The Government’s report on minimum and living wage enforcement for the financial year of 2023/24 indicated that there was a total of £7.6 million in arrears, identified for more than 52,000 workers. This resulted in HMRC issuing 720 penalties to the organisations involved for minimum wage breaches. In total this amounted to £5.2 million.
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What else was included the minimum wage enforcement report?
The report indicated that HMRC was moving its focus from big organisations to SME’s and smaller businesses with less access to professional advice and compliance services.
Overall, there were 1,834 more cases opened by the HMRC than in 2022/23, making it a record high. 10 employers were also successfully prosecuted for underpayment of the National Minimum Wage, as in serious cases criminal proceedings can be bought against employers found to be in breach.
What are the plans to crack down on employers breaching minimum wage legislation?
As part of the Government’s ‘Plan for Change’ they are seeking to ‘crack down on non-compliance’ regarding the National Minimum Wage legislation. This includes a gathering of views and information from stakeholders as part of their ‘Making Work Pay: Call for evidence on unpaid internships’, covering:
- Unpaid internships.
- Internships paid below the National Minimum Wage.
- Unpaid work trials.
- Work trials paid below the National Minimum Wage.
- Work shadowing.
- Volunteer staff.
The Government has already pledged to ban unpaid internships that do not make up part of an educational course and/or training. As current evidence is limited, they will be using the above as an opportunity to gather data to inform future policy decisions.
The call for evidence will close at 11:59pm on October 9th, 2025, with the Government looking to publish its response in either January or February of 2026.
Contact a Croner Employment Law expert today to ensure you are compliant with the National Minimum Wage legislation.
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About the Author
Dan oversees the day-to-day of the HR Advisory Department. Dan has over 12 years Management experience alongside comprehensive HR experience working in various SME's and start ups.
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