21/02/2017
Failure to pay £134,800 to 11,858 employees makes Debenhams Retail plc by far the most prolific offender among 359 businesses who have been ’named and shamed’ by the Dept for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for failing to pay workers the national minimum or national living wage.
Retailers, hairdressers and hospitality businesses all figure prominently in the list, which is the longest ever published by the government and the first to name and shame firms which underpaid the national living wage. As well as recovering arrears for some of the UK’s lowest paid workers, HM Revenue & Customs also issued penalties worth around £800,000.
‘Naming Round 160217’ (Excel) identifies businesses which, between them, underpaid 15,513 workers a total of £994,685. Their most popular strategies for failing to meet their statutory obligations relating to pay included
- using tips to top up pay
- docking workers’ wages to pay for their Christmas party
- making staff pay for their own uniforms out of their salary
To help avoid appearing on the next list, businesses can check up on the increases in national minimum and national living wage that come into effect from 1 April at ‘A step up in pay’.