Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many times her Department has taken enforcement action against businesses for non-compliance with minimum wage legislation in each financial year since 2015.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. The government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and takes robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. HMRC enforces minimum wage regulations on behalf of DBT.
Table 1: National Minimum Wage arrears, workers identified, and penalties issued from 2015/16 – 2021/22. Statistics for 2022/23 have not been published yet.
Financial year | Arrears | Number of workers | Penalties issued |
2015/16 | £10,281,396 | 58,080 | 815 |
2016/17 | £10,918,047 | 98,150 | 821 |
2017/18 | £15,615,609 | 201,785 | 810 |
2018/19 | £24,447,919 | 221,581 | 1,008 |
2019/20 | £20,836,609 | 263,350 | 992 |
2020/21 | £16,758,324 | 155,196 | 575 |
2021/22 | £16,316,841 | 120,295 | 696 |
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in how many cases businesses in Wales were found to be non-compliant with minimum wage legislation in each year since 2019.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. The government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and takes robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. HMRC enforces minimum wage regulations on behalf of DBT. Regional data for Wales has been provided in Table 1.
Table 1: National Minimum Wage arrears, workers identified, and penalties issued in Wales, 2019/20 to 2021/22.
Financial Year | Region | Arrears | Number of workers | Penalties issued |
2019/20 | Wales | £325,419 | 4,227 | 41 |
2020/21 | Wales | £262,408 | 3,895 | 14 |
2021/22 | Wales | £69,769 | 661 | 43 |
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 30 March 2024 from the hon. Member for Cardiff Central.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The correspondence from the hon. Member for Cardiff Central was responded to on 26th April 2024.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of employment practices in the direct sales industry in (a) Cardiff Central constituency, (b) England and (c) Wales.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government regularly engages with businesses with a range of employment practices across the UK to better understand current and future challenges and opportunities within sectors.
While the Government is unable to comment on the working practices of individual companies, we clear that businesses should always treat their workforce and partners fairly, and ensure they are fulfilling their legal responsibilities. An individual’s entitlement to employment rights such as the minimum wage are determined by their employment status (employee, limb (b) worker or self-employed).
The Government encourages individuals to seek advice from ACAS, who deal with questions from employers, individuals, and others about a wide range of employment relations matters. Where an individual is unable to resolve a dispute with their engager, they have the right to go to an Employment Tribunal.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of direct sales companies paying at least the minimum wage in (a) Cardiff Central, (b) England and (c) Wales.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. The government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and takes robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. HMRC enforces minimum wage regulations on behalf of DBT.
The government would urge any worker who believes they are being paid below their entitlement to contact either ACAS or HMRC directly. ACAS offer free, impartial, and confidential advice on rights and entitlements to both workers and employers. ACAS officers will pass on cases to HMRC for further consideration where appropriate. HMRC will look at every case that a worker brings to it directly.