by René Lavanchy
Every employer who fails to pay the minimum wage should be “named and shamed” regardless of whether they were proved to do so deliberately, MPs said this week.
A report from the Scottish Affairs Select Committee said increasing non-compliance with the national minimum wage suggested Government information campaigns were not enough.
More than 3,600 workers in Scotland were illegally paid less than the minimum wage last year. 175 companies were found breaking the rules – an increase of 33 from two years earlier.
While some sectors, such as clothing and retail, are becoming more compliant, others, such as hospitality and hairdressing, are getting worse. 32 hairdressing firms were caught breaking the law last year compared to 18 in 2002-03.
Committee chair Mohammad Sarwar said: “It is vital that employees understand their entitlement and are not exploited, either unintentionally due to confusion about the law or by bosses looking to make a quick buck. Naming employers who fail to comply is one crucial step in tackling this problem.”
The report also revealed that HM Revenue and Customs, which polices the law, has no central database to allow it to track trends in compliance, and that one had to be created in order to process a freedom of information request from the Sunday Times newspaper.
The committee also welcomed new regulations this month which ban employers from using tips to make up the minimum wage, but it called on the Government to explain how it will encourage firms to sign up to its code of best practice.
