Increased penalties for failure to pay national minimum wage introduced

Implementation date: 6 April 2009

The Employment Act 2008 provides increased powers for the enforcement of the national minimum wage. Section 8 of the Act provides for increased remuneration where arrears of the national minimum wage have been outstanding over a period of time. Section 9 increases the penalties for failure to comply with an enforcement notice and s.11 provides for offences to be dealt with in the higher courts. Section 12 provides HM Revenue and Customs officers with wider powers of investigation and s.18 removes the restrictions on the exchange of information between HM Revenue and Customs and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. The Act and the Order bringing the Act into force can be viewed on the OPSI website.