§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many establishments were found to be underpaying wages in each year since 1979;
(2) what information he has as to how many establishments (a) failed to post wages council notices, (b) failed to keep adequate records of hours worked and (c) failed to keep adequate records of wages paid in 1992;
(3) how many establishments were found to be making underpayments in wages council trades in 1992;
(4) how many (a) checks were carried out and (b) underpayments discovered for each wages inspectorate division in 1992;
(5) how many workers' pay levels were checked by wages councils in 1992 for each wages council inspectorate;
(6) how many establishments were covered by wages councils on the register at December 1992.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe information requested is provided in the following tables:
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Divisions Wages councils London South East East South West Midlands North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain Laundry 142 121 63 137 224 89 53 43 148 1,020 Linen and cotton handkerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 3 1 3 4 13 116 9 2 2 153 Made-up textiles 23 14 42 31 37 45 46 18 27 283 Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 11 2 7 4 0 3 1 4 3 35 Perambulator and invalid carriage 2 2 3 1 9 4 5 1 0 27 Retail bespoke tailoring 166 36 43 39 27 53 31 12 32 439 Rope, twine and net 1 1 5 26 4 24 16 3 22 102 Sack and bag 5 0 5 5 10 15 11 1 3 55 Toy manufacturing 9 12 27 27 21 59 30 11 7 203 Retail trades (non-food) 16,499 11,641 11,430 14,265 21,543 16,566 10,913 5,138 8,457 116,452 Retail food and allied trades 10,866 12,588 10,283 14,180 15,793 19,049 11,149 7,694 9,861 111,463 Licensed non-residential establishments 5,978 5,962 8,194 10,064 13,875 11,053 6,920 4,229 5,484 71,759 Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 4,853 4,278 3,730 7,460 3,683 4,157 2,366 1,580 3,827 35,934 Unlicensed place of refreshment 3,559 2,720 1,506 3,551 1,885 2,474 1,523 877 1,733 19,828 TOTAL 48,520 40,850 39,159 54,808 63,952 60,820 37,787 21,964 32,597 400,457 356W357W
Table 2 Establishments checked and underpayments found in wages council trades—1992 Wages councils Establishments checked by all methods Percentage of register checked Establishments checked by visit Percentage of register checked by visit Establishments found underpaying Percentage of all establishments checked underpaying Percentage of establishments visited underpaying Aerated waters 11 3.9 11 3.9 1 9.1 9.1 Clothing manufactury 316 5.7 284 5.2 89 28.2 31.3 Boot and shoe repairing 240 8.6 103 3.7 11 4.6 10.7 Button manufacturing 4 9.1 4 9.1 0 .0 .0 Coffin furniture and cerement making 5 27.8 4 22.2 0 .0 0 Cotton waste reclamation 1 3.6 1 3.6 0 .0 0 Flax and hemp 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 .0 Fur 4 4.0 4 4.0 0 .0 .0 General waste materials reclamation 51 3.8 40 3.0 5 9.8 12.5 Hairdressing 2,625 8.1 1,830 5.6 505 19.2 27.6 Hat, cap and millinery 1 1.0 1 1.0 0 .0 .0 Lace finishing 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 .0 Laundry 69 6.8 65 6.4 30 43.5 46.2 Linen and cotton handkerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 2 1.3 2 1.3 0 .0 .0 Made-up textiles 32 11.3 31 11.0 9 28.1 29.0 Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 5 14.3 5 14.3 0 .0 .0 Perambulator and invalid carriage 3 11.1 3 11.1 0 .0 .0 Retail bespoke tailoring 20 4.6 15 3.4 2 10.0 13.3 Rope, twine and net 8 7.8 8 7.8 1 12.5 12.5 Sack and bag 5 9.1 4 7.3 1 20.0 25.0 Toy manufacturing 13 6.4 12 5.9 2 15.4 16.7 Retail trades (non-food) 9,864 8.5 4,206 3.6 1,449 14.7 34.5 Retail food and allied trades 9,278 8.3 5,968 5.4 2,631 28.4 44.1 Licensed non-residential establishments 5,762 8.0 3,166 4.4 1,050 18.2 33.2 Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 2,272 6.3 1,824 5 1 672 29.6 36.8 Unlicensed place of refreshment 1,793 9.0 1,338 6.7 560 31.2 41.9 TOTAL 32,384 8.1 18,929 4.7 7,018 21.7 37.1
Table 3 Workers covered by wages councils and results of checks—1992 Wages Councils No. of workers (Est. 1992) Total workers checked Workers checked by visit Workers found unpaid Per cent. unpaid of all workers checked Arrears paid Arrears not pursued at workers request Arrears not pursued— other reasons Total arrears assessed as due (£) (£) (£) (£) Aerated waters 4,400 337 337 1 .3 84 0 0 84 Clothing manufacturing 118,500 7,732 7,074 346 4.5 35,365 4,812 7,536 47,713 Boot and shoe repairing 5,000 445 244 19 4.3 5,601 2,475 0 8,076 Button manufacturing 1,000 345 345 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Coffin furniture and cerement making 200 77 73 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Cotton waste reclamation 300 34 34 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Flax and hemp 400 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Fur 800 9 9 0 .0 0 0 0 0 General waste materials reclamation 13,000 441 330 10 2.3 2,099 0 0 2,099 Hairdressing 69,000 7,653 5,389 627 8.2 112,073 24,742 7,455 144,270 Hat, cap and millinery 4,500 50 50 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Lace finishing 900 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Laundry 24,500 1,055 1,034 108 10.2 12,264 1,741 543 14,548 Linen and cotton handkerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 2,800 92 92 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Made-up textiles 3,500 760 751 45 5.9 1,184 0 3,254 4,438 Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 500 324 324 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Perambulator and invalid carriage 2,000 18 18 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Retail bespoke tailoring 4,000 42 35 2 4.8 357 0 0 357 Rope, twine and net 2,200 187 187 2 1.1 84 0 0 84 Sack and bag 1,000 43 39 3 7.0 187 0 0 187 Toy manufacturing 11,500 140 135 11 7.9 398 0 0 398 Retail trades (non-food) 736,000 133,399 14,223 2,537 1.9 249,820 61,908 38,276 350,004 Retail food and allied trades 490,000 142,110 22,077 5,130 3.6 649,286 158,651 32,375 840,312 Licensed non-residential establishments 538,000 57,760 25,259 2,882 5.0 266,818 17,583 16,353 300,754 Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 417,000 30,522 23,991 1,889 6.2 129,174 13,027 17,968 160,169 Unlicensed place of refreshment 110,000 19,813 7,336 1,167 5.9 96,537 14,609 15,276 126,422 TOTAL 2,561,000 403,388 109,386 14,779 3 7 1,561,331 299,548 139,036 1,999,915
Table 4 Checks carried out and underpayments found in wages inspectorate divisions—1992 Divisions Establishments checked by all methods Percentage of register checked Establishments checked by visit Percentage of register checked by visit Establishments found underpaying Percentage of all establishments checked underpaying Percentage of establishments visited underpaying London 3,472 7.2 1,461 3.0 425 12.2 29.1 South East 1,323 3.2 1,172 29 385 29.1 32.8 Eastern 2,235 5.7 1,012 2.6 283 12.7 28.0 South West 4,631 8.4 2,710 4.9 1,076 23.2 39.7 Midlands 8,519 13.3 2,767 4.3 979 11.5 35.4 North West 2,956 4.9 2,854 4.7 1,256 42.5 44.0 Yorkshire and Humberside 3,173 8.4 2,176 5.8 875 27.6 40.2 Northern 3,073 14.0 2,482 11.3 892 29.0 35.9 Scotland 3,002 9.2 2,295 7.0 847 28.2 36.9 Great Britain 32,384 8.1 18,929 4.7 7,018 21.7 37.1 Note:
From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern Divisions have been merged to form the new Southern Division.
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Table 5 Workers whose pay was checked in wages inspectorate divisions—1992 Divisions Total workers checked Workers whose pay was checked by visit Workers found underpaid Percentage underpaid of all workers checked Percentage underpaid of workers checked by visit Arrears paid Arrears not pursued at workers request Arrears not pursued for other reasons Total arrears assessed as due (£) (£) (£) (£) London 85,791 6,145 731 0.9 11.9 72,522 15,737 13,093 101,352 South East 6,968 5,752 726 10.4 12.6 50,233 21,458 9,565 81,256 Eastern 103,142 4,662 502 0.5 10.8 40,714 24,527 336 65,577 South West 41,054 14,670 2,112 5.1 14.4 186,140 22,268 37,389 245,797 Midlands 65,373 20,246 2,286 3.5 11.3 210,612 64,008 24,645 299,265 North West 14,888 14,090 2,298 15.4 16.3 459,058 57,278 12,082 528,418 Yorkshire and Humberside 44,319 12,085 2,006 4.5 16.6 195,908 50,721 15,166 261,795 Northern 19,461 16,189 2,049 10.5 12.7 144,130 15,392 7,220 166,742 Scotland 22,392 15,547 2,069 9.2 13.3 202,014 28,159 19,540 249,713 Great Britain 403,388 109,386 14,779 3.7 13.5 1,561,331 299,548 139,036 1,999,915
Table 6 Prosecutions for underpayment Divisions 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 London 3 — 1 1 — — — — — — — — 1 — South East — — — — — — — 1 2 1 4 3 — — Eastern — 1 1 2 1 1 — 1 — 2 — — — — South West 4 2 3 — 1 1 — — — 2 2 1 2 1 Midlands — — — — — — 1 — 1 1 1 — — 1 North West — 1 1 — — — — — 1 2 — — 1 — Yorkshire and Humberside 1 1 1 — — — 1 — — 2 1 2 7 5 Northern 1 3 1 1 — — — — — — 1 1 2 2 Scotland — — — — — — — — — — — — 2 3 Great Britain 9 8 8 4 2 2 2 2 4 10 9 7 15 12 Note: From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern Divisions have been merged to form the new Southern Division.
Table 7 Establishments found underpaying 1979 to 1985 Divisions 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 London (East) 431 495 440 391 441 324 298 London (West) 249 259 270 294 339 354 357 South East 521 769 749 764 871 703 670 Southern 585 576 450 441 494 475 556 Eastern 685 941 848 726 727 914 688 South West 1,010 1,201 1,070 954 1,078 1,033 929 Midlands (East) 634 771 623 532 573 534 430 Midlands (West) 605 674 598 666 543 552 712 North West (East) 946 879 613 648 704 560 529 North West (West) 1,115 1,060 688 652 865 886 804 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,156 1,119 871 964 941 1,026 818 Northern 893 902 736 552 630 721 815 Scotland (East) 710 687 529 515 525 480 488 Scotland (West) 597 750 556 349 389 365 361 Wales 832 1,071 1,033 821 722 534 609 Totals 10,969 12,154 10,074 9,269 9,842 9,461 9,064 360W361W
Table 8 Establishments found to be underpaying 1986 to 1992 Divisions 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 London 608 270 317 229 172 294 425 South East 646 503 537 478 313 413 385 Eastern 974 405 462 432 271 213 283 South West 832 961 1,156 960 909 893 1,076 Midlands 943 525 747 822 749 835 979 North West 1,397 541 869 1,104 1,124 1,083 1,256 Yorkshire and Humberside 805 511 631 569 593 792 875 Northern 844 404 369 387 455 711 892 Scotland 656 323 509 547 619 737 847 Wales 500 — — — — — — Great Britain 8,205 4,443 5,597 5,528 5,205 5,971 7,018 Notes:
(1) The statistics of underpayment have been separated into two tables because the divisional boundaries were changed in 1986.
(2) From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern Divisions have merged to form the new Southern Division.
Table 9 Establishments found failing to post wages council notices 1992 Divisions Wages councils London South East East South West Midlands North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain Aerated waters 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Clothing manufacturing 37 12 0 5 49 24 14 5 6 152 Boot and shoe repairing 7 3 1 18 1 5 1 2 1 39 Button manufacturing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coffin furniture and cerement making 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 Cotton waste reclamation 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Flax and hemp 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fur 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 General waste materials reclamation 0 2 0 0 2 1 5 2 1 13 Hairdressing 158 43 40 110 72 107 109 64 92 795 Hat, cap and millinery 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lace finishing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Laundry 3 2 2 9 4 6 7 1 8 42 Linen and cotton handkerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Made-up textiles 0 1 0 5 0 0 1 2 0 9 Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Perambulator and invalid carriage 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Retail bespoke tailoring 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 Rope, twine and net 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 Sack and bag 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Toy manufacturing 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 Retail trades (non-food) 203 170 134 329 367 402 278 173 191 2,247 Retail food and allied trades 237 188 161 412 404 525 478 397 368 3,170 Licensed non-residential establishments 74 65 70 244 246 222 133 169 187 1,410 Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 77 40 75 170 103 136 87 105 114 907 Unlicensed place of refreshment 120 70 50 159 142 141 103 57 62 904 TOTAL 919 597 535 1,468 1,394 1,569 1,216 979 1,031 9,708 362W363W
Table 10 Establishments found failing to keep adequate records of wages paid 1992 Divisions Wages councils London South East East South West Midlands North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain Aerated waters 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Clothing manufacturing 6 5 0 1 2 0 3 0 0 17 Boot and shoe repairing 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 Button manufacturing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coffin furniture and cerement making 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cotton waste reclamation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Flax and hemp 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 General waste materials reclamation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hairdressing 9 8 1 21 9 19 14 22 7 110 Hat, cap and millinery 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lace finishing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Laundry 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 4
Divisions Wages councils London South East East South West Midlands North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain Linen and cotton handkerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Made-up textiles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Perambulator and invalid carriage 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Retail bespoke tailoring 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 Rope, twine and net 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sack and bag 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Toy manufacturing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Retail trades (non-food) 11 42 14 78 42 74 25 31 27 344 Retail food and allied trades 47 83 19 109 77 149 124 141 139 888 Licensed non-residential establishments 12 25 11 52 32 64 21 38 22 277 Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 4 20 6 36 6 27 9 9 10 127 Unlicensed place of refreshment 23 38 7 49 16 30 20 18 10 211 TOTAL 113 223 59 348 184 363 216 259 217 1,982 364W365W
Table 11 Establishments found failing to keep adequate records of hours worked 1992 Divisions Wages councils London South East East South West Midlands North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain Aerated waters 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Clothing manufacturers 20 11 0 2 26 15 10 1 5 90 Boot and shoe repairing 0 4 1 4 0 6 0 1 2 18 Button manufacturing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coffin furniture and cerement making 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cotton waste reclamation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Flax and hemp 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 General waste materials reclamation 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 2 6 Hairdressing 73 83 32 121 85 87 119 101 136 837 Hat, cap and millinery 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lace finishing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Laundry 2 1 1 7 1 2 1 0 5 20 Linen and cotton hankerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Made-up textiles 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Perambulator and invalid carriage 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Retail bespoke tailoring 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 Rope, twine and net 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Sack and bag 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Toy manufacturing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Retail trades (non-food) 75 212 78 242 232 239 199 148 176 1,601 Retail food and allied trades 121 242 118 289 293 725 391 369 350 2,898 Licensed non-residential establishments 42 96 67 200 164 156 85 176 165 1,151 Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 42 65 60 140 62 120 72 83 99 743 Unlicensed place of refreshment 77 83 38 105 78 85 58 48 51 623 TOTAL 452 799 396 1,112 944 1,435 936 930 992 7,996
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many underpayments of wages were detected in each year since 1979.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe information requested is provided in the following table:
Year Number of underpayments of wages detected 1979 23,223 1980 29,314 1981 25,482 1982 20,406 1983 20,832 1984 18,043 1985 16,948 1986 15,533 1987 9,129 1988 10,860 1989 11,066 1990 11,129 1991 12,812 1992 14,779
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many workers were covered by wages councils in 1992; and if he will make a statement on the results of wages council checks.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythIt is estimated that the number of workers covered by wages councils in 1992 was 2,561,000. The checks made by the wages inspectorate show that most employers covered by wages councils were paying wages council rates.