§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment what number of (a) firms and (b) workers are covered by wages council orders in each region.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyEstimates of the number of workers covered by wages councils in each region are not available. The number of establishments on the register in each wages inspectorate division is given in the following table.
Establishments on Wages Inspectorate's Register, January 1985 Division Number London (East) 22,801 London (West) 25,744 South Eastern 24,920 Southern 27,612 Eastern 24,677 South Western 31,161 Midlands (East) 29,946 Midlands (West) 30,534 North West (East) 24,954 North West (West) 24,309 Yorkshire and Humberside 34,401 Northern 20,848 Scotland (East) 18,695 Scotland (West) 17,528 Wales 18,171
§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms in the west midlands region covered by wages council orders have been visited for each of the last three years.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyIn the west midlands division of the Wages Inspectorate, inspections by visit were carried out at 2,045 establishments in 1982, 1,892 in 1983 and 2,048 (provisional) in 1984. These figures do not include checks of workers' pay by methods not involving a visit.
§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms in the west midlands region covered by wages council orders have been found to be underpaying for each of the last three years.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyIn the west midlands division of the Wages Inspectorate one or more workers were found to have been underpaid at 666 establishments in 1982, 543 in 1983 and 552 (provisional) in 1984.
§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms in the west midlands region have been prosecuted for illegal underpayment of workers in each of the last three years.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyNone.
§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment what procedure is used by the Wages Inspectorate to check on wages paid.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyInspection procedures include interviewing workers to verify that the amounts shown as paid in the employer's wage record correspond with the amounts received by the workers.
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§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Wages Inspectorate always interviews employees when it visits firms to check whether wage levels meet the legal minimum.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyYes.
§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether employers are notified before wages inspectors visit their premises to check on wage levels being paid.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyWhether or not employers are notified in advance depends on the circumstances. However, in most cases no advance warning is given by inspectors.
§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms have been prosecuted in each region for failure to keep records of wages paid in each of the last three years.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyIn 1982 one employer in the northern division of the Wages Inspectorate was prosecuted under the Wages Councils Act 1979 for failure to keep wage records. There were no prosecutions for this offence in 1983 and 1984.