No Welsh employers have been prosecuted for paying staff less than the minimum wage since the Tories came into power nearly seven years ago. 

Since the National Minimum Wage (NMW) was introduced in 1999 it has undoubtedly stood to improve the wages and therefore the lives of hundreds of thousands of employees within the UK. In April 2016, the NMW was replaced for over 25s with the National Living Wage; currently set at £7.20 per hour.

As well as introducing this increased minimum standard, the government also confirmed that they would bolster HMRC’s resources with a dedicated team of Minimum Wage investigators, increased budgets and stronger enforcement powers to ensure businesses complied.

Despite this apparent move towards more stringent enforcement, Wales Online has today released a story confirming that not one employer within Wales has been prosecuted for a breach of the legislation during the current governments reign. This is despite the same news agency reporting on some 400 Welsh companies allegedly in breach back in 2014. More...