HMRC need more cash to catch North West minimum wage dodgers

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called for greater resources to be given to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Service (HMRC) to clamp down on employers who avoid paying staff the minimum wage, following the naming of shaming of employers who have been fined for not paying their staff the statutory minimum hourly rate of pay.

HMRC has today published a list of 25 employers, amongst many more nationally, who have been fined for failing to pay staff the national minimum wage. One of the employers who have not been named is a Premier League football club, who had to pay arrears of £27,500 to over 3,000 of their staff working in hospitality. In total more than £4.6 million has been paid in arrears to those affected.

In the North West, four employers have been named and shamed for failing to pay their staff properly, totalling nearly £10,000. Christine Cadden and Nicola Banks of Renaissance hairdressers in Heswall, Wirral neglected to pay £7310.65 to three workers whilst Mr and Mrs Hampton of The Wheatsheaf Inn, Cheshire, neglected to pay £2057.88 to five workers. They were joined by Dove Mill Retail Outlet, Bolton (neglected to pay one worker £461.84) and HSS Hire Services, Manchester (neglected to pay 15 workers £149) on today’s list.

Reacting to the news, Lynn Collins, North West TUC Regional Secretary said “It is shocking that so many employers – including some who pay their star players millions of pounds a year – are cheating low-paid workers out of the minimum wage.

“The penalties won by HMRC – which the government has rightly decided should be even bigger – should be a clear deterrent to any bad boss thinking about short changing their staff. We also need to see more of these immoral companies named and shamed.

“HMRC staff deserve credit for winning back millions of pounds for cheated employees but they need greater resources to catch the many minimum wage crooks still out there.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

-- The HMRC announcement is available at www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/hm-revenue-customs-hmrc/pressreleases/hmrc-secures-record-ps4-6m-minimum-wage-arrears-for-underpaid-workers-1004670

-- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

-- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

-- Congress 2014 will be held at the Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool from

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Contacts:

Media enquiries:

Jay McKenna T:0151 236 5432 M: 07788 414578 E: jmckenna@tuc.org.uk

Lynn Collins T: 0151 236 5432  M: 07887 797156