HMRC’s National Minimum Wage (NMW) naming and shaming scheme is not being used while it is being reviewed.
In a House of Lords discussion, Lord Henley confirmed that, “naming and shaming was still there and available, but that while we were reviewing the scheme we were not using it”.
The naming and shaming scheme is under review following a recommendation set out by the director of labour market enforcement, Professor Sir David Metcalf.
Lord Henley’s comment followed the reading of a statement from Greg Clark, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, into the suspension of NMW naming and shaming. It said:
In December 2018 we accepted both of the director’s [David Metcalf] recommendations relating to the naming scheme, specifically to review the scheme’s effectiveness and to consider how to provide further information under the scheme in future. The government have sought to learn from other naming schemes and other regulatory approaches. We have also discussed the evidence with the director of labour market enforcement and have conducted further analysis to understand the impact that any changes to the scheme would have on the number of employers named.
Naming and shaming remains an important part of our enforcement toolkit, and the review will be concluded in the coming weeks. Any changes to the scheme will be communicated through the national minimum wage enforcement policy documents.
The review is expected to be concluded in the summer.
