Government names and shames firms which failed to pay minimum wage
THIRTY-SEVEN employers – including seven in Yorkshire – have been “named and shamed” for failing to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage.
Between the 37 employers, they owe workers a total of more than £177,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £51,000.
Well-known names on the list include retail giant H&M and service station operator Welcome Break.
The Yorkshire-based employers are:
• C J Hartley Ltd trading as Headwork, Sheffield, neglected to pay £4,762.64 to 4 workers.
• Louise Ross Trading as Luxe Salon, Leeds, neglected to pay £3,368.13 to a worker.
• Ms Dawn Platts trading as Level 2 Hair Studio, Barnsley, neglected to pay £1,186.89 to a worker.
• Myers and Family Ltd, Wakefield, neglected to pay £1.598.82 to a worker.
• HAE Automotive Services Ltd, Harrogate (ceased trading), neglected to pay £798.16 to a worker.
• Vision on Digital Ltd, Ossett, neglected to pay £683.86 to a worker.
• Century Motors (Sheffield) Ltd, Sheffield, neglected to pay £571.72 to a worker.
The government has already named 55 employers since the new naming regime came into force in October 2013. They had total arrears of over £139,000 and total penalties of more than £60,000.
HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) National Minimum Wage enforcement budget will be increased by a further £3m in 2015/16 – taking the total to £12.2m. The extra money will go towards increasing the number of HMRC compliance officers to identify businesses that exploit their workers by paying them below the National Minimum Wage.
Business minister Jo Swinson said: “Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal, immoral and completely unacceptable. If employers break this law they need to know that we will take tough action by naming, shaming and fining them as well as helping workers recover the hundreds of thousands of pounds in pay owed to them.
“We are also looking at what more we can do to make sure workers are paid fairly in the first place. As well as being publicly named and shamed, employers that fail to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage face penalties of up to £20,000. We are legislating through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill so that this penalty can be applied to each underpaid worker rather than per employer.”
The 37 cases named today were thoroughly investigated by HM Revenue & Customs after workers made complaints to the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline.
The current National Minimum Wage rates are:
* Adult rate (21 and over) – £6.50 per hour
* 18-20 year olds – £5.13 per hour
* 16-17 year olds – £3.79 per hour
* Apprentice rate – £2.73 per hour
The apprentice rate applies to apprentices aged 16-18 and those aged 19 and over who are in their first year. All other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage rate for their age.
