Overview

• HMRC investigations covering 2015–22 identified 518 employers who underpaid staff in breach of National Minimum Wage rules.
• Employers have repaid £7.4 million to almost 60,000 workers and face financial penalties of up to 200 per cent of the amounts owed.
• The government’s April wage review set the National Living Wage at £12.21 an hour for those over 21, with lower rates for younger workers and apprentices.
• Affected businesses range from pubs and nurseries to engineering firms, with some owners citing technical errors and others having ceased trading or changed ownership since the breaches.
• Employment Rights Minister Justin Madders said the crackdown forms part of the government’s Plan for Change and pledged to continue naming firms that flout wage laws.