8 Unpaid Britain: Challenges of Enforcement and Wage Recovery

Abstract

As a comparative contribution to a volume dealing with employment rights enforcement (or Employment Standards - ES) in Ontario, this chapter summarises to position in Britain, with particular reference to unpaid wages. Section one offers an overview of ES in Britain. Setting the context for the enforcement gap, section two surveys recent developments in the British labour market, revealing deepening insecurity among workers. Section three then explores issues surrounding ES enforcement, highlighting key actors and methods involved in the realisation of these rights and entitlements; it emphasises drivers of the enforcement gap including impediments workers face in initiating a complaint, the low recovery of wages due to workers, and a persistent emphasis on soft-law compliance-oriented enforcement strategies. By way of conclusion, the chapter offers suggestions for improved enforcement in Britain.