§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms covered by the Hotel and Catering Industry Wages Council have been inspected, and not been inspected, for each year since 1970; and if these figures will be expressed in terms of percentages.
§ Mr. John GrantThe information is given below:
increase the effectiveness of the Inspectorate.
The Inspectorate is to be relieved of its responsibility for enforcing the quota provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944. This will provide some small assistance to the Inspectorate in meeting its workload.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many routine inspections/complaints led to prosecutions within the licensed residential, licensed non-residential, unlicensed place of refreshment and Canteen Wages Council for each year since 1963.
§ Mr. John GrantThere were two civil proceedings in licensed residential since 1963 and one in unlicensed place of refreshment. No criminal proceedings have resulted from routine or complaint inspections in the trades mentioned.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many establishments covered by the licensed nonresidential, licensed residential, unlicensed place of refreshment and Canteens Wages Council have (a) been obliged to pay 303W arrears of wages for each year since 1963 and (b) failed to post notices of relevant wages orders, expressed in numbers and as a percentage of those investigated.
§ Mr. John GrantThe information requested is given below. Details for years earlier than 1969 are not readily
Licensed Non-Residential establishments Licensed Residential and Licensed Restaurant Unlicensed place of Refreshment Industrial and Staff Canteens 1975 Employers paying arrears of wages Number … 824 565 209 32 Percent. … 14.5 22.0 15.2 2.3 Employers not posting Notices Number … 1,326 668 439 316 Percent. … 23.3 26.0 31.9 23.6 1974 Employers paying arrears of wages Number … 679 443 160 21 Percent. … 11.2 17.7 10.3 1.7 Employers not posting Notices Number … 1,503 613 460 322 Percent. … 24.8 24.5 29.7 25.5 1973 Employers paying arrears of wages Number … 581 509 227 37 Percent. … 8.1 18.5 13.2 2.> Employers not posting Notices Number … 2,062 740 543 510 Percent. … 28.9 26.9 31.7 31.1 1972 Employers paying arrears of wages Number … 814 468 205 31 Percent. … 10.3 18.2 11.8 1.8 Employers not posting Notices Number … 1,948 624 534 525 Percent. … 24.8 24.2 30.8 29.7 1971 Employers paying arrears of wages Number … 492 422 113 30 Percent. … 6.8 15.5 6.3 1.5 Employers not posting Notices Number … 1,895 723 634 608 Percent. … 26.3 26.6 35.3 31.1 1970 Employers paying arrears of wages Number … 476 356 169 25 Percent. … 10.1 14.2 8.2 1.1 Employers not posting Notices Number … 1,415 616 639 656 Percent. … 30.1 24.5 31.2 30.4 1969 Employers paying arrears of wages Number … 695 400 180 37 Percent. … 11.2 14.3 7.3 1.4 Employers not posting Notices Number … 1,789 689 786 788 Per cent. … 29.2 24.7 32.0 30.4
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average time elapsing between routine visits of the Wages Council inspectors covering the hotel and catering industry.
§ Mr. John GrantA precise answer to this Question is not possible. A rough comparison between the number of premises and the number of routine inspections suggests that routine visits are made approximately once every 11 or 12 years, but it is not the practice to make routine visits to firms known to be operating agreements as favourable, or more favourable, to workers than wage orders. Moreover, when complaints are investigated full inspections are often
304Wavailable. The figures given for payments of arrears from 1969 to 1975 relate to arrears of wages and exclude arrears of holiday pay. The figures for notices not posted relate to inspection where no notices were posted. Cases where some but not all the current notices were posted were also discovered.
carried out, and in planning inspections some priority is given to firms where serious infringing events have occurred in the past and to new firms.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many complaints have been received from employees covered by the wages councils in the hotel and catering industry for each year since 1970; in how many of these the complaints have been justified; and how many prosecutions have ensued.
§ Mr. John GrantI refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him on 14th May—[Vol. 911, c. 598]—which 305W gave the number of complaints received in the period for each wages council trade.
Although the complaints are investigated, our statistics do not distinguish justified complaints, nor which prescutions arise from complaints.