Ms Esther Lynch:

It is really good that the commission will hear from low-paid workers but what protection will we give them when they come forward and tell their stories? The committee can take it from me that many employers will not be very happy when their workers come forward and describe what happens to them. For example, those on zero hours contracts will not be protected. They could show up for work the next day and end up with very few, if any, hours of work. Let us not be naïve and think this does not happen. If we are asking people to come forward and tell us their stories, it is incumbent upon us to protect them from penalisation.

We need to send a strong message about the importance of people complying with national minimum wage law. One way we could do this is to say that any commissioner who did not comply with the national minimum wage law would be removed. This would send out a strong message about how seriously we take compliance with national minimum wage law.