TUC general secretary Brendan Barber

Thousands of workers are being paid less than the minimum wage, according to the TUC.

The trade union body said on Wednesday that around 170,000 employees are being denied their legal rights on pay by unscrupulous bosses.

Statutory pay legislation has been in force since April 1999 and since October this year the standard adult rate has been set at £4.50 per hour.

But TUC researchers claimed that hundreds of businesses were acting outside the law and exploiting low paid workers.

Workers losing out were most likely to be employed in the clothing, footwear and retail sectors, or work as hairdressers, domestic workers or housekeepers, the research authors said.

Around £13 million has been recovered by the Inland Revenue from firms found to be paying less than the minimum wage since its launch four years ago.

The TUC has also published a new guide, in conjunction with the Low Pay Network, giving advice to workers on securing their full pay rights

General secretary Brendan Barber said more needed to be done to clamp down on offenders.

"With millions of pounds already retrieved from employers failing to pay the minimum wage, the Inland Revenue teams responsible for enforcement are clearly doing a good job," he said.

"But TUC figures suggest that there are many more workers out there still losing out. There must be no hiding place for rogue bosses.

"Our guide aims to make it easier for unions and advice agencies to root them out and ensure everyone gets the wage to which they are legally entitled."