More than 200 companies have been named by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) for failing to pay the minimum wage. They include WH Smith Retail Holdings Ltd which failed to pay over £1 million to 17,607 workers and Lloyds Pharmacy Ltd for failing to pay £903,307 to 7916 workers.
As well as these major high street brands, others listed include small businesses and sole traders, in a clear message the Government said that no employer is exempt from paying their workers the statutory minimum wage.
Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, Kevin Hollinrake, said: “Paying the legal minimum wage is non-negotiable and all businesses, whatever their size, should know better than to short-change hard-working staff. Most businesses do the right thing and look after their employees, but we’re sending a clear message to the minority who ignore the law: pay your staff properly or you’ll face the consequences.”
The businesses named in the new list have since paid back what they owe to their staff and also faced financial penalties. Of those listed, 39% had deducted pay from workers’ wages, the same percentage had failed to pay workers correctly for their working time and 21% had paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate. Whilst not all minimum wage underpayments are intentional, the DBT noted, it emphasised that there is no excuse for underpaying workers.
Lessons for employers
In its ‘Educational Briefing’ that accompanied this round of naming and shaming, the government identified some of the common causes of unpaid working time, including:
- Requiring compulsory attendance at team meetings, but not paying for it
- Waiting or downtime such as waiting for a job to start or time spent travelling
- Time spent in training, including basic training when starting a new role
- ‘Sleep-in shifts’, where workers are: are contractually obliged to spend a shift at or near their workplace, usually at night but it could be during the day OR are expected to sleep for all or most of that shift OR are woken if required to undertake a specific work activity. Note that pay is only due for the time spent actually working, and not when asleep
- Time spent putting on/removing Personal Protective Clothing/Equipment
- Time spent passing through security checks on entry and exit or at team shift handovers
- Time spent attending to opening and closing duties, cashing up or stocktaking
You are advised to review your contracts of employment and working practices in order to reduce the risk of underpayment and to your business’ reputation.
