TRADE unions demanded more powers to report minimum wage underpayment today after a new report said offending bosses should be punished harshly.

According to the report, published by the Resolution Foundation, the rate of underpayment for workers earning the legal minimum and aged over 25 has risen from one in five in 2016 to one in four last year.

However, there is only a one in eight chance of firms that break the law being caught.