Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) businesses comply with National Minimum Wage legislation and (b) people who have been paid less than they are entitled to receive the money.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for ensuring that employers comply with National Minimum Wage (NMW) regulations. The Government has increased its enforcement budget to £25.3 million for 2017/18, up from £13.2 million in 2015/16.

HMRC conducts risk-based enforcement in sectors or areas where there is perceived to be a higher risk of workers not getting paid the legal minimum wage. It also considers every worker complaint received and has set up a dedicated team focused on tackling the most serious cases of wilful non-compliance.

Since HMRC began enforcing the minimum wage in April 1999, it has identified almost £79 million in arrears. In 2016/17, HMRC took action against 1,134 businesses, identifying £10.9 million for 98,000 workers who had been illegally underpaid.

The Government has increased the deterrence against non-compliance, increasing penalties from 100% to 200% of the arrears owed, up to £20,000 maximum per worker and revising the naming criteria, with over 1,500 non-compliant employers named to date.

In January, the Government appointed Sir David Metcalfe as the first Director of Labour Market Enforcement. He is responsible for producing an annual strategy setting the strategic direction of the three existing labour market enforcement bodies, HMRC’s NMW team, to ensure that enforcement efforts are coordinated and targeted.