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Business leaders and unions are to work with enforcement bodies to tackle the exploitation of vulnerable workers, the government has announced.

The new Vulnerable Worker Enforcement Forum, which will be chaired by employment relations minister Jim Fitzpatrick, will examine how best to help such workers and "root out" rogue employers, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Representatives on the forum will include experts from business groups such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and from employee bodies such as the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G).

Enforcement agencies including HM Revenue and Customs and support groups such as the Citizens Advice Bureau are also involved in the DTI-sponsored initiative.

The department has also announced the launch of two new pilot projects which will provide evidence to inform government policy on vulnerable workers – defined as those who are at high risk of having their employment rights denied and who do not have the means to protect themselves from such abuse.

A pilot run by the TUC in London will target cleaners, security guards and other staff working in building services in the capital and will seek to identify ways that vulnerable workers and their employers can better understand their rights and access advice.

In the Midlands a similar pilot project will be led by the advertising firm Marketing Birmingham and focus on workers employed by hotels and restaurants in the city.

Announcing the new measures to help vulnerable workers, trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling said that all employees deserved "decent minimum standards".

"I want to make sure that if abuses occur they are dealt with as soon as possible. By bringing together employers and unions we can identify how to strengthen enforcement," he stressed.

The new government initiative follows the launch of the TUC's own commission to investigate vulnerable working.

Unveiled yesterday, the union's Commission on Vulnerable Employment also involved input from business leaders and seeks to determine the extent of workplace exploitation.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber warned that while most workers in the UK were treated fairly, some still experienced "rank exploitation that Charles Dickens would recognise".

"The job of our new commission is to shine a light on Britain's hidden exploited workers, and work out what government, employers and unions should be doing to protect them," he explained.