21-01-2008
Minimum wage campaign launched in West Midlands
News by Adfero for Simply Business - independent providers of business insurance, business finance, landlord insurance, buy-to-let mortgages & commercial mortgages.
The Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has launched a new national minimum wage (NMW) campaign to highlight cases of underpayment.
In addition, BERR hopes that the new campaign, which incorporates a bus with the slogan "£5.52: Are you on board?", will raise awareness of the rate for people 22 and over that was set in October last year.
Minister for employment relations Pat McFadden said: "If there are people locally who are not receiving the minimum wage, we want to know about it and we want to make sure it is properly enforced."
Mr McFadden, who noted that 110,000 people in the West Midlands benefited from the rise in October, added that employers who do not pay the NMW are not only cheating the workers they employ, but they are also "undercutting honest businesses".
The NMW rate also rose for those under the age of 22, setting it at £3.40 for 16 to 17-year-olds and £4.60 for 18 to 21-year-olds.
A NMW came into force for the first time in April 1999.
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