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Gig Economy

Asked by Maureen BurkeLabourDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 1 July 2026UIN 12551

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to enforce the National Living Wage within the gig economy and delivery-app sectors.

Answered by Kate Dearden

The Government is clear that all workers entitled to the National Minimum Wage should receive it, and all businesses, including those in the gig economy, must meet their legal obligations. This is why we have created the Fair Work Agency to bring enforcement functions together and make employment rights enforcement more effective.

Since 1999, the government has returned over £200 million to 1.5 million underpaid workers. In 2024/25, NMW investigations in Scotland returned close to £330,000 to nearly 1,000 workers, with employers fined £240,000 in total.

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