Up-market restaurant named and shamed in minimum wage crackdown
AN up-market North Yorkshire restaurant is among a list of companies that have been named and shamed for not paying the minimum wage.
Government details show the General Tarleton, in Ferrensby near Knaresborough, had owed six workers just over £300.
Another 69 employers were also named as part of a government crackdown.
The employers named by Business Minister Jo Swinson bring the overall to 162.
Between them, these 70 employers owed workers a total of over £157,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £70,000.
The government has already named 92 employers since the new naming regime came into force in October 2013. They had total arrears of over £316,000 and total penalties of over £111,000.
To support the minimum wage crackdown, the government will also be increasing HMRC’s £9.2m enforcement budget by a further £3m, helping to fund more than 70 extra compliance officers.
The current National Minimum Wage rates are:
adult rate (21 and over) – £6.50 per hour
18 to 20 year olds – £5.13 per hour
16 to 17 year olds – £3.79 per hour
apprentice rate – £2.73 per hour
Ms Swinson said: “Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal, immoral and completely unacceptable. Naming and shaming gives a clear warning to employers who ignore the rules, that they will face reputational consequences as well as financial penalties of up to £20,000 if they don’t pay the minimum wage.
“We’re working hard in areas where we know there are particular problems, like the care sector, to make sure staff are paid fairly for the hard work they do.
“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.
“We are helping workers recover the hundreds of thousands of pounds in pay owed to them as well as raising awareness to make sure workers are paid fairly in the first place.”
Other Yorkshire companies named and shamed include:
Mrs Shirley Elvin trading as Seaton Garage & Engineering Co, Hull, neglected to pay £4,840.31 to a worker
Stafforce Personnel Ltd, Rotherham, neglected to pay £3,044.79 to 63 workers
Mancroft Ltd, Leeds, neglected to pay £1,172.97 to three workers
Mr S Partridge & Ms M Shead trading as Cobblers Fine Sandwiches & Pastries, Wakefield, neglected to pay £1,003.83 to a worker
Mrs S Walker trading as Alleyways Fish & Chips, Scarborough, neglected to pay £601.59 to a worker
Mr H Singleton trading as Willowbank Builders, Huddersfield, neglected to pay £163.89 to a worker
Faster Fit Tyres Ltd, Scunthorpe, neglected to pay £719.30 to a worker.
