Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood has urged the HM Revenue & Customs to order more exercises to uncover employers avoiding paying the National Minimum Wage (NCM).
The South Wales Central AM, who has highlighted a t0tal lack of prosecutions in Wales against rogue employers, was speaking following an operation against employment agencies in Swansea. Two of the agencies are suspected of failing to meet minimum wage legislation and investigations are continuing.
Figures obtained by Leanne Wood earlier this year showed that more than 1,000 employers across Wales had been found to have flouted the NCM legislation since 2002.
Leanne Wood said: “I’m pleased that the HMRC and officials from the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills carried out what was the first exercise of its kind in Wales against employment agencies.
“There should be more enforcement operations like this covering the sectors where the minimum wage is more likely to be avoided such as in the hospitality and catering trades and agriculture.
“Legal action should be taken against rogue employers and they should not just be allowed to pay off under-payments. Action is regularly taken against benefit claimants but there always appears a reluctance to take on rogue employers. This should change.”
