Minimum Wage cheats to be publicly named and shamed

Employment Relations Minister, Jo Swinson, says the Government will publicly “name and shame” companies who fail to pay the National Minimum Wage.

A “revised” NMW naming scheme will come into effect from October and will do away with restrictions that prevent the Government from highlighting those who break the law.

Under the original scheme, employers had to meet one of seven criteria before they could be named. The minimum amount of National Minimum Wage owed to workers had to be at least £2,000 and the average per worker at least £500 before an employer could be referred to BIS from HMRC for naming.

The revised scheme will name employers that have been issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NoU) by HMRC.

In 2012/13 HMRC identified 736 employers who had failed to pay the National Minimum Wage leading to the recovery of £3.9 million in unpaid wages for over 26,500 workers.

Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson said: “Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal. If employers break this law they need to know that we will take tough action.

“This is why I’m making changes so it is easier to name and shame employers who break the law. This gives a clear warning to rogue employers who ignore the rules, that they will face reputational consequences as well as a fine if they don’t pay the minimum wage.”

Ian Murray, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs, commented: “The ‘naming and shaming’ of unscrupulous businesses which flout the National Minimum Wage will be worthless unless ministers commit to properly enforcing the minimum wage, which they have so far failed to do.”

GMB union called for trade unions to be allowed to report “rogue” employers.