Government names and shames employers over National Minimum Wage

Employers who owe their workers thousands of pounds for failing to pay them the National Minimum Wage (NMW) have been named by Business Minister Jo Swinson.

This follows research from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which urges workers to check their payslips to ensure they are being paid at least the National Minimum Wage.

This week, a further 25 employers who failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage have been named under the revised naming scheme – introduced in October 2013. The scheme was revised to make it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with minimum wage rules. Between them they owe workers a total of over £89,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £36,000.

The government has already named 30 employers since the new regime came into force. They had total arrears of over £50,000 and total penalties of over £24,000

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Business Minister Jo Swinson said:

Paying less than the minimum wage is wrong and illegal. Employers need to know that they will face tough consequences if they break the law.

All workers are entitled to the minimum wage. This isn’t a generous gesture, this is the law. Government takes the enforcement of workers’ rights seriously and those who don’t pay will be named, shamed and fined.

If anyone suspects they are not being paid the wage they are legally entitled to, they can call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline for free and confidential advice and to make a complaint.

Employers who are unsure of National Minimum Wage rules can also get free advice via the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368 or by visiting www.gov.uk.

The government has introduced a series of tougher measures to crack down on employers that break National Minimum Wage law. As well as being publicly named and shamed, employers that fail to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage also face penalties of up to £20,000.

The government is also legislating through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill so that this penalty can be applied to each underpaid worker rather than per employer.

The 25 employers named today are:

• The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham, neglected to pay £25,553.40 to 16 workers
• Walsall FC Community Programme, Walsall, neglected to pay £9,353.63 to 6 workers
• KIG (Nottm) Ltd, trading as Little Bears Day Nursery Nottingham, neglected to pay £9,298.86 to 2 workers
• Narvida Ltd, Dunfermline, neglected to pay £7,629.00 to 8 workers
• Associates Hair, Body and Mind Ltd, Durham, neglected to pay £5,349.79 to 6 workers
• Worthingtons The Salon Ltd, Reading, neglected to pay £5,054.89 to a worker
• Heropreneurs, Suffolk, neglected to pay £4,374.84 to a worker
• Gurdal Ltd trading as Lyng Pharmacy, West Bromwich, neglected to pay £4,120.94 to a worker
• Mrs Christine O’Mara, Mr Terry Krause & Mr Anthony O’Mara trading as Discount Sports, Rotherham, neglected to pay £3,475.94 to 5 workers
• Civil Defence Supply Ltd, Lincoln, neglected to pay £3,454.80 to a worker
• Ms J Bonaldi trading as Glow Hair Boutique, Prestwick, neglected to pay £3,295.63 to a worker
• Mr Terence Brown, trading as Twins Fruiterers, Sunderland, neglected to pay £2,140.82 to a worker
• The Gearbox Company Ltd, trading as South West Transmissions, Exeter, neglected to pay £1,524.22 to a worker
• Mr G Ieronimo, Mrs C Ieronimo & Mrs J Dean trading as Cutting Club, Cleethorpes, neglected to pay £835.76 to 9 workers
• Mrs J Norbury & Miss B Norbury, trading as Rare, Oldham, neglected to pay £671.86 to a worker
• Valentino’s Hair & Beauty Ltd, Rotherham, neglected to pay £655.70 to 2 workers
• Ms Tuyet Vo, trading as Modern Nails, Manchester, neglected to pay £604.74 to a worker
• Xios 1 Ltd, trading as L’Unico Richmond, neglected to pay £485.46 to a worker
• Mrs R Collins, trading as Somtum Thai Takeaway Cafe, Dorset, neglected to pay £418.59 to a worker
• Premier Autos (Hednesford) Ltd, Staffordshire, neglected to pay £339.12 to a worker
• Armonia Ltd, trading as Armonia Health & Beauty Treatment & Training Centre, Doncaster, neglected to pay £286.12 to 6 workers
• TopCon Construction Ltd, Grimsby, neglected to pay £276.02 to a worker
• Danhouse Security Ltd, Surrey neglected to pay £161.83 to 2 workers
• Rucola Ltd, Amersham, neglected to pay £130.29 to 2 workers
• Ms D Perry, trading as Dog in a Doublet, Peterborough, neglected to pay £108.97 to 3 workers

The 25 cases named were thoroughly investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after workers made complaints to the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline.