£1.7 million owed to underpaid workers

The government has identified £1.7 million in back pay for 16,000 workers in the latest round of its ‘naming and shaming’ exercise identifying employers underpaying minimum wage rates. More workers than in any previous naming round have been identified as underpaid and 260 employers have been identified and fined a total of £1.3 million for underpaying the national minimum wage and national living wage rates.

Retail, hairdressing and hospitality businesses were among the most prolific offenders in the latest round, with common reasons for underpayment including a failure to pay workers for travelling between jobs, deducting money from wages to pay for uniforms and not paying for overtime worked. Since 2013, the naming scheme has identified £8 million in back pay for 58,000 workers, with 1,500 employers fined a total of £5 million. The ‘top five’ offenders (by amount of underpayment) in this round are: The Best Connection Group, Qualitycourse Limited, Primark Stores Ltd, SportsDirect.com and Edward Mackay Contractor Ltd.