Employers Named by Government for failing to Pay Minimum Wage

Government Names and Shames Employers that failed to pay Minimum Wage

On 8 June 2014 the government named 25 employers who had failed to pay their employees the National Minimum Wage.

Under new rules from October 2013 the government can now publish the names of employers who have been found not to have paid their employees the National Minimum Wage.

Business Minister Jenny Willott said:

“Paying less than the minimum wage is not only wrong, it’s illegal. If employers break the law they need to know that they will face tough consequences.

“Any worker who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. If anyone suspects they are not being paid the wage they are legally entitled to they should call the Pay and Work Rights helpline on 0800 917 2368.”

The government plans to bring in new rules in the next parliamentary session so that employers can also be given penalties of up to £20,000 for each individual worker they have underpaid, rather than the maximum penalty applying to each employer. This will mean if an employer underpays 10 workers, they could face penalties of up to £200,000.

Employers must be aware of the current rates for the National Minimum Wage and keep up to date as they change. The government has announced the following rates will come into effect on 1 October 2014:

• a 19p (3%) increase in the adult rate (from £6.31 to £6.50 per hour)
• a 10p (2%) increase in the rate for 18-20 year olds (from £5.03 to £5.13 per hour)
• a 7p (2%) increase in the rate for 16-17 year olds (from £3.72 to £3.79 per hour)
• a 5p (2%) increase in the rate for apprentices (from £2.68 to £2.73 per hour)

There has been criticism about the government’s actions as the 25 businesses that they have named are said to amount to less than 1% of the problem. Apparently HMRC say that over £4.6 million is owed in arrears to people paid less than the minimum wage. This includes an unnamed Premier League Football club that owed more than £27,500 to 3000 of its employees.

The Low Pay Commission has said that it believes that there has been a “sharp decline” in compliance with the National Minimum Wage in the past two years and that the social care sector is one of the worst offenders.

A list of the named business can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-employers-who-fail-to-pay-minimum-wage

Paul Whitfield can be contacted on 0161 2831276 or paulw@foxwhitfild.com

www.foxwhitfield.com

Employment Law Solicitors – Head Office based in Manchester with offices located throughout the United Kingdom.