Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full-time equivalent staff work in HMRC's national minimum wage compliance unit; and how many posts in that unit were unfilled as of 19 December 2023.

HMRC enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) in line with the law and policy set out by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the NMW receives it.

HMRC’s NMW compliance work is funded by DBT. The annual funding for minimum wage enforcement has doubled since 2015 (Table 1, link below) and this additional investment has enabled a significant expansion of resources dedicated to enforcing the minimum wage.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1149618/supplementary_data_for_enforcement_and_compliance_report.xlsx(opens in a new tab)

Data on the number of full-time equivalent staff (FTE) working in HMRC’s NMW team will change during the course of the year, and the final FTE position will be published as part of the Government Evidence on Enforcement and Compliance in 2024/2025.