£6.7 million owed in back pay by employers who have breached NMW/NLW
08 January 2021
£6.7 million owed in back pay by employers who have breached NMW/NLW
- The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published its latest list “naming and shaming” 139 employers that failed to pay the National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) or the National Living Wage (“NLW”).
- The companies named were served a notice of underpayment between September 2016 and July 2018, following investigations by HMRC.
- Included in the list are major household names such as;
- Tesco, who failed to pay £5,096,946.13 to 78,199 workers,
- Superdrug, who failed to pay £15,228.57 to 2222 workers and
- Pizza Hut (U.K.) who failed to pay £845,936.41 to 10,980 workers.
- In total, offending firms failed to pay £6.7 million to a total of over 95,000 workers.
- Common errors amounting to breaches included low-paid employees being made to cover employment-related costs such as training, uniform or parking fees.
- Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage have to pay back arrears of wages to the worker at current minimum wage rates.
- They also face hefty financial penalties of up to 200% of arrears - capped at £10,000 per worker.
- BEIS stress that the publication of the list is intended to serve as a warning to rogue employers that the government will take action against those who fail to comply with the NMW/NLW.
To view the full list, click here.
Aspire comment:
It is vital that you take action to ensure that you are correctly paying the NMW or NLW that is due – do not wait for a HMRC enquiry. If you are concerned about whether you are meeting your NMW/NLW obligations as an employer, to ensure you are compliant with your obligations and avoid the financial and reputational risk of being on the next name and shame list, give Aspire a call on 0121 445 6178.