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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 11 January 2017 to Question 58968, how many (a) warning letters and (b) financial penalty notices have been issued to respondent employers to date under section 150 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 for failure to pay an employment tribunal award; how many of those financial penalties (i) have been paid and (ii) remain unpaid; and how much in previously unpaid awards has been recovered by his Department following (A) the issuing of a warning letter only and (B) the issuing of both a warning letter and a financial penalty notice.

Since April 2016, when the penalty regime for failure to pay employment tribunal awards started, 349 warning letters and 152 penalty notices have been issued.

Four financial penalties have been paid and 148 remain unpaid. Of these, 101 are being pursued through a debt collection agency, 20 were withdrawn because the employment tribunal award was paid, 10 are not enforceable due to liquidation and/or insolvency and 17 are within the payment period.

Over £500,000 in previously unpaid awards has been recovered following the issuing of only a warning letter. Over £91,000 has been recovered as a result of issuing both a warning letter and a penalty notice.