John Lewis, Pret A Manger and The Body Shop have been named and shamed by the Government for failing to pay their staff the minimum wage.
The Business Department today publishes a list of 191 companies which have underpaid workers, including some household names.
In total, the list of breaches between 2011 and 2018 resulted in firms paying back £2.1million to more than 34,000 workers. They were also hit with fines of £3.2million.
Ministers said that making the list public will help ensure employers that short-change workers won t get off lightly .
John Lewis, which also owns Waitrose, failed to pay £941,355 to more than 19,000 staff because of a policy of averaging pay to part-time workers to help them budget
BBC News
Published
image sourceGetty Images
Pret, McColls and Welcome Break are among almost 200 firms named and shamed by the government for not paying workers the minimum wage.
In total, 191 companies investigated between 2011 and 2018 failed to pay £2.1m to more than 34,000 workers.
The businesses were made to pay back the money as well as being fined £3.2m.
Pret, McColls and Welcome Break said the underpayments were historic errors and staff had been swiftly reimbursed.
Nearly half of the breaches involved firms deducting pay from wages, for things like uniforms and expenses. Others failed to pay for all the time staff worked or paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate.
Firms ‘named and shamed’ over minimum wages
Companies ‘named and shamed’ for not paying minimum wages (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Football clubs, retailers, hairdressers and cleaning contractors are among 191 businesses “named and shamed” by the Government for breaking the minimum wage law.
A total of £2.1 million was found to be owed to more than 34,000 workers following investigations by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs dating back to 2011.
Named employers have been made to pay back what they owed, and were fined an additional £3.2 million.
Businesses named by the Government include retail giant John Lewis, which said it was “surprised and disappointed” to be on the list released by the Business Department.
John Lewis and Body Shop among 191 firms shamed for breaking minimum wage
The Government has issued a list of companies that failed to pay employees properly
File photo dated 15/6/2020 of a John Lewis store.
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