Crackdown on minimum wage rogues
Tuesday, 09 Jan 2007 11:08
Employers could be fined £200 for every underpaid staff member
The government has announced it will crackdown on employers that do not pay their staff at least the appropriate national minimum wage.
As of October 1st, the adult rate for full-time and part-time workers aged 22 and over is £5.35 per hour. For those in employment aged 16 to 21, different levels of minimum wage apply.
Currently employers attempting to avoid paying the minimum wage will be fined up to £5,000 and could face prosecution. However as part of the government's increased crackdown, bosses would face a £200 fine for every member of staff they have underpaid.
The government's push to enforce payment of the minimum wage comes after research by the Office of National Statistics agency showing that 336,000 jobs in the UK are paid below the statutory minimum, accounting for 1.3 per cent of all jobs in the UK.
Research also showed that people working in part-time roles were three times more likely to have their pay exploited than those working full-time hours. A point of concern is the increase from 2005 of 28,000 more underpaid jobs.
The national minimum wage was introduced to Britain for the first time by the Labour government in April 1999.