BIS have announced details of a further 25 employers who failed to pay their employees the minimum wage under the new regime introduced last October 2013, which makes it easier to name and shame wrongdoers. Between them they owe workers more than £43,000 in arrears and in addition have to pay financial penalties totaling over £21,000. The ‘naming and shaming’ is part of a series of tougher measures to crack down on employers that break National Minimum Wage law. The Government also plans to legislate in the new parliamentary session so that employers can be given penalties of up to £20,000 for each individual worker they have underpaid, rather than the maximum penalty applying to each employer, e.g. if an employer underpays 10 workers, they could face penalties of up to £200,000.
Alongside the BIS announcement, HRMC have confirmed that wage arrears of over £4.6m have been paid to more than 22,000 workers during 2013/14. New figures show HMRC National Minimum Wage (NMW) enforcement teams have, over 2013/14, conducted a total 1,455 investigations and issued 652 financial penalties to employers who have underpaid workers. Examples of underpayment cases where HMRC has taken action in the past year include a Premier League football club who was ordered to pay arrears of over £27,500 to over 3,000 workers after it made deductions for uniforms and traveling time for staff working in hospitality.
Content Note
The aim is to provide summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. In particular, where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out full details of all the facts, the legal arguments presented by the parties and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Click on the links provided to access full details. If no link is provided contact us for further information. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, SM&B cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out all of the facts, the legal arguments presented and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
