The Know Daily - Wednesday 21 June 2023

_{Read in 5m 24s ∙ Listening to Arlo Parks}

UK-based period poverty charity UFULU has provided free menstrual cups to around 15,000 women and girls in Malawi via educational workshops since 2019. UFULU (which means freedom in Chichewa, a language spoken in Malawi) aims to support women and girls so they can go to work or school without pain or embarrassment. What a bloody good initiative ❣️

💰 Minimum wage woes

More than 200 firms have been collectively fined £7 million by the UK government over failing to pay their workers the legal minimum wage.

Tell me more.
As well as facing financial penalties, the businesses - which include fashion brands, hotels and car washes - must also reimburse workers for the breaches, most of which occurred from 2017 to 2019 and left around 63,000 people “out of pocket”.

The violations discovered by HMRC inspectors varied from “breaches related to asking workers to pay for aspects of their uniform to paying the incorrect apprenticeship rate”, said The Guardian.

Which firms are on the list?
WH Smith, Marks & Spencer and Argos are among the most prominent retailers to be named by the government. WH Smith is the worst offender, having failed to pay more than £1m to over 17,600 workers.

Those three companies all said that the breaches were “unintentional and had been swiftly remedied”, reported the BBC.

What has the government said?
Kevin Hollinrake, minister for enterprise, markets and small business, said there was “no excuse” for underpaying workers. “We’re sending a clear message to the minority who ignore the law: pay your staff properly or you’ll face the consequences,” he added.

The legal minimum wage for those aged 23 and over rose to £10.42 an hour in April, up from £9.50. The absolute minimum hourly rate is now £5.28, applying to apprentices or those under 18.