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106400

registered interest
date	04/11/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2014 to Question 205614, what proportion of the penalties imposed in each year have been successfully enforced; and how much of the amount of penalty imposed is outstanding.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	213409
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage very seriously and has increased the financial penalty percentage from 50% to 100% of the unpaid wages owed to workers, and the maximum penalty from £5,000 to £20,000. These new limits are now in force where arrears are identified in pay reference periods on or after 7 March 2014. The Government will also bring in primary legislation as soon as possible so that the maximum £20,000 penalty can apply to each underpaid worker.</p><p> </p><p>The vast majority of employers pay penalties upon being issued with a Notice of Underpayment. Where they do not, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will seek to recover through debt management processes. In the period 2009/10 - 2013/14 HMRC issued over 3,500 penalties totalling nearly £3m. Of these, 2 per cent are currently being pursued through debt management processes..</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 11/11/2014 16:55:22 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

77521

registered interest
date	14/07/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HM Revenue and Customs takes when an employer whom it has deemed to have underpaid the minimum wage absconds without repaying the money owed.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	205524
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. In addition, by collating and analysing data received from various sources, HMRC ensure targeted enforcement through robust risk assessment processes to identify employers across the United Kingdom who are more likely to be not paying NMW.</p><p> </p><p>The majority of employers identified as paying below National Minimum Wage will pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment. Where they don’t, we will pursue recovery through the civil courts.</p><p> </p><p>For deliberate non-compliance or obstructive behaviour, we investigate at a criminal level. This could include employers who abscond.</p><p> </p><p>The statistics requested on absconded employers are not available, and HMRC does not routinely collect statistics on falsification and obstruction of investigation.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Of those employers prosecuted within the last five financial years, there were no incidences of previous underpayment of the National Minimum Wage. Employment Tribunals are the responsibility of HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service.</p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke grouped question UIN 205525 205612 question first answered 18/08/2014 10:01:33 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

77527

registered interest
date	14/07/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what outstanding total of minimum wage arrears were unpaid because the employer had absconded in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	205525
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. In addition, by collating and analysing data received from various sources, HMRC ensure targeted enforcement through robust risk assessment processes to identify employers across the United Kingdom who are more likely to be not paying NMW.</p><p> </p><p>The majority of employers identified as paying below National Minimum Wage will pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment. Where they don’t, we will pursue recovery through the civil courts.</p><p> </p><p>For deliberate non-compliance or obstructive behaviour, we investigate at a criminal level. This could include employers who abscond.</p><p> </p><p>The statistics requested on absconded employers are not available, and HMRC does not routinely collect statistics on falsification and obstruction of investigation.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Of those employers prosecuted within the last five financial years, there were no incidences of previous underpayment of the National Minimum Wage. Employment Tribunals are the responsibility of HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service.</p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke grouped question UIN 205524 205612 question first answered 18/08/2014 10:01:33 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

77534

registered interest
date	14/07/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has encountered employers suspected of underpaying the minimum wage who (a) falsified documents, (b) obstructed the investigation and (c) had previously been found on previous occasions by HMRC or by an employment tribunal, to have underpaid on a previous occasion in each of the last five financial years.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	205612
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. In addition, by collating and analysing data received from various sources, HMRC ensure targeted enforcement through robust risk assessment processes to identify employers across the United Kingdom who are more likely to be not paying NMW.</p><p> </p><p>The majority of employers identified as paying below National Minimum Wage will pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment. Where they don’t, we will pursue recovery through the civil courts.</p><p> </p><p>For deliberate non-compliance or obstructive behaviour, we investigate at a criminal level. This could include employers who abscond.</p><p> </p><p>The statistics requested on absconded employers are not available, and HMRC does not routinely collect statistics on falsification and obstruction of investigation.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Of those employers prosecuted within the last five financial years, there were no incidences of previous underpayment of the National Minimum Wage. Employment Tribunals are the responsibility of HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service.</p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke grouped question UIN 205524 205525 question first answered 18/08/2014 10:01:33 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

77535

registered interest
date	14/07/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-criminal financial penalties were issued by HM Revenue and Customs to employers for underpayment of the minimum wage in each of the last six financial years.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	205613
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously and HMRC enforce NMW legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999.</p><p> </p><p>The vast majority of employers obey the law and pay their employees at least the national minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC investigates all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition to carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The number of penalties issued for non-payment of National Minimum Wage for the timescales requested is set out below:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Penalties issued</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Penalties amount</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/09</p></td><td><p>N/A*</p></td><td><p>N/A*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>381</p></td><td><p>£111,183</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>934</p></td><td><p>£520,568</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>906</p></td><td><p>£766,807</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>708</p></td><td><p>£776,517</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>652</p></td><td><p>£815,269</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>*Civil penalties were introduced on 6 April 2009 for employers who are found to have underpaid their workers.</p><p> </p><p>I refer the honourable member to my response of 6 May 2014, Hansard Column 110W. In 2008/09, there were 4317 complete inspections with 1746 incidences of non-compliance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In all years, the remaining investigations did not highlight sufficient evidence to prove non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage Act.</p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke grouped question UIN 205614 question first answered 12/09/2014 09:50:00 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

77537

registered interest
date	14/07/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employers were found by HM Revenue and Customs to have paid the minimum wage in each of the last six financial years.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	205614
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously and HMRC enforce NMW legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999.</p><p> </p><p>The vast majority of employers obey the law and pay their employees at least the national minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC investigates all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition to carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The number of penalties issued for non-payment of National Minimum Wage for the timescales requested is set out below:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Penalties issued</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Penalties amount</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/09</p></td><td><p>N/A*</p></td><td><p>N/A*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>381</p></td><td><p>£111,183</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>934</p></td><td><p>£520,568</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>906</p></td><td><p>£766,807</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>708</p></td><td><p>£776,517</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>652</p></td><td><p>£815,269</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>*Civil penalties were introduced on 6 April 2009 for employers who are found to have underpaid their workers.</p><p> </p><p>I refer the honourable member to my response of 6 May 2014, Hansard Column 110W. In 2008/09, there were 4317 complete inspections with 1746 incidences of non-compliance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In all years, the remaining investigations did not highlight sufficient evidence to prove non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage Act.</p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke grouped question UIN 205613 question first answered 12/09/2014 09:50:01 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

65406

registered interest
date	02/07/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the sum was of unpaid wages involved in each of the cases where employers have been prosecuted for non-payment of the minimum wage since 1999.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	203781
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them, investigating the complaint and, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where we identify a high risk of non-payment of NMW.</p><p> </p><p>With the agreement of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, HMRC started prosecution for minimum wage offences from August 2007.</p><p> </p><p>The total sum of arrears involved in cases where employers have been prosecuted is £20,034.</p><p> </p><p>Criminal investigations do not guarantee arrears being paid to workers and are reserved only for the most serious cases. The Government is cracking down on employers who break the law and have increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law from 50 per cent to 100 per cent and the maximum penalty has increased from £5,000 to £20,000. The revised penalty is calculated as 100 per cent of the total underpayment for all of the workers specified in a Notice of Underpayment relating to pay reference periods that commence on or after 7 March 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 12/09/2014 09:51:38 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

65407

registered interest
date	02/07/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil enforcement actions HM Revenue and Customs has taken against employers over non-payment of the minimum wage in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	203782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously and HM Revenue &amp; Customs (HMRC) review every complaint that is referred to them, investigating the complaint and, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where we identify a high risk of non-payment of NMW.</p><p> </p><p>The majority of employers identified as paying below the NMW will pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment, i.e. civil enforcement action.</p><p> </p><p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer on 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 110W, for the number of non-compliant employers for the period requested.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 08/07/2014 14:39:50 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

65408

registered interest
date	02/07/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria HM Revenue and Customs use to determine whether a case where an employer is paying one or more employees less than the minimum wage is pursued by the civil route or the criminal route.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	203783
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) is responsible for National Minimum Wage (NMW) policy, including the policy on compliance and enforcement. HM Revenue and Customs enforces the NMW Act on behalf of BIS.</p><p> </p><p>BIS have set out how the Government operates the civil and criminal enforcement of the NMW in a policy document headed ‘Policy on HM Revenue and Customs enforcement, prosecutions and naming employers who break national minimum wage law (March 2014)'. This document is available on-line at www.gov.uk/government/publications/enforcing-national-minimum-wage-law</p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 08/07/2014 14:49:05 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

65409

registered interest
date	02/07/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the 10 largest amounts of unpaid arrears were that were imposed in the last five years against employers who paid one or more employees less than the minimum wage; and whether any of those employers were prosecuted.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	203784
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review every complaint that is referred to them, investigating the complaint and, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where they identify a high risk of non-payment of NMW.</p><p> </p><p>The following table shows the 10 largest amounts of arrears identified. The majority of employers identified as paying below the NMW will pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment, i.e. civil enforcement action. The 1998 Act makes provision for criminal proceedings to be brought for offences under section 31 of that Act, and those offences cover a range of possible non-compliant behaviours. Criminal proceedings were not commenced in the 10 cases listed.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Large arrears identified between 2009 to present</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£724,445</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£690,980</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£653,491</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£400,761</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£297,361</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£211,065</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£203,769</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£193,436</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£187,573</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£168,592</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>For the cases above that occurred after April 2009, the maximum penalty was charged.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law from 50% to 100% and the maximum penalty has increased from £5,000 to £20,000. The revised penalty is calculated as 100% of the total underpayment for all of the workers specified in a Notice of Underpayment relating to pay reference periods that commence on or after 7 March 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 23/07/2014 15:01:33 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry