Iceland Foods in minimum wage rift with HMRC
Supermarket chain Iceland Foods is vowing to fight an HMRC ruling that could cost the Deeside-based firm £21m.
Chief executive Sir Malcolm Walker has described the tax man’s stance as “just madness”.
It relates to a company savings scheme that allows workers to voluntarily set aside money from their wages, which they can claim back later, mostly around Christmas time
But HMRC insists that the payments mean staff are technically falling below the minimum wage.
Sir Malcolm Walker said he will fight the interpretation which, if applied, could cost the group a bill of £21m.
A report in the Times says HMRC claims the alleged uderpayment was around £3.5m a year, for six years. Iceland could face a fine double the amount of the alleged underpayment.
Sir Malcolm has reportedly prepared a document called ‘The Campaign for Common Sense’ which focuses on the amount of bureaucracy that he claims affects businesses.
We’re proud to have paid £1.4 billion in UK taxes over the last 13 years, and have always tried to Do The Right Thing for our own people. At a time when the UK high street is under unprecedented pressure, this is idiotic. A response would be nice @PhilipHammondUK @HMRCgovuk pic.twitter.com/Eim1ybsp72
— Richard Walker (@IcelandRichard) January 2, 2019
Iceland managing director Richard Walker Tweets on the row
The company is due to meet junior business minister Kelly Tolhurst in the coming weeks and Sir Malcolm said he was “confident we will get a positive outcome”.
HMRC has also told Iceland that its policy on footwear breaches minimum wage rules.
It says staff should be compensated for shoes bought for work, because Iceland had issued guidance saying “sensible shoes” should be worn by shop floor staff.
HMRC said it did not comment on individual cases.
