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Employers who fail to pay minimum wage will be publicly named
02 March 2020 Legal Pay, Benefits and Taxation
Businesses that fail to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage will continue to be publicly named by the government, following a review of the scheme.
The changes, which will see naming rounds occur more often, are designed to act as a deterrent to businesses.
The government threshold for naming employers has also been raised, meaning that only firms which owe arrears of more than £500 in National Minimum Wage payments to their workforces will be named. The threshold was previously £100.
Businesses that fall foul of the rules by minimal sums will not be named, provided they correct any errors.
Business Minister Kelly 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 government has also announced changes for businesses who employ “salaried hours workers”, which are workers who receive an annual salary in equal instalments for a set number of contracted hours.
Under these changes, workers who are often paid hourly or per day and consequently have different pay checks every month, such as those in the retail industry, can be classified as salaried workers.
The changes will provide more flexibility in how salaried workers are paid, without reducing protections for workers. At the same time, businesses employing these workers are less likely to be caught out by the National Minimum Wage legislation due to the differences in their hours from one month to the next.
These changes are expected to come into force on 6 April 2020, subject to Parliamentary approval.