National Minimum Wage investigations

Our specialist HMRC Minimum Wage investigation team regularly assists employers who are facing HMRC investigations, and is also on hand to review your existing practices and procedures in order to ensure legal compliance – minimising the risk of your organisation being fined/prosecuted and publicly ‘named and shamed’.

With offices in Leeds, Sheffield and York, we have a team of  regulatory and corporate defence experts ready to talk to you. To speak to a member of our NMW team, call 0333 323 5292 enquiry form and we will get back to you shortly.

In recent years, the government has put a great deal of effort and money into enforcing the National Minimum Wage.

If a complaint is made, this will trigger an HMRC investigation into the employer’s business. HMRC compliance officers can carry out inspections at any time, and will require employers to produce records and other information.  The compliance officer will often interview the employer, either in a meeting or by telephone, and may interview payroll staff and other workers.  In more serious cases, HMRC can carry out dawn raids, giving an employer very little time to formulate a response.

Too often we advise businesses which have dealt with an alleged breach of the NMW Regulations and an HMRC investigation without the benefit of early specialist legal advice, only to discover that something has been said or done which later prejudices our ability to put forward a good defence to the alleged breach.

It is essential that any organisations facing HMRC investigations take advice at the earliest possible opportunity in order to avail themselves of the best possible defence.  With this in mind, our NMW rapid team, headed by Jeremy Scott, can be contacted 24/7 on 07971 520 407 without any obligation.  Employers often have in place insurance to cover the legal and other professional costs of HMRC investigations.

Lupton Fawcett fields a specialist NMW team comprised of leading employment lawyers and regulatory lawyers who are nationally recognised for their expertise.  The team has wide experience in advising employers facing HMRC investigations into alleged NMW breaches.

In circumstances where the investigation has started, we can actively manage the HMRC investigation and your response, to ensure the best possible outcome for your business.  In particular, we can obtain disclosure of the HMRC case, assist you in your disclosure of documentation, as well as represent you during HMRC investigation interviews.

We can also assist you in appealing a Notice of Underpayment and/or making representations against naming.  Even better, we can carry out a health check for you now to ensure that you are paying the correct NMW rate, and that your supporting contractual documentation is in the correct format.

We fully understand the importance of protecting your business and of protecting your reputation.

The earlier you take professional advice once you have become aware that your business may have a problem with NMW, the greater the likelihood that the outcome will be one which does not have severe financial and reputational consequences for your business.

We have experienced regulatory defence solicitors, headed by Jeremy Scott,  ready to answer your enquiries about any regulatory law issues via email or telephone. He has substantial expertise in defending tax investigations with particular reference to the powers of the HMRC to investigate National Minimum Wage allegations.