The TUC is warning that companies are advertising vacancies that pay below the minimum wage, on online job boards.
New research from the union body found 46 full-time jobs posted on the three sites (Reed, Indeed and CV-Library) on a single day in July that appear to pay less than the National Living Wage.
The TUC believes this could be the tip of the iceberg, with dozens of non-compliant jobs being posted on boards every week.
The union body is calling on the government to crack down on minimum wage breaches as part of its commitment to a New Deal for Working People; and to take robust action to ensure that those on internships are paid at least the national minimum wage.
TUC researchers sampled job adverts on three sites (Reed, Indeed, and CV-Library) on a single day in July. They found 46 jobs advertised as full-time that appear to pay less than the minimum wage.
The National Living Wage has been set at £11.44 per hour since 1 April 2024. A full-time worker earning the current rate of National Living Wage should be paid a minimum annual salary of £20,820.20 for a full-time role of 35 hours per week.
While workers aged under 21 can be paid lower rates of the minimum wage, advertising roles at lower rates potentially excludes older workers and could be unlawful due to indirect discrimination.
Minimum wage abuses do not only occur within contexts such as insecure or illegal employment. The Low Pay Commission estimates that 29% of jobs which pay at or below the minimum wage are salaried roles.
The prevalence of jobs advertised at less than the National Living Wage, suggesting that a growing number of salaried workers may now be experiencing underpayment, shows that a step change in enforcement is needed, says the TUC.
The government announced legislation in the King’s Speech to create a Fair Work Agency. This new body is expected to be a single inspectorate formed from the HMRC National Minimum Wage enforcement team, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate.
The TUC welcomes this move and says that to be effective the Fair Work Agency will also need significantly more inspectors than the current system, and stronger powers to punish employers who breach the law.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:
“Nobody should be cheated out of the pay they are owed by their employer. But our research has found that lots of employers are advertising jobs at less than the legal minimum wage.
“Workers are not the only victims. These pay cheats undercut all those good employers who do the right thing. And that creates unfair competition.
“The new Fair Work Agency is a chance for the government to crack down on offenders and ensure all workers are paid at least the legal minimum.”
