Tesco pays up for workers

Tesco has offered to pay people it takes on in government-organised "work experience" placements after outcry over the programme, under which job seekers work for free or risk losing benefits. One of the supermarket's branches in central London was forced to close on Saturday after activists from the Right To Work campaign protested.

The company said yesterday that from now on, people taken on the work experience programme will be offered a choice – to work within the government scheme, protecting their benefits, or to be paid by Tesco for the four weeks, with a guaranteed job at the end if they perform adequately.