10 signatures reached
To: Greg Clark - Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Introduce a fine for minimum wage abuse under a threshold
Introduce a fine for employers who pay their employees less than minimum wage.
This is aimed at cases where the claim is not big enough to be worth taking to small claims court, and lies under a certain threshold, for example £100. Employers should not be allowed to get away with this and must face repercussions.
This is aimed at cases where the claim is not big enough to be worth taking to small claims court, and lies under a certain threshold, for example £100. Employers should not be allowed to get away with this and must face repercussions.
Why is this important?
Recently I was fired for exercising my statutory rights: I asked my boss why I had been paid less than I was supposed to be; my pay in fact added up to less than the minimum wage (which for my age group was £5.30 at the time). The money owed - about £25, was not enough be worth taking to small claims court, which would have costed me far more than it was worth and what I could afford. I was also on zero hours, having never been presented with an actual contract and never receiving a payslip in the 6 total months that I worked there; I could not even claim lost wages from being unjustly dismissed. However I was still furious at the way I had been treated, but powerless to do anything about it.
I can imagine that this must happen far too often, where (especially young and often student) employees are left in a vulnerable position and cannot claim anything. Worst of all their employer does not face any repercussions, so they are free to continue and do the same thing to the next person that comes along.
There should be a fine introduced for employers who do not pay their employees the legal minimum wage. The amount of money owed would be under a certain threshold for this to happen, where it would not be worth going to small claims court, or worth the extortionate fees.
Protect young workers and their right to fair pay; don't let employers get away with this.
I can imagine that this must happen far too often, where (especially young and often student) employees are left in a vulnerable position and cannot claim anything. Worst of all their employer does not face any repercussions, so they are free to continue and do the same thing to the next person that comes along.
There should be a fine introduced for employers who do not pay their employees the legal minimum wage. The amount of money owed would be under a certain threshold for this to happen, where it would not be worth going to small claims court, or worth the extortionate fees.
Protect young workers and their right to fair pay; don't let employers get away with this.
