Labour market Step up in HMRC enforcement needed to stop employers dodging the National Living Wage 11 May 2016 Welcoming the National Audit Office (NAO) report published today (Wednesday) into non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage, Laura Gardiner Senior Policy Analyst at the Resolution Foundation said: “Two million people now earn the legal minimum following the introduction of the National Living Wage. It’s hugely concerning that we don’t know how many people are illegally paid less than this. “The government is right to have stepped up action by increasing fines on employers who underpay staff and regularly ‘naming and shaming’ firms. But as today’s report highlights there is insufficient evidence to show how much effect this is having on non-compliance. This is a particular concern in social care, where around £130m is lost to illegal wage theft every year. “With the number of workers on the legal minimum wage expected to grow to around three million by 2020 – and with five different rates now in operation – the government should step-up its investigatory focus and resources to prevent growth in non-compliance.”
