News of a children’s nursery owner being fined for flouting the national minimum wage laws, in the first criminal prosecution of this kind, is being welcomed by unions.
Reported by the Financial Times, Teresa Aguda of Rascals Day Nursery, in Walthmastow, East London was fined £2,500 after she admitted obstructing HM Revenue and Customs officials from accessing staff records.
According to the paper, Aguda was also to told to pay £500 costs by Waltham Forest magistrates.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, applauded the prosecution: “It is good to see Revenue & Customs take this tough line. It is simply not good enough merely to make employers pay employees what they should have been paid. They should be punished as well.”
Last month, HR Zone reported on comments from the Welsh Trades Union Congress that said the maximum fine of £5000 for minimum wage offences should be greatly increased to stop rogue employers from flouting the laws.
The current rate of the minimum wage is £5.35 for adult workers (age 22 and above), £4.45 for the 18-21 year old workers and £3.30 for 16-17 year old workers.
