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The government will toughen enforcement against employers who do not pay the national minimum wage today when it writes to hundreds of companies warning them they could be targeted for on-the-spot checks by the taxman. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will warn 200 businesses who have advertised placements for unpaid internships that they could be "publicly named and shamed" and may be liable for a £5,000 fine if they are found to be in breach of national minimum wage laws. The move will coincide with the launch of a national campaign to educate students about their employment rights as they enter the job market. HMRC said that from the tax year in April, it had issued penalties to 466 employers, a significant rifrom 2009/10 when just 381 employers were issued with an HMRC penalty for not paying the minimum wage, currently at £6.31 for those aged 21 and over. | 
