Minimum Wage

(asked on 20th October 2014) - View Source

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken to ensure employer compliance with minimum wage legislation.


Answered by
Jo Swinson Portrait
Jo Swinson
This question was answered on 27th October 2014

Individuals who are entitled to the National Minimum Wage should receive it and we are committed to taking the steps necessary to improve compliance; ensuring employers understand their responsibilities and workers know their rights, and ensuring robust enforcement of the law.

Detailed guidance, including how to calculate the minimum wage, is available on the gov.uk website. Confidential advice is also available for both workers and employers through the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. Any worker who is concerned that they have not been paid what they are legally entitled to or who wants to make a complaint, should call the helpline on 0800 917 2368.

We have taken a number of steps to strengthen enforcement activity. This year, HMRC’s enforcement budget has increased by £1.2million to £9.2 million. This extra funding will enable HMRC to increase the number of National Minimum Wage compliance officers who, as well as continuing to respond to every complaint, will also undertake targeted enforcement, focusing on the worst offending employers in the highest-risk sectors.

Employers who are found to have broken the law face substantially higher penalties. We increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of the unpaid wages owed to workers and the maximum penalty from £5,000 to £20,000. The increase came into effect on 7 March 2014. Since revising the Government’s naming scheme, we have also named 30 employers who between them owed over £50,000 in arrears, to provide further incentive to all employers to comply.

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