It is HMRC that enforces the minimum wage. The background is simple: until now, a special dispensation has meant overnight carers have been paid less than half the minimum wage. It seems entirely right that HMRC is now demanding that employers cough up the maximum of six years’ back pay. Councils will try to find other providers; but carers would still – rightly – be entitled to back pay. The truth is that the ferocious seven-year squeeze on the cost of social care is simply unsustainable.

Source: The Guardian July 30, 2017 18:33 UTC