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| Employer to provide worker with national minimum wage statement. |
12. - (1) Regulations may make provision for the purpose of conferring on a worker the right to be given by his employer, at or before the time at which any payment of remuneration is made to the worker, a written statement.
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(2) The regulations may make provision with respect to the contents of any such statement and may, in particular, require it to contain-
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(a) prescribed information relating to this Act or any regulations under it; or |
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(b) prescribed information for the purpose of assisting the worker to determine whether he has been remunerated at a rate at least equal to the national minimum wage during the period to which the payment of remuneration relates. |
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(3) Any statement required to be given under this section to a worker by his employer may, if the worker is an employee, be included in the written itemised pay statement required to be given to him by his employer under section 8 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 or Article 40 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, as the case may be.
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(4) The regulations may make provision for the purpose of applying-
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(a) sections 11 and 12 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (references to employment tribunals and determination of references), or |
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(b) in relation to Northern Ireland, Articles 43 and 44 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (references to industrial tribunals and determination of references), |
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in relation to a worker and any such statement as is mentioned in subsection (1) above as they apply in relation to an employee and a statement required to be given to him by his employer under section 8 of that Act or Article 40 of that Order, as the case may be.
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Officers |
| Appointment of officers. |
13. - (1) The Secretary of State-
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(a) may appoint officers to act for the purposes of this Act; and |
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(b) may, instead of or in addition to appointing any officers under this section, arrange with any government department or any body performing functions on behalf of the Crown that officers of that department or body shall act for those purposes. |
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(2) When acting for the purposes of this Act, an officer shall, if so required, produce some duly authenticated document showing his authority so to act.
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(3) If it appears to an officer that any person with whom he is dealing while acting for the purposes of this Act does not know that he is an officer so acting, the officer shall identify himself as such to that person.
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| Powers of officers. |
14. - (1) An officer acting for the purposes of this Act shall have power for the performance of his duties-
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(a) to require the production by a relevant person of any records required to be kept and preserved in accordance with regulations under section 9 above and to inspect and examine those records and to copy any material part of them; |
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(b) to require a relevant person to furnish to him (either alone or in the presence of any other person, as the officer thinks fit) an explanation of any such records; |
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(c) to require a relevant person to furnish to him (either alone or in the presence of any other person, as the officer thinks fit) any additional information known to the relevant person which might reasonably be needed in order to establish whether this Act, or any enforcement notice under section 17 below, is being or has been complied with; |
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(d) at all reasonable times to enter any relevant premises in order to exercise any power conferred on the officer by paragraphs (a) to (c) above. |
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(2) No person shall be required under paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (1) above to answer any question or furnish any information which might incriminate the person or, if married, the person's spouse.
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(3) The powers conferred by subsection (1) above include power, on reasonable written notice, to require a relevant person-
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(a) to produce any such records as are mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection to an officer at such time and place as may be specified in the notice; or |
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(b) to attend before an officer at such time and place as may be specified in the notice to furnish any such explanation or additional information as is mentioned in paragraph (b) or (c) of that subsection. |
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(4) In this section "relevant person" means any person whom an officer acting for the purposes of this Act has reasonable cause to believe to be-
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(a) the employer of a worker; |
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(b) a person who for the purposes of section 32 below is the agent or the principal; |
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(c) a person who supplies work to an individual who qualifies for the national minimum wage; |
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(d) a worker, servant or agent of a person falling within paragraph (a), (b) or (c) above; or |
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(e) a person who qualifies for the national minimum wage. |
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(5) In this section "relevant premises" means any premises which an officer acting for the purposes of this Act has reasonable cause to believe to be-
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(a) premises at which an employer carries on business; |
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(b) premises which an employer uses in connection with his business (including any place used, in connection with that business, for giving out work to home workers, within the meaning of section 33 below); or |
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(c) premises of a person who for the purposes of section 32 below is the agent or the principal. |
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Enforcement |
| Non-compliance: worker entitled to additional remuneration. |
15. - (1) If a worker who qualifies for the national minimum wage is remunerated for any pay reference period by his employer at a rate which is less than the national minimum wage, the worker shall be taken to be entitled under his contract to be paid, as additional remuneration in respect of that period, the amount described in subsection (2) below.
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(2) That amount is the difference between-
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(a) the relevant remuneration received by the worker for the pay reference period; and |
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(b) the relevant remuneration which the worker would have received for that period had he been remunerated by the employer at a rate equal to the national minimum wage. |
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(3) In subsection (2) above, "relevant remuneration" means remuneration which falls to be brought into account for the purposes of regulations under section 2 above.
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| Enforcement in the case of special classes of worker. |
16. - (1) If the persons who are the worker and the employer for the purposes of section 15 above would not (apart from this section) fall to be regarded as the worker and the employer for the purposes of-
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(a) Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (protection of wages), or |
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(b) in relation to Northern Ireland, Part IV of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, |
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they shall be so regarded for the purposes of the application of that Part in relation to the entitlement conferred by that section.
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(2) In the application by virtue of subsection (1) above of-
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(a) Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996, or |
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(b) Part IV of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, |
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in a case where there is or was, for the purposes of that Part, no worker's contract between the persons who are the worker and the employer for the purposes of section 15 above, it shall be assumed that there is or, as the case may be, was such a contract.
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(3) For the purpose of enabling the amount described as additional remuneration in subsection (1) of section 15 above to be recovered in civil proceedings on a claim in contract in a case where in fact there is or was no worker's contract between the persons who are the worker and the employer for the purposes of that section, it shall be assumed for the purpose of any civil proceedings, so far as relating to that amount, that there is or, as the case may be, was such a contract.
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| Power of officer to issue enforcement notice. |
17. - (1) If an officer acting for the purposes of this Act is of the opinion that a worker who qualifies for the national minimum wage has not been remunerated for any pay reference period by his employer at a rate at least equal to the national minimum wage, the officer may serve a notice (an "enforcement notice") on the employer requiring the employer to remunerate the worker for pay reference periods ending on or after the date of the notice at a rate equal to the national minimum wage.
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(2) An enforcement notice may also require the employer to pay to the worker within such time as may be specified in the notice the sum due to the worker under section 15 above in respect of the employer's previous failure to remunerate the worker at a rate at least equal to the national minimum wage.
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(3) The same enforcement notice may relate to more than one worker.
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(4) A person on whom an enforcement notice is served may appeal against the notice before the end of the period of four weeks following the date of service of the notice.
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(5) An appeal under subsection (4) above lies to an employment tribunal.
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(6) On an appeal under subsection (4) above, the employment tribunal shall dismiss the appeal unless it is shown-
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(a) that there were no grounds for the service of the enforcement notice; or |
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(b) if the enforcement notice imposes a requirement under subsection (2) above, that the amount specified in the notice as the sum due to the worker to whom the requirement relates is incorrect. |
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(7) Where an appeal is allowed by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (6) above, the employment tribunal shall rescind the enforcement notice.
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(8) If, in a case where subsection (7) above does not apply, an appeal is allowed by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (6) above-
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(a) the employment tribunal shall rectify the enforcement notice; and |
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(b) the enforcement notice shall have effect as if it had originally been served as so rectified. |
