Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what powers HMRC has to enforce the National Minimum Wage on vessels operating out of UK ports.

HMRC enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) in line with the law and policy set out by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 enables HMRC to enforce NMW across all business sectors in the UK.

The Act provides HMRC officers with a number of powers to enforce the NMW, including: the power to inspect records; enforcing payment of arrears of NMW by issuing a Notice of Underpayment; charging penalties of up to 200% of the arrears; and for the most serious cases (involving obstruction, falsifying of documents or wilful failure to pay workers the NMW) referring cases for prosecution to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Since 1 October 2020, following a change in the law, seafarers and other maritime persons who work or ordinarily work in the UK or in UK territorial waters (generally 12 nautical miles from the seashore) are generally entitled to NMW.