Enforcing NMW: TUC publishes new plan

The TUC has published a new report on national minimum wage (NMW) enforcement, Keeping up the pressure — what more needs to be done?, setting out a 10-point plan for improvement.

The report estimates that at least 250,000 workers are not paid the NMW, including around 120,000 apprentices, and that around a quarter of all NMW arrears are lost due to rogue employers going bankrupt or into hiding.

The plan calls for an extra one million pounds to be invested in:

• ensuring workers know their rights;

• 100 more NMW inspectors to crack down on NMW cheats;

• stronger official guidance so that employers know their responsibilities;

• a new legal gateway to enable HMRC to share information about the NMW with other public bodies, including local authorities;

• naming and shaming of all employers who fail to pay the NMW — just 36 employers have been “named” to date;

• introducing a government guarantee to pay arrears when an employer vanishes or goes bankrupt;

• prosecuting the worst offenders and increasing the maximum fine to £75,000;

• targeting enforcement on sectors with the worst record of NMW abuse, such as the retail sector and social care;

• strengthening enforcement in the case of apprenticeships and, finally;

• promoting collective bargaining, so that trade unions can help prevent potential NMW problems arising in the first place.

https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/ImprovingNationalMinimumWag%20Enforcement.pdf