House of Fraser, Schuh and Waterstones are among more than 200 employers across the country who broke minimum wage laws when paying staff, according to a new report from the UK Government.
The businesses were named as among the 208 firms, including 19 in Scotland, that failed to pay around £1.2 million to their workers, breaking national minimum wage laws, leaving about 12,000 workers out of pocket, the UK Government said.
Minister for Labour Markets Paul Scully, said: "We want workers to know that we're on their side and they must be treated fairly by their employers, which is why paying the legal minimum wage should be non-negotiable for businesses.”
He continued: "Today's 208 businesses, whatever their size, should know better than to short-change hard-working employees, regardless of whether it was intentional or not.
"With Christmas fast approaching, it's more important than ever that cash is not withheld from the pockets of workers. So don't be a scrooge - pay your staff properly."
The most common problem among the named companies was that they deducted money from staff's wages to pay for expenses such as work uniforms.
About 37 per cent of businesses fell into this trap.
Meanwhile, 29 per cent did not pay for mandatory training, trial shifts or travel time, 16 per cent did not pay enough to apprentices, and 11 per cent did not increase what they paid staff when the minimum wage was hiked, or paid younger workers at the wrong rate.
House of Fraser failed to pay over £16,000 to 354 workers, Schuh failed to pay £807 to 39 staff and Waterstones failed to pay nearly £8,700 to 58 staff.
The current House of Fraser owner, Frasers Group, said that the claims come from before it bought House of Fraser in 2018.
It said: "In short, these breaches are historic and relate to the activities of the old House of Fraser company that is now in administration and is nothing at all to do with any activities of the new House of Fraser business that is owned by Frasers Group."
Low Pay Commission chair Bryan Sanderson said: "The minimum wage is a success story welcomed by employees and employers alike, but it only works if everyone without exception obeys the law.
"We hope this latest naming round can continue to raise awareness of the most common mistakes businesses make and help protect low-paid workers from unfair treatment."
Trades Union Congress general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Every worker deserves fair pay for their work.
"There's no excuse for not paying the minimum wage. Firms who cheat staff out of their hard-earned money deserve to be named and shamed.
"We also need to see prosecutions and higher fines for the most serious offenders, especially those who deliberately flout the law. Minimum wage underpayment is still far too common in Britain."
The Uk Government said it is determined to make work pay, having recently announced a significant rise to the National Living Wage from April 2022.
This will lead to a pay rise for some of the lowest paid workers in the UK, with workers on the National Living Wage seeing a 6.6% increase to £9.50 an hour.
This is the biggest increase to the National Living Wage since its introduction, which the UK Government says will keep it on track to achieve its manifesto commitment for the National Living Wage to equal two-thirds of median earnings by 2024.
More details about the list can be found on the GOV.UK website here.
Get the latest money-saving and benefits news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our weekly Money newsletter here.
