We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to to investigate Scientology organisations operating in the UK to ensure the National Minimum Wage is being paid to their employees.”
Details of Petition:
“In view of the accounts of working conditions that are being told on the Internet by ex-Scientology staff members, we request the Government and HM Revenue & Customs investigate Scientology organisations operating in the UK, to ensure the National Minimum Wage Act of 1998 is being followed by Scientology employers. We also request that HMRC ensures that UK Scientology employers pay arrears to any employee since 1998, who was not paid the National Minimum Wage according to the legislation. We also request that the Government investigate the working hours and conditions of Scientology employees and ensure compliance with Employment Legislation and that their rights as employees and human beings are not being violated.”
· Read the petition
· Petitions homepage
Read the Government’s response
The Government takes complaints about failure of employers to pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforces the NMW under a Service Level Agreement with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). Under the terms of the Agreement, HMRC provide information, inspection and enforcement services, and respond to enquiries and complaints from workers, employers and third parties to help ensure that employers comply with the minimum wage legislation.
If in the course of an investigation HMRC believe that the law has been breached, then the amount of arrears in question will be quantified and the employer asked to pay. An individual can also take their own case to an Employment Tribunal or civil court.
HMRC also have a legal duty of confidentiality towards their customers. For NMW, this includes employers and their workers. This means that HMRC cannot disclose details of cases to those who report alleged instances of non-complaint employers.
Furthermore, all workers who rely on their rights under the Working Time Regulations are protected from unfair dismissal or detriment through The Employment Rights Act 1996. This Act confers an express right to seek redress through complaint to an Employment Tribunal for workers whose employer fails to follow the Working Time Regulations. In addition to individual enforcement before an Employment Tribunal, the Working Time Regulations are also enforced by the Health and Safety Commission, through the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), or local authority Environmental Health Departments in respect of the limits on working time and health assessment requirements.
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