Clause 1 - Enforcement notices
National Minimum Wage (Enforcement Notices) Bill [Lords]
8:55 am
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham, Liberal Democrat)
We accepted on Second Reading that there was no fundamental dispute and we agreed with the spirit of the Bill. However, I asked on Second Reading whether the six-year limitation was necessary and I would like to pursue that in relation to new subsection (2B).
We are dealing with a small number of cases. Imagine if, 10 years hence, there were an extreme case of a company that had consistently underpaid for a decade. There might be an even more extreme case in which the employer lost all its records and the employee somehow managed to retain his. Why should there not be an open-ended commitment for an extreme case in which gross exploitation had occurred?
I do not fully understand the reason for the six-year limit. It seems unnecessary and would apply only to a small number of cases. By leaving things open, parties to the dispute would have a more open agenda. I cannot understand why the Government feel that it is necessary to introduce a cap.