New measures to ensure fair pay

A package of measures to ensure people receive the pay they are entitled to has been announced by the Government, including: 

• doubling the penalties for non-payment of the National Minimum Wage and the new National Living Wage
• increasing the enforcement budget
• setting up a new team in HMRC to take forward criminal prosecutions for those who deliberately do not comply
• ensuring that anyone found guilty will be considered for disqualification from being a company director for up to 15 years.

The new team of compliance officers at HMRC will investigate the most serious cases of employers not paying the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, due to be introduced in April 2016. In addition, the calculation of penalties for employers who do not comply will rise from 100% of arrears to 200% although the overall maximum penalty of £20,000 per worker remains unchanged.