PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Entertainments: Pay (23 March 2015)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 5.27 of the Low Pay Commission Report 2015, if he will take steps alongside stakeholders in the entertainment industry to produce and publish national minimum wage guidance for that sector.

Asked by:
Kerry McCarthy (Labour)

We are committed to improving compliance with the National Minimum Wage. We do not currently have plans to publish guidance for individual sectors; however we will carefully consider the Low Pay Commissions (LPC) recommendations.

We continue to work with the LPC and HMRC to ensure we provide clear and comprehensive information on the minimum wage rules, particularly in those sectors with complex ways of working. We will work with our stakeholders, including the entertainment industry, to make further improvements to the clarity of National Minimum Wage guidance and consider whether sector-specific guidance is necessary.

To date, we have improved the clarity of the National Minimum Wage regulations by consolidating the numerous amendments made since 1999 and making it easier for employers to understand the rules. These will come into force on 6 April.

We have listened to stakeholders and have recognised that employers and workers also value official guidance. We have published detailed guidance on calculating the National Minimum Wage which is available on Gov.uk. This guidance aims to equip employers with the information they need to ensure they pay their workers the statutory minimum.

We have also improved the information available on gov.uk on the National Minimum Wage rules, including:

· The current and future National Minimum Wage rates

· The Worker checklist

· Work experience and internships

· The increased penalty for breaching National Minimum Wage

· The revised Criteria for Naming and shaming employers who breach National Minimum Wage legislation.

Employers and workers can access further guidance by contacting the Acas Helpline online at: www.acas.org.uk/helplineonline or by phone on 0300 123 1100.

Answered by:
Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat)
26 March 2015