National Minimum Wage - First prosecution for deliberately not paying the minimum wage

Written by Ian Congreave - Filed under: National Minimum Wage on July 14th, 2008

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UK flag The owners of a Sheffield butcher’s shop have been ordered to pay over £11,000 to two former employees after they failed to pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW). It is the fourth successful NMW criminal prosecution and the first for deliberately not paying the National Minimum Wage.

The six potential criminal offences under section 31 of the NMW Act, each of which carries a maximum £5,000 fine and a criminal record, are:

employer refuses or wilfully neglects to pay NMW
person fails to keep or preserve records
person knowingly causes or allows false entry in records
person produces or furnishes false records or information
person delays or obstructs compliance officer
person refuses or neglects to answer any questions or produce documents for compliance officer.

The father and daughter proprietors pleaded guilty to neglecting to pay two former employees the NMW, failing to keep adequate pay records, and making false entries in the records. The father produced the false records in an attempt to show HMRC compliance officers that they had been paying the correct amounts.

The father was fined £700 (plus costs) and ordered to pay £9,065.85 in compensation to the two former employees. The daughter was fined £100 (plus costs) and ordered to pay £2,009.74 in compensation. The compensation must be paid by 1 October 2008.

Further information:
Sheffield butchers prosecuted for non-payment of minimum wage

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Written by Ian Congreave - Payroll writer and lecturer

Filed under: National Minimum Wage on July 14th, 2008