23 June 2022 
Julia Ascott, Employment Taxes Specialist
Sleep-in shifts and naming/shaming regime are updated in National Minimum Wage: policy on enforcement, prosecutions and naming employers who break National Minimum Wage law.
Sleep-in shifts
Sleep-in shifts were highlighted in various cases in 2021 where employees who are sleeping but ‘on call’ need not be paid NMW whilst they are sleeping. But employees who should be working but are allowed to nap between tasks if no work is available should continue to be paid NMW.
Name and Shame Regime (NAS)
Once an investigation is completed, HMRC send details of NMW underpayments to BEIS. BEIS considers all cases where total arrears to workers is over £500, however, a lower threshold of £100 is used where employers have had NMW failures in the past. The policy states that whilst employers can make representations to BEIS to be removed from NAS under the exceptional circumstances rules, these are rarely accepted.
