National minimum wage fine

Salon owners who refuse to pay the minimum wage could face a £200 fine for every worker they have underpaid, trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling has announced. Employers who fail to offer the National Minimum Wage have to pay back arrears to the workers concerned and those who refuse will be penalised."Workers have the right to a decent minimum wage and we are determined they get it," says Mr Darling. "To those employers avoiding the minimum wage, the message is: don't pay it and you'll pay the fine. In the last year alone the government's enforcement teams across the UK helped more than 25,000 workers get more than £3m back in unpaid wages." In cases where employees complain they are not getting the minimum wage, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs investigate the employer. If the complaint is upheld and the employer will not pay, a warning is given to repay arrears within seven days - failure to comply could result in the penalty fine.