Commenting on the announcement from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills that from 1 July 2015 the government will limit claims for unlawful deductions of wages to a period of two years, UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said:
“This is a completely misguided panic measure from the government that will inadvertently hit workers on the lowest wages the hardest. It is completely wrong that in cases where workers have been illegally paid, they won’t be entitled to claim back all the money they are owed.
“Workers who are being paid less than the national minimum wage, or paid incorrectly over long periods of time, will only be able to make a claim going back two years. This effectively gives unscrupulous employers carte blanche to drive down pay to illegal levels with the threat of a just slap on the wrist, and provides no incentive for employers to ensure they are paying the correct wages.
“We are urging the government to recognise the detrimental effect that this will have on many employees and scrap this unfair law.”