1,000 Welsh employers accused of breaching minimum wage

A Welsh AM has accused over 1,000 Welsh employers of breaching minimum wage regulations since 2002 and argues that none have been prosecuted.

According to information obtained by Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood, over 3,400 workers have been denied the minimum wage in Wales since 2002, adding up to an overall underpayment of £1,450,116.

Wood told Wales Online: “Low paid workers must be protected but the law must be brought down as hard on employers as it is with benefit fraud.

“Why are prosecutions not brought against employers? Why are benefit claimants and rogue employers not treated the same?

“I was told by the coalition government last year that it had asked Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to press for prosecution where there is clear evidence that the employer has committed an offence. Well, nothing has happened in Wales.”

She found that the number of employers breaching the legislation in 2010-11 was highest in the hospitality industry, at 23.

Earlier this year, BIS announced plans to 'name and shame' employers who flout minimum wage legislation by publishing their details in a press release.

BIS said that in making its decision on whether to name an employer, it will consider, among other things, whether the employer:

• knowingly or deliberately failed to comply with its NMW obligations;
• failed to take adequate steps to keep or preserve NMW records;
• delayed or obstructed an NMW compliance officer in their duties; or
• neglected to pay arrears of NMW to workers following an HMRC intervention.
• No employers have been named in this way so far.

When the scheme was announced in January, a spokesperson for law firm Pannone said: “The impact of the scheme in real terms remains to be seen.  How much press interest will there be in these BIS press releases? 

"Also, it is arguable that the worst offenders – those who deliberately and knowingly flout the national minimum wage legislation – will not care about being named and shamed!”