Employers named and shamed for National Minimum Wage breaches
Major West Midlands employers have been named by the Government for failing to pay the minimum wage.
524 businesses across the UK have been found to have failed to pay their workers nearly £16m in a clear breach of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) law, leaving over 172,000 workers out of pocket.
Those named in the list have since paid back what they owe to their staff and have also faced financial penalties of up to 200% of their underpayment. The investigations by HMRC concluded between 2015 and 2023.
For the West Midlands, 51 companies were named in the list with poultry processing firm Pilgrim’s Pride (formerly Tulip) paying back the most in the region. The Warwick firm has had to repay more than 2,600 workers their share of £597k.
Major pub operator Mitchells & Butlers has repaid £565k to more than 16,000 workers, whilst food manufacturer Kane Foods which is the largest private employer in Worcestershire has paid back £563k to just over 1,100 staff.
Dignity Funerals, acquired by Phoenix Asset Management Partners’ for £789m last year, has repaid £163k to 156 of its staff.
It comes as the National Living Wage is set to increase by 9.8% to £11.44 an hour on April 1, as announced in November’s Autumn statement.
Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business Kevin Hollinrake said: “Employees deserve to get paid properly for the hard work they put in.
“While the majority of businesses already do the right thing and pay their staff what they are owed, today’s announcement sends a message to the minority who aren’t – that there are repercussions to undercutting hard work from their staff.”
