Employment Bill [Lords]

I do not believe that we have missed opportunities in this Bill. We have taken the opportunity to do two things—to strengthen the system for paying arrears to workers who are not paid the minimum wage and to strengthen the penalty regime for employers who do not pay the minimum wage. The Bill makes offences under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 triable in the Crown court as well as the magistrates court and strengthens the powers of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to investigate criminal offences. The aim of these provisions is to create a clearer deterrent to non-compliance with the minimum wage and to provide a fairer outcome for workers who have suffered a loss in real terms as a result of underpayment of the minimum wage.