HMRC investigation reveals 191 employers failed to pay minimum wage

Following an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), 191 businesses have been called out for failing to meet minimum wage requirements and underpaying employees. 

More than 34,000 workers were found to be owed cumulatively £2.1 million. The employers at fault have been made to pay back what they owed to workers, and were fined an additional £3.2 million for the breaches.

The government released a list of the employers in an attempt to “name and shame” them, serving as a warning for other firms to stay on the right side of wage laws. Among the firms called out were cosmetics retailer The Body Shop and department store John Lewis.

The breaches occurred between 2011 and 2018. Of the companies listed, HMRC found that 47 per cent wrongly deducted pay from workers’ wages for expenses like the cost of uniforms.  A third of employers failed to pay employees for the full time they worked, while 19 per cent were found to have paid an incorrect apprenticeship rate.

In releasing the list, the government acknowledged that underpayments to employees can often be unintentional, but stressed it’s the responsibility of each business to make sure their wages are accurate.

Business Minister Paul Scully said the penalties imposed were intended to show that employers who short-change workers won’t get off lightly.

“Our minimum wage laws are there to ensure a fair day’s work gets a fair day’s pay – it is unacceptable for any company to come up short,” Mr Scully said.

Firms that have been found to have underpaid workers face hefty financial penalties of up to 200 per cent of arrears, capped at £20,000 per worker, paid to the government. 

Since 2015, the government reports that it has ordered employers to repay over £100 million to 1 million workers.