National minimum wage: Government set to name and shame employers more regularly for failures to pay

The government is set to name and shame employers more regularly who fail to pay staff the national minimum wage.

A document published today, setting out the Labour administration’s response to previous Low Pay Commission recommendations on tackling low pay, says it will have a “strong deterrence effect”.

Governments have been publishing the names of firms and other organisations breaching minimum wage law for years, but the current government notes no employers were exposed publicly in the 2022 to 2023 financial year under the Conservatives.

“The National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme remains a key deterrent to employers breaking minimum wage law. The Naming Scheme highlights non-compliant employers by publicly exposing their breaches and promoting their future compliance to deter other businesses from underpaying the minimum wage,” say Department for Business and Trade documents published online today.

“The naming scheme also aims to increase compliance by publishing an educational bulletin tailored to the areas of non-compliance for that particular round.”

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Some 2,500 employers had been exposed over breaches affecting 231,000 workers as of late 2021.

The LPC, set up by the last Labour government, had urged the government to ensure more regular naming rounds to “create momentum and increase coverage”.

The LPC had also encouraged action to tackle “one-sided flexibility” favouring employers.

The government said on Thursday – as it publishes its landmark employment rights bill – that it is “taking forward a range of measures on the issue”.

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“The government will end exploitative zero hours contracts by giving workers the right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work, which we expect will be based on a 12-week reference period.

“The government will also introduce a new right to reasonable notice of shifts, with compensation for shifts cancelled or curtailed at short notice.”

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