Employment Bill [HL]

The thrust of my argument is that we have to get the—I hope, rarely pursued—criminality provisions in kilter with the current, successfully working civil aspect of the National Minimum Wage Act. By the way, I was not in the Caribbean, but Saudi Arabia. I got back yesterday morning, and I am off to Thailand next week. There have been two criminal prosecutions, both successful. The first prosecution was against Teresa Aguda, sole director of Rascals Day Nursery. Ms Aguda pleaded guilty before Walthamstow magistrates’ court in August last year to a single offence of obstruction, contrary to Section 31(5)(a) of the NMW Act. She was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay costs of £500—this was for a criminal, not a civil, offence. The second case was against Torbay Council. The council pleaded guilty before Torquay magistrates’ court on 1 October 2007 to a single offence of neglecting to furnish information contrary to Section 31(5)(b) of the Act. The council was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £500. The Act is trying to bring into sync the civil side, where the financial aspect is taken more seriously, and the criminal side, which has fallen behind.