17,000 care workers were paid below the legal rate of £9.50 an hour in the UK

The UK also has it's pools of extremely low paid workers. Surprise, surprise, this is going on your years and no-one knows how to correct the cronic understaffing. Every so often the Government anounce loads more money for the NHS and Soclal Services but it never goes where it's needed but to outsourced private companies. Surprise, surprise enforcement against illegal unpayments is lax, due to understaffing at HM Revenue & Customs.