Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have undertaken unpaid work trials in 2018-19.
The Government is committed to ensuring that all employers pay their workers correctly. We have increased the annual budget for National Minimum Wage (NMW) compliance and enforcement to £27.4m; more than doubling the level of resources since 2015/16.
HMRC NMW enforcement data records the reasons for employers’ failure to pay the correct minimum wage; this includes the broader category of unpaid working time. No estimate has been made of the number of people who have undertaken unpaid work trials in 2018-19.
“Calculating the Minimum Wage” guidance is kept under review and updates are published as required to ensure that employers are aware of their obligations and are able to comply with minimum wage legislation. Guidance relating to work trials was most recently updated in December.