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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the enforcement of minimum wage legislation in the UK maritime industry.

Seafarers who ordinarily work within the UK and its territorial waters are entitled to be paid the UK National Minimum Wage.

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 enforce the minimum wage on behalf of the government, across all sectors of the economy. They consider every complaint from workers, conduct proactive enforcement activities, and deliver educational activity to support employer compliance. HMRC have a strong record on enforcing the minimum wage. Since 2015 they have returned over £100 million in unpaid wages to 1 million workers.

If anyone thinks they have been underpaid, they should complain to HMRC using the online form on GOV.UK, or call the Acas helpline. Complaints can be made anonymously and HMRC won't reveal a worker's identity to the employer.