The Centre for London and the Trust for London estimate that more than 300,000 people in the UK earn less than the legal minimum wage. Yet just nine employers have been prosecuted for breaching the law and only one employer has been ‘named and shamed’.[1] The London Assembly is calling for the Government to make better enforcement of the National Minimum Wage a key priority. A motion agreed by the Assembly[2] concluded that the Mayor should lobby the Government to take forward recommendations made in ‘Settle for Nothing Less: Enhancing National Minimum Wage Compliance and Enforcement’. Fiona Twycross AM, who proposed the motion, said: “Despite estimates that over 300,000 people earn less than minimum wage very little action has been taken. As it stands too many companies get away without paying the minimum wage. “We call on the Mayor to stand up to companies who don’t pay the minimum wage. Unless there is support for increasing fines, investing in enforcement and naming and shaming bad employers, thousands of Londoners will be paid criminally low wages.” Andrew Boff AM, who seconded the motion, said: “My recent policy work on human trafficking shows there is a clear link between people earning less than the legal minimum wage and modern day slavery. Many people earning below it are often working illegally and may be trafficked, whether it be in factories, cheap takeaways or nail bars. Every firm has a responsibility to hire employees and pay them at least the national minimum. If they don’t, we need to crack down on them, and I’ll be working closely with the Mayor to make sure they’re named, shamed and fined.” The full text of the motion is: “This Assembly believes that improving enforcement of the National Minimum Wage should be made a key priority for the Government, with the failure to properly enforce the National Minimum Wage allowing many rogue businesses to undercut wages and drive down pay for people on low-incomes. While regional data on enforcing the National Minimum Wage is not available, the Centre for London and the Trust for London estimates that more than 300,000 people in the UK earn less than the legal minimum wage. Despite this, only nine employers have ever been prosecuted for breaching this law, while only one employer has ever been ‘named and shamed’. These figures demonstrate that the current enforcement regime is not sufficient. This Assembly believes the Mayor should champion means by which enforcement can be improved in London. To this end, the Assembly calls on the Mayor to lobby the Government to take forward many of the recommendations put forward by the Trust for London and Centre for London report, ‘Settling for Nothing Less: Enhancing National Minimum Wage Compliance and Enforcement’ in London. In particular, we support proposals for:
Devolving enforcement responsibilities to local authorities and allowing them to retain funds that are generated through fines, as part of a wider need to increase the number of proactive investigations into National Minimum Wage violations;
Removing the upper-limit on fines for violating the National Minimum Wage; and
A more rigorous approach that ensures that every company that breaches the National Minimum Wage is ‘named and shamed’.
Furthermore, we call on the Mayor to undertake an audit of the Greater London Authority’s supply chain to ensure it holds no contracts with companies paying less than the National Minimum Wage. We believe the Mayor should use his business engagement team to urge all private sector businesses in London to also undertake such audits.” Notes to editors:
Settle For Nothing Less: Enhancing National Minimum Wage Compliance and Enforcement, Centre for London and Trust for London, December 2013.
The motion was agreed unanimously at a meeting of the full Assembly.
The motion was seconded by James Cleverly on behalf of Andrew Boff at the meeting.
Watch the webcast.
Fiona Twycross AM who proposed the motion is available for interviews. Please see contact details below.
As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For more details, please contact Lisa Lam in the Assembly Media Office on 020 7983 4067. For out-of-hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit, Greater London Authority, on 020 7983 4100.