 120% of the minimum wage.

We started looking at homeworking because of an email from a listener who works in the textile industry:

Today I went to visit a group of homeworkers in a Northern English town, who are at the very bottom of the textile working pile.

I found a group of women, many of whom could read or speak little English in a very bad situation. They told me that they frequently have no work for weeks on end, are pushed to do extra unpaid work by unscrupulous factory owners and - get this
- *aspire* to having work which pays at the national minimum wage. That's right, they say that they frequently have piecerate work which pays at the equivalent of £3 per hour.

iPM followed it up by speaking to The National Group on Homeworking (NGH) where we discovered that the problem extends beyond the textile industry. It also became clear that these goods weren't being sold on dodgy market stalls, or from the back of cars. Some well-known high street shops are selling goods produced by suppliers employing homeworkers earning less than the minimum wage.

It's an issue that's been , but a Leeds shopping trip in the company of staff from the NGH revealed the scale of the problem.

You can hear an extended version of the trip in the player below.

The difficult question is what should be done. , who we heard on the programme, wants to enhance the legal protection of homeworkers who often work in a no-mans-land between employee and self-employed status. He supported an Early Day Motion calling on the

But perhaps the harder problem is getting homeworkers to come forward and complain about their wages. The NGH didn't want to 'name and shame' products and suppliers, nor did our original emailer. They were concerned that pay complaints would lead to homeworkers losing their jobs.

The NGH want high street retailers to develop closer ties with their suppliers, and value those that pay their workers well. Both the NGH and John Battle MP want high street stores to set an example in encouraging good employment practices on the part of their suppliers.

We asked the Department for Business for an interview but no minister was available. They did however, give us this lengthy statement (continues over the fold).

"Since 1997, the Government has acted to improve the position of homeworkers. We agree that homeworkers are a valuable part of the UK's flexible workforce and are keen to ensure they are provided with appropriate rights and protections, including the National Minimum Wage.

"In 2005 the Government introduced Fair Piece Rates legislation to ensure that homeworkers who do piecework receive at least the same as the minimum wage when paid per item produced or task performed. Failure to pay the minimum wage or a 'fair piece rate' can ultimately result in prosecution.

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