Government names and shames largest ever number of National Minimum Wage offenders

24 Feb 2015 11:17 AM

A further 70 employers who failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage have been named.

Businesses named in the care, retail and hospitality sectors

A further 70 employers who failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage (NMW) have been named today (24 February 2015) by Business Minister Jo Swinson, bringing the overall total named and shamed to 162.

Between them, these 70 employers owed workers a total of over £157,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £70,000.

The government has already named 92 employers since the new naming regime came into force in October 2013. They had total arrears of over £316,000 and total penalties of over £111,000.

To support the minimum wage crackdown, the government will also be increasing HMRC’s £9.2 million enforcement budget by a further £3 million, helping to fund more than 70 extra compliance officers.

Business Minister Jo Swinson said:

Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal, immoral and completely unacceptable. Naming and shaming gives a clear warning to employers who ignore the rules, that they will face reputational consequences as well as financial penalties of up to £20,000 if they don’t pay the minimum wage.

We’re working hard in areas where we know there are particular problems, like the care sector, to make sure staff are paid fairly for the hard work they do.

We are legislating through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill so that this penalty can be applied to each underpaid worker rather than per employer.

We are helping workers recover the hundreds of thousands of pounds in pay owed to them as well as raising awareness to make sure workers are paid fairly in the first place.

The government examines non-compliance in a number of ways and takes action where it identifies particular problems or challenges. Around 100 care sector cases are currently being investigated and 3 employers have been publically named, for failing to pay the minimum wage. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has also launched 6 proactive investigations into the largest employers in the care sector.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said:

We want a fairer society where everyone gets the care they deserve - to do this we need a skilled, valued and fairly paid workforce. There is absolutely no excuse for employers that fail to pay the minimum wage.

We know the 100 care companies being investigated are just the tip of the iceberg in the care sector and are absolutely committed to getting back the wages people have worked so hard for. We will continue to name, shame and fine these employers until every care provider gets the message.

HMRC is working with the Department of Health, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the care sector to understand more about the causes of non-compliance with the national minimum wage in the care sector and to raise awareness of the minimum wage with employers and care workers. This includes making sure that employees know how to complain if they believe they are not being paid the national minimum wage.

The 70 employers named today are:

The 70 cases named today were thoroughly investigated by HM Revenue and Customs.

The scheme was revised in October 2013 to make it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with minimum wage rules.

Employers who are unsure of National Minimum Wage rules, and employees who would like advice or to complain that they are not receiving the National Minimum Wage, can get free advice via the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368 or by visiting GOV.UK.

Notes to editors

  1. Employers have a duty to be aware of the different legal rates for the National Minimum Wage.

The current National Minimum Wage rates are:

The apprentice rate applies to apprentices aged 16 to 18 years and those aged 19 years and over who are in their first year. All other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage rate for their age.

2.The government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. The BIS scheme to name employers who break minimum wage law came into effect on 1 January 2011. The scheme is one of a range of tools at the government’s disposal to tackle this issue. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay back arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000. In the most serious cases employers can be prosecuted.

3.From 1 October 2013 the government revised the naming scheme to make it simpler to name and shame employers who break the law. Under this scheme the government will name all employers that have been issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NoU) unless employers meet one of the exceptional criteria or have arrears of £100 or less. All 70 cases named today failed to pay the national minimum wage and have arrears of over £100.

4.Employers have 28 days to appeal to HMRC against the NoU (this notice sets out the owed wages to be paid by the employer together with the penalty for not complying with minimum wage law). If the employer does not appeal or unsuccessfully appeals against this NoU, BIS will consider them for naming. The employer then has 14 days to make representations to BIS outlining whether they meet any of the exceptional criteria:

If BIS does not receive any representations or the representations received are unsuccessful, the employer will be named via a BIS press release under this scheme.

5.Further information about the revised BIS NMW naming scheme can be found at Enforcing national minimum wage law

6.A video containing advice for employers on the National Minimum Wage can be found at ‘rates from October 2014 and advices from employers and employees’