WIREDGOV

The TUC yesterday (Tuesday) welcomed the decision by Norman Lamb, Minister for Employment Relations, to name and a shame a business in Leicester for flouting the National Minimum Wage and called for more employer abuses to be made public.

The news comes after Leicester-based Treena Professional Hair & Beauty Salon was taken to court after it underpaid a former worker by over £3,000 as a result of not paying the minimum wage.

The TUC welcomed this first case but called on the government to name and shame more deliberate offenders and to take more prosecutions against the worst employers.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Although the government regularly recovers more than £3 million each year for low-paid workers most minimum wage enforcement work remains invisible. Employers need to see the rogue element being prosecuted and named and shamed so that they have confidence that the law is being rigorously enforced.

'Justice always needs to be seen to be done, and this must mean many more cases being put in the public domain, including some of the bigger employers who have been caught failing to pay the minimum wage.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

- Congress 2012 will be held at the Brighton Centre from Sunday 9 September to Wednesday 12 September 2012. The deadline for free media passes was noon on Wednesday 29 August. Credentials can still be applied for by completing the online form www.tuc.org.uk/mediacredentials but will now cost £50.

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Alex Rossiter T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07887 572130 E: arossiter@tuc.org.uk