Complaints from staff paid less than the national minimum wage (NMW) rose by 10 per cent during the past year, according to official figures from HM Revenue and Customs.
Of the 61,000 calls the helpline received during 2005/6, 2,100 were complaints about non-payment of the NMW, the rest were for help and advice.
The hospitality and hairdressing sectors showed an increase in the number of complaints about non-payment of the NMW and more women complained than men.
Of the investigations carried out by minimum wage enforcement teams, 32 per cent uncovered incidents of non-compliance with £3.3 million in unpaid wages being recovered for more than 25,000 workers.
