HMRC ‘named and shamed’ 37 National Minimum Wage Offenders in January 2015 as checks are set to become tougher on offenders. The named companies are now required to pay £51,000 in fines along with the money that their employees are owed.
H&M and Welcome Break were among the companies listed, blaming their employees underpayments on time logging and technical issues.
Following the publication of the list HMRC have announced that they are increasing their enforcement budget by £3 million over the 2015-2016 financial year. The extra money will go towards increasing the number of HMRC compliance officers that investigate suspected minimum wage offenders.
If an employer is found to be guilty of paying below minimum wage they are required to pay arrears immediately plus the amount that the government fines them for their offence. It is a company’s responsibility to keep records proving that they are paying minimum wage to their employees and if they were to be investigated these records would be reviewed.
It is essential that employers are aware of the regulations that are in place to protect their employees from being paid less than the national minimum wage. However it is also important that employees are made aware of the legal requirements that their employer has to meet in terms of payment.
To view the minimum wage rates visit gov.co.uk.
