Business Minister, Nick Boles has announced that over 100 employers have failed to pay their workers the National Minimum wage.
Employers have a duty to be aware of the different legal rates for the National Minimum Wage. The adult rate for ages 21 and over, the Minimum Wage is £6.70 per hour; for ages 18- 20, £5.30 per hour; ages 16-17, £3.87 per hour, and the apprentice rate is £3.30 per hour. The apprentice rate applies to apprentices aged 16-18 and those aged 19 and over who are in their first year. All other apprentices are entitled to the National Wage rate for their age.
There have been 115 companies named that owe workers over £398,000 in arrears, and span sectors such as hairdressing, education, catering, retail and social care. In the 115 companies named, it is alleged that Mr Prakash Dattani, who is trading as Interpharm Chemist, Leicester, allegedly neglected to pay £3,077.55 to 2 workers, while Charsi Tikka Ltd, in East London is alleged to have neglected to pay an employee £1,823.19.
The scheme was introduced in October 2013 and since then, 400 employers have been named and shamed, with total arrears of over £1,181,000 and total penalties of over £513,000.
Nick Boles said, “Employers that fail to pay the minimum wage hurt the living standards of the lowest paid and their families. As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage receives it. Next April we will introduce a new National Living Wage which will mean a £900-a-year pay rise for someone working full time on the minimum wage and we will enforce this equally robustly.”
