§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what reasons other than at the request of he workers involved for not pursuing arrears of wages underpayment were discovered by the wages inspectorate in the midlands in 1988.
§ Mr. NichollsSpecific information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, in the small minority of cases where the inspectorate does not pursue arrears the decision is taken only after careful consideration of all the circumstances, including the likelihood of success bearing in mind such factors as the employers' ability to pay and the adequacy of evidence.
§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what level of arrears of pay has been discovered by the wages inspectorate as not pursued at the request of workers; what assessment he has made of the reasons which lie behind the requests of workers not to recover their arrears; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NichollsIn 1988 arrears of pay amounting to £295,746 were not pursued by the wages inspectorate at the request of workers. No comprehensive record is kept of the reasons given by workers for requesting non-pursuance. However, the decisions typically reflect the good personal relationships between employer and worker, concern about the viability of the business, contentment with the rate paid prior to the inspection, or the fact that the underpayment resulted from ignorance or inadvertance. Inspectors must, however, inform the worker of the sum involved and must satisfy themselves that the worker's decision not to pursue payment is made voluntarily.
It is also made clear to the worker that a request not to pursue arrears at a particular time does not prevent them obtaining the inspectorate's help in seeking payment at a later date.
§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many establishments were found by the wages inspectorate to be underpaying in(a) north Staffordshire and (b) the Stoke-on-Trent travel-to-work area; what percentage this was of all checked; how many workers were covered; and what was the total and weekly pay involved in the latest year for which figures are available.
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§ Mr. NichollsWages inspectorate statistics are not compiled for areas smaller than the inspectorate's nine divisions, of which the midlands is one. Information on the midlands for 1988 is as follows:
Information Number of establishments found underpaying 747 Percentage of all establishments checked found underpaying 14.9 per cent. Number of workers found underpaid 1,425 Total arrears of pay assessed £190,698 No statistics are kept on weekly underpayment.
§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the 10 worst cases of underpayment of wages by midlands employers discovered by the wages inspectorate in 1988, setting out both the weekly and total amounts involved.
§ Mr. NichollsThe information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.