The plight faced by more than 13,000 Bradford homeworkers is to be tackled as part of a national campaign.

The 13,222 are among the 55,000 people who work from home across Yorkshire and now their rights are being defended by Yeadon solicitors Morrish & Co and the National Group on Homeworking (NGH) lobby organisation.

Morrish & Co, which acts in a legal advisory role to the NGH, is joining up with the campaigners to encourage MPs and business leaders to put right the injustices they claim homeworkers have to endure. A large proportion of homeworkers, who carry out jobs such as packing boxes, are from ethnic minorities with little or no English.

NGH statistics show that homeworkers across the Yorkshire region face appalling conditions and are paid wages well below the national average.

Lawyer David Sorenson, from Morrish & Co, says homeworkers are still suffering injustice and health hazards because of a failure to clamp down on exploitative businesses.

And Linda Devereux, director of the NGH, said the new campaign would renew the pressure on the government to amend the law surrounding the status of homeworkers. "One of our primary aims this year is to ensure that the government gives the employment status of homeworkers the attention that it deserves," she said.

"It is far too easy for homeworkers to find themselves neglected by employment legislation that protects only those with a clear employment status and it is essential that everything possible is done to bring some much needed precision to this area of the law."

For free advice contact the NGH on 0800 174 095.