New labour market tsar Sir David Metcalf to lead crackdown on National Living Wage abuse

Mike Ashley
Mike Ashley told MPs last year that staff had been underpaid due to 'unreasonable' practices at Sports Direct

A new labour market tsar has been appointed to oversee a crackdown on rogue employers, ahead of the rise in the National Living Wage in spring.

Sir David Metcalf, a former chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee and founding member of the Low Pay Commission, has been named the country’s first Director of Labour Market Enforcement.

He will collate intelligence from and set priorities for Britain’s three main labour market enforcement agencies, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage enforcement team.

High-profile employers have recently been caught out paying staff less than they are required to by law.

Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley last year admitted to MPs that some warehouse workers received less than the minimum wage after their pay was docked for clocking on as little as one minute late. The chef Michel Roux apologised after it was revealed that some staff at his Michelin-starred restaurant Le Gavroche were paid just £5.50 an hour, compared with the current National Living Wage of £7.20.

Some 700 employers have been ‘named and shamed’ by HMRC for failing to pay the national minimum wage in the last three years.

Sir David said: “While the UK is by and large a fair and safe place to work, there are still rogue employers who exploit their workers and undercut honest businesses. As the Government has made clear, this will not go unpunished.”

The National Living Wage will rise to £7.50 an hour on April 1. Following a £4.3m increase last month, the Government has earmarked £25.3m for enforcement this year.

Sir David’s role will be to identify regions and sectors where intervention is most required.

As well as National Living Wage violations, he will work alongside the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to target modern slavery. Employers who seriously or repeatedly mistreat workers now face up to two years’ imprisonment.

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