Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Danny Thompson

Government to name and shame employers not paying minimum wage

The Government is to resume naming and shaming employers who fail to pay their staff the national minimum wage.

Business minister Kelly Tolhurst said the practice was being reintroduced after a review of the way the system operated.

It was "paused" by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in July 2018 after representations from employers' organisations.

Under changes introduced by the Government, businesses will be publicly named if they owe arrears of more than £500 in national minimum wage (NMW) payments to their workforces. Previously the threshold was £100.

Details - which were previously published quarterly - will be released more frequently, probably every two months. The first round is expected within three months.

Ms Tolhurst said: "Anyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it - no ifs, no buts - and we're cracking down on companies that underpay their workers.

"We also want to make it as easy as possible for employers, especially small businesses and those trying to do right by their staff, to comply with the NMW rules, which is why we're reforming regulations."

The Federation of Small Business (FSB) said firms which did not intentionally break the law and simply "misunderstood" their obligations should be exempt from naming.

FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said: "While we appreciate that the Government has reformed its approach, and responded to our call for greater emphasis on helping employers to comply with complex labour legislation, we need to see much greater protections for employers that make honest mistakes.

"We often see cases of small employers falling foul of wage rules when they're trying to do the right thing."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.