The Government has just released the new national minimum wage rates; they will be raised by 13p an hour to £5.93 benefiting the Low Pay Commission estimates that around 1 million people stand to benefit.
To highlight this increase the Government has also announced that employers who deliberately disobey minimum wage laws will be named and ‘shamed’ publicly.
Employment relations minister Edward Davey said: “Bad publicity can be a powerful weapon in the fight against employers who try to cheat their workers and their competitors. Their reputation can be badly damaged if they are seen to be flouting the law.
Companies who do not obey the new laws (that come into effect today) have until January to get their books in order before they can be publicly named.
The new national minimum wage rates are:
● £5.93 per hour for low-paid workers aged 21 and over
● £4.92 per hour for 18- to 20-year-olds
● £3.64 for 16- to 17-year-olds
For the first time there is also an apprentice minimum wage of £2.50 per hour. The new rate applies to those apprentices who are under 19 or those aged 19 and over who are in the first year of their apprenticeship.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The minimum wage has already helped hundreds of thousands of families without any negative side effects and its success has shown that – despite scare-mongering from some business voices – the economy can easily cope with sensible labour market regulation. Indeed, our current economic woes seem to be caused by too little regulation rather than too much.
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Business Department published their national minimum wage annual report for 2009/10 which ighlighted the fact that more than £4.4 million had been retrieved by inspectors from business’s underpaying their staff. That worked out to an average of £238 per worker.
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