Four Welsh employers have been 'named and shamed' by the UK Government for failing to pay the minimum wage.
The four companies are among 208 from around the UK who between them underpaid more than 12,000 workers by a combined £1.2m, according to the new UK government investigation published on December 8.
Investigated between 2014 and 2019, the offending companies range in size from small businesses to large multinationals who employ thousands of people across the UK.
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The Welsh companies named in the investigation by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Low Pay Commission are from Newport, Monmouthshire, Cardiff and Conwy.
They are:
- Mr Charles Edward Bateman, trading as The Hunters Moon Inn, Monmouthshire, failed to pay £4,874 to four workers between October 2015 and April 2018
- Premier Forest Products Limited, Newport, failed to pay £798 to 2 workers between October 2014 and October 2017
- Clive Jones Motors Ltd (dissolved Janauary 28 2020) failed to pay £3,817 to one worker between February 2017 and June 2018
- Golden Sands Holiday Camp (Rhyl) Limited, Conwy, failed to pay £1,208 to five workers between August 2013 and August 2018
All the businesses named by the government have been approached for comment.
A spokesperson for Premier Forest Group said: “We are frustrated and disappointed that HMRC has decided to ‘name and shame’ us in this public way about two historical minor incidences where the arrears were paid as soon as we noticed them.
"Premier Forest Group is a substantial business with hundreds of staff employed across a number of sites, and is widely acknowledged for paying its staff typically 29 per cent above the industry average. Our staff are Premier’s most valuable asset.”
Big names such as House of Fraser, Schuh and Waterstones were also some of the employers across the UK who broke the minimum wage laws.
Among the ways in which workers were underpaid were deductions that reduce minimum wage pay such as leaving workers out of pocket to comply with the dress code, unpaid working time for things like mandatory training.
It also includes trial shifts or travel time, failing to pay the correct rate to apprentices, and not increasing National Minimum Wage pay in line with government rises, or paying the wrong minimum wage rate, e.g. paying a 23-year-old the 21-22-year-old rate.
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% of businesses fell into this trap.
Meanwhile, 29% did not pay for mandatory training, trial shifts or travel time, 16% did not pay enough to apprentices and 11% did not increase what they paid staff when the minimum wage was hiked, or paid younger workers at the wrong rate.
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 - which are paid to the government. Each of the companies named has paid back their workers, and were forced to pay financial penalties.
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.”
“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.”
Since 2015, the budget for minimum wage enforcement has doubled with the government having ordered employers to repay over £100 million to 1 million workers.
HMRC considers all complaints from workers, so workers are being reminded to check their pay with advice available through the HMRC Check your pay website.
Bryan Sanderson, Chair of the Low Pay Commission 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.”
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