Workers being victimised by "Scrooge employer" Apex Care have been slapped with a media gagging order to stop them speaking out against the firm's harsh practices, union Unison said yesterday.

The union launched a high-profile campaign against the Hampshire-based company's alleged flouting of minimum wage laws and imposing punitive changes and sanctions on its hard-working, mainly female workforce.

Now it's forcing workers to get company permission before talking to the press, refusing to provide workers with copies of the employee handbook mentioned in their contract and insisting it has the right to search employees and their possessions, the union said.