Attitudes towards National Minimum Wage enforcement

This requirement was advertised against BIS Research & Evaluation Framework CR150025, LOT3.

https://www.uksbs.co.uk/services/procure/Pages/ResearchandEvaluation.aspx

BEIS has reviewed the existing enforcement evidence base, and has identified a number of areas where further research would add value. These areas include the extent to which employers and workers across the wider labour market are aware of enforcement activity; the extent to which enforcement acts as a deterrent for other non-compliant employers; and the extent to which the current enforcement approach prompts meaningful behaviour change.

We are therefore commissioning a piece of qualitative research - specifically a series of four focus groups - to understand employers' and workers' views of the current NMW enforcement approach; the extent to which it is effective at prompting behaviour change; and whether there are any further improvements which can be made.

The research will feed into the wider evidence base of the BEIS NMW team, and will contribute towards a broader enforcement evaluation.

The overarching objectives of the research are therefore...

• To understand the extent to which employers and workers are aware of current NMW enforcement measures
• To understand whether NMW enforcement impacts employers' behaviour and drives behaviour change
• To establish employer views of the penalty system under the current enforcement approach, and the extent to which it is proportionate
• To seek employer views on the effectiveness of the current NMW enforcement model, and whether there are ways in which it can be improved.