WH Smith, M&S, and Argos were just some big names that have been called out for failing to pay staff the minimum wage.
The companies are among 200 others that have been "named and shamed" by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) for short-changing staff between 2017 and 2019, The Mirror reports. The list consists of well known companies as well as some smaller businesses across Merseyside.
The firms named will need to repay what they owe and will face penalties all amounting to nearly £7million as 63,000 workers were left "out of pocket". It is unclear how much WH Smith, M&S and Argos have paid in fines, but the Government said penalties amounted to up to 200% of the arrears owed reports the BBC.
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Business in and around Merseyside include Hickory's Smokehouse who have a location in West Kirkby. The company failed to pay £14,141.12 to 157 workers and the Warrington Wolves failed to pay £7,720.61 to 34 workers. WH Smith was found to be the worst offender, having failed to pay more than £1.2million to over 17,600 workers.
This shortfall was reportedly due to a new uniform policy which required employees to wear black trousers or skirts and shoes, but the company did not provide them. A WHSmith spokesperson told the Mirror it was a “genuine error” and workers had been reimbursed.
The spokesperson said: “Following a review with HMRC in 2019, and in common with a number of retailers, it was brought to our attention that we had misinterpreted how the statutory wage regulations were applied to our uniform policy for staff working in our stores. This was a genuine error and it was rectified immediately with all colleagues reimbursed in 2019.”
Lloyds Pharmacy was the second worst offender and this again centred around uniforms. The pharmacy chain underpaid 7,916 staff by a total of £903,307.
A spokesperson for the chain told The Times: “As soon as made aware, we acted quickly to notify affected colleagues and reimburse them. We also updated our policy to ensure it did not recur.”
The DBT report found M&S had failed to pay £578,391 to 5,363 of its staff. The upmarket supermarket and retailer said the error came from not paying temporary staff quickly enough but that it “was remedied as soon as we became aware of the issue”.
An M&S spokesperson told the Mirror: “Like many other organisations, M&S is only named in the NMW list because of an unintentional technical issue from over four years ago.
"This happened simply because temporary colleagues were not paid within the strict time periods specified in the NMW Regulations and was remedied as soon as we became aware of the issue.
"Our minimum hourly pay has never been below the national minimum wage, it is currently above it and no colleagues were ever underpaid because of this.”
Argos, which is owned by the Sainsbury's group, was found to have underpaid 10,399 workers by a total of £480,094. This was blamed on a "payroll error" which has since been corrected.
A spokesperson said: "Back in 2018, a payroll error was identified which affected some Argos store colleagues and drivers and dated back to 2012 – before Sainsbury’s acquisition of Argos. We launched an immediate investigation, working alongside HMRC, and put this right at the time.
“Since then we have completed the integration of Argos onto Sainsbury’s systems which will prevent this from happening again.
"Since acquiring Argos, we have made significant investment into colleague pay and the Argos colleague hourly rate is now aligned with Sainsbury’s, representing an average increase of 53% over the last 7 years.”
Bryan Sanderson, chair of the Low Pay Commission said: "The minimum wage acts as a guarantee to ensure all workers without exception receive a decent minimum standard of pay.
"Where employers break the law, they not only do a disservice to their staff but also undermine fair competition between businesses.
"Regular naming rounds should be a useful tool in raising awareness of underpayment and helping to protect minimum wage workers."
According to the DBT, 39% of the 200 companies deducted pay from workers’ wages, 39% failed to pay workers correctly for their working time, and 21% paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate.
Lloyds Pharmacy has been contacted for comment.
Full list of 202 companies that failed to pay minimum wage
- WH Smith failed to pay £1,017,693.36 to 17,607 workers
- Lloyds Pharmacy failed to pay £903,307.47 to 7,916 workers
- Marks and Spencer (M&S) failed to pay £578,390.79 to 5,363 workers
- Argos failed to pay £480,093.58 to 10,399 workers
- Buzz Group Limited failed to pay £319,297.21 to 3,448 workers
- Baxterstorey Limited failed to pay £185,242.24 to 2,166 workers
- McNicholas Construction Services Limited failed to pay £170,517.57 to 704 workers
- Showsec International Limited failed to pay £107,835.49 to 5,574 workers
- Brunning and Price Limited failed to pay £98,675.37 to 1,500 workers
- Chanel Limited failed to pay £70,413.59 to 250 workers
- AAH Limited failed to pay £42,359.39 to 201 workers
- Mr John Bowden & Mr Gary Bowden, trading as Dulhorn Farm Holiday Park failed to pay £37,880.77 to 13 workers
- 4 Site Security Services Limited failed to pay £36,388.31 to 170 workers
- UK Pharmaservices Ltd failed to pay £35,094.66 to 13 workers
- Victor Foster Poultry Services Limited failed to pay £33,045.17 to 284 workers
- Loganair Limited failed to pay £24,367 to 43 workers
- Tudor Employment Agency Limited failed to pay £22,606.96 to 930 workers
- Wellingstone Ltd, trading as East Orient Buffet Restaurant failed to pay £21,127.65 to 8 workers
- Dune Group Limited failed to pay £21,088.48 to 339 workers
- OMI Facilities Limited failed to pay £20,622.77 to 9 workers
- The Lion Hotel (Criccieth) Limited, trading as The Lion Hotel failed to pay £20,322.27 to 9 workers
- Executive Sport Limited failed to pay £20,200.34 to 8 workers
- Lemon Tree Manchester Ltd failed to pay £18,976.19 to 17 workers
- TFL Service Centre Limited - Liquidation 13/12/21, traded as Wimbledon Service Centre failed to pay £18,377.98 to 7 workers
- ALG Cognita Limited failed to pay £17,364.51 to 318 workers
- Twenty Four Seven Recruitment Services Limited failed to pay £17,049.34 to 213 workers
- Macdonald Hotels (Management) Limited failed to pay £16,111.76 to 64 workers
- Kuehne + Nagel Limited failed to pay £14,589.92 to 173 workers
- Hall & Woodhouse Limited failed to pay £14,354.5 to 23 workers
- Hickory’s (ROS) Limited, trading as Hickory’s Smokehouse failed to pay £14,141.12 to 157 workers
- Baxterstorey Scotland Limited failed to pay £13,618.29 to 186 workers
- Oulton Hall Hotel Trading Limited failed to pay £13,326.97 to 66 workers
- Momentum Instore Limited failed to pay £12,501.51 to 434 workers
- Arnold Clark Automobiles Limited failed to pay £12,215.56 to 48 workers
- Park View Health Clubs Limited failed to pay £12,191.87 to 4 workers
- Morleys Stores Limited failed to pay £11,640.77 to 78 workers
- Lex Legal (UK) Ltd failed to pay £11,559.42 to 10 workers
- Oasis and Warehouse Limited failed to pay £10,963.70 to 996 workers
- Oxford United Football Club Limited failed to pay £10,826.74 to 31 workers
- Elite Recruitment Agency Limited failed to pay £10,554.39 to 1 worker
- Holroyd Howe Limited failed to pay £10,302.15 to 129 workers
- Mr Paul Wright, trading as Baccarat Hair Design failed to pay £10,178.71 to 9 workers
- Verve Personnel Limited failed to pay £10,124.04 to 794 workers
- Contemplation Homes Limited failed to pay £10,095.23 to 87 workers
- The Park Hotel Ayrshire Limited failed to pay £10,088.99 to 129 workers
- Portway Crown Limited failed to pay £9,809.24 to 3 workers
- Thomas Commercial Cleaning Limited failed to pay £9,762.56 to 6 workers
- Delta Crewe Hall Op Co Limited failed to pay £9,626.89 to 29 workers
- Top Nails Livingston Ltd failed to pay £9,266.40 to 5 workers.
- Acropolis Corporate Limited failed to pay £9,150.60 to 56 workers
- Avondale Foods (Craigavon) Limited, Craigavon, BT66, failed to pay £9,007.35 to 149 workers.
- Delta Telford Op Co Limited failed to pay £8,871.76 to 12 workers
- M1 Valet Centre Ltd failed to pay £7,807.71 to 3 workers
- Warrington Football Club Limited (The), trading as Warrington Wolves failed to pay £7,720.61 to 34 workers
- Mr Faried Khan, trading as The News Shop failed to pay £7,393.47 to 1 worker
- Hudsons 23 Limited, trading as 23 Taxis failed to pay £7,190.46 to 83 workers
- Dazzle Pristine Car Wash & Vehicle Servicing Ltd failed to pay £7,051.08 to 5 workers
- Lucknam Park Hotels Limited failed to pay £6,990.12 to 33 workers
- PFF Packaging (Sedgefield) Limited failed to pay £6,115.36 to 99 workers
- Mr Harbhajan Singh Walia, trading as Parkside International Hotel failed to pay £5,936.40 to 2 workers
- D & F Trading Ltd failed to pay £5,920.22 to 7 workers
- Elvis Car Wash Ltd failed to pay £5,768.98 to 3 workers
- Roka Mayfair Limited failed to pay £5,741.87 to 16 workers
- Mr Jangi Ismail Hamid failed to pay £5,714.27 to 6 workers
- The House of Bruar Limited failed to pay £5,543.80 to 57 workers
- Thanet Early Years Project failed to pay £5,487.97 to 27 workers
- Delta Forest Pines Op Co Limited, trading as DoubleTree by Hilton Forest Pines Spa & Golf Resortfailed to pay £5,471.81 to 17 workers
- Nurse 365 Limited failed to pay £5,238.01 to 8 workers
- Ross Labels Limited failed to pay £5,221.27 to 106 workers
- Little Poppets Nurseries Limited failed to pay £5,214.88 to 19 workers
- Tenpin (Scotland) Limited, trading as Pro Bowl Glenrothes failed to pay £5,174.65 to 1 worker
- Virgin Active Limited failed to pay £5,074.96 to 80 workers
- Dr Tyrone Castles, trading as The Royal Hotel failed to pay £4,974.72 to 9 workers
- All Day Recruitment Limited failed to pay £4,896.57 to 25 workers
- Casual Dining Restaurants Group Limited failed to pay £4,647.70 to 20 workers
- Hatch Brothers Limited, trading as Genesis Crafty failed to pay £4,439.53 to 7 workers
- Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club failed to pay £4,426.73 to 1 worker
- Express Valeting Limited failed to pay £4,338.3 to 3 workers
- Cater Link Limited failed to pay £4,285.35 to 61 workers
- Day of Sunshine (UK) Ltd failed to pay £4,275.19 to 2 workers
- Tot Stop Pre School & Early Years Centre Ltd failed to pay £4,213.77 to 10 workers
- H.S. Walia Limited, trading as Lawn & Parkside International Hotels failed to pay £4,198.85 to 1 worker
- Velocity Interactive failed to pay £3,868.40 to 2 workers
- B H Live failed to pay £3,757.43 to 130 workers
- Few Inns Limited failed to pay £3,756.10 to 6 workers
- Hunter’s Moon UK Limited, trading as Margaret Kimber failed to pay £3,653.22 to 8 workers
- The Organic Hair Company Limited failed to pay £3,590.83 to 4 workers
- Ms Dimitroulla Antoniou, trading as Montage failed to pay £3,579.72 to 2 workers
- Little Sunbeams Pre-School failed to pay £3,561.97 to 9 workers
- Reahs Restaurant Ltd, trading as The Portmor failed to pay £3,292 to 8 workers
- Delta Park Op Co Limited failed to pay £3,242.59 to 26 workers
- Landlet Limited failed to pay £3,224.06 to 9 workers
- Toolstation Limited failed to pay £3,090.18 to 79 workers
- USA Car Wash (Derby) Limited failed to pay £3,005.10 to 9 workers
- The Inveraray Inn Limited, trading as The George Hotel failed to pay £2,933.93 to 25 workers
- Blackpool Pleasure Beach Limited failed to pay £2,866.95 to 12 workers
- Eunoia Enterprises Limited failed to pay £2,798.84 to 31 workers
- Mrs Pauline Butfield, trading as Pauline’s Hair & Beauty failed to pay £2,791.84 to 1 worker
- Bubbles Sussex Services Limited failed to pay £2,654.37 to 9 workers
- Ridgeway Private Day Nursery Limited failed to pay £2,600 to 3 workers
- K&R Blue Bakery Limited failed to pay £2,574.87 to 4 workers
- Integra Accounting Limited failed to pay £2,566.42 to 5 workers
- Crofton Park Cars Ltd failed to pay £2,549.48 to 1 worker
- The Young Explorers Day Nursery Limited failed to pay £2,521.93 to 14 workers
- Mr Kristopher George Shenton, trading as KGS Gas Services failed to pay £2,428.96 to 1 worker
- O’Connor’s Restaurant Ltd, trading as O’Connor’s Bar and Restaurant failed to pay £2,413.89 to 1 worker
- WGAB Limited, trading as Excel Clothing failed to pay £2,369.12 to 18 workers
- ITL (North East) Limited failed to pay £2,346.53 to 2 workers
- Mer Manor Operations Limited failed to pay £2,332.78 to 98 workers
- Arcadia Group Limited failed to pay £2,233.19 to 109 workers
- Curran Court Hotel 2017 Limited failed to pay £2,003.07 to 63 workers
- Copona Limited failed to pay £1,994.61 to 1 worker
- OMI Management Ltd failed to pay £1,983.23 to 2 workers
- MJ Services East Limited failed to pay £1,977.97 to 2 workers
- Careers Advice & Learning Centre Limited failed to pay £1,972.73 to 6 workers
- Disha (Newcastle) Ltd, trading as Subway failed to pay £1,948.98 to 2 workers
- Core Assetz Ltd failed to pay £1,928.61 to 3 workers
- Phoenix Eye Ltd failed to pay £1,917.07 to 301 workers
- Arla Foods Limited failed to pay £1,916.60 to 14 workers.
- Calmac Services Limited, trading as Riverside Vets Canvey failed to pay £1,912.81 to 1 worker
- Central Fitness Limited failed to pay £1,909.17 to 1 worker
- Jettco Plastering Limited failed to pay £1,905.95 to 1 worker
- Mr Makudur Rahman, trading as Ghandi Indian Restaurant failed to pay £1,896.70 to 2 workers
- Mack Daddys Gloucester Road Limited failed to pay £1,863.80 to 2 workers
- Mr Vinodrai Pranjivanbhai Tanna, trading as Tanna Pharmacy failed to pay £1,815.53 to 1 worker
- Grimethorpe Hand Car Wash Ltd failed to pay £1,793.29 to 1 worker
- George Day Nurseries Limited, trading as Orpington Day Nursery failed to pay £1,776.75 to 4 workers
- Mrs Karen Wells, trading as Cream Hair Design failed to pay £1,776.15 to 2 workers
- Mrs Patricia Jervis, trading as Bumble Beez failed to pay £1,768.87 to 7 workers
- Wren Kitchens Limited failed to pay £1,675.73 to 16 workers
- Bendart Limited, trading as Blackwell Print failed to pay £1,585.08 to 2 workers
- Uppal Convenience Stores Limited, trading as Spar, Runcorn failed to pay £1,574.02 to 1 worker
- Mrs Zara Emma Mason, trading as The Lamb Inn failed to pay £1,567.39 to 3 workers
- Checkpoint Car Care Ltd failed to pay £1,532.25 to 2 workers
- Mr Richard Woodland, trading as Woodland Autos failed to pay £1,530.42 to 1 worker
- Westbourne Leisure Limited, trading as The Strawberry Bank Hotel failed to pay £1,513.44 to 31 workers
- The Pit Stop (Colchester) Limited failed to pay £1,474.69 to 1 worker
- Mrs Helen Wilson, trading as The Hygiene Machine failed to pay £1,462.26 to 2 workers
- Delta Ashford Op Co Limited, trading as Ashford International Hotel failed to pay £1,435.91 to 12 workers
- Version Limited, trading as La Coupe Studio failed to pay £1,428.01 to 1 worker
- M R Academy Limited traded as Sugarcoat Nails failed to pay £1,391.42 to 3 workers
- Ms Joanne Sarabia, trading as Secrets Hair & Beauty failed to pay £1,373.90 to 1 worker
- Springvale Leather Limited failed to pay £1,373.23 to 1 worker
- The Trading Mill Limited failed to pay £1,336.33 to 4 workers
- Dudley Taylor Pharmacies Limited failed to pay £1,276.45 to 174 workers
- St. Nicholas House Ltd failed to pay £1,178.53 to 2 workers
- Whitbread Group PLC failed to pay £1,118.37 to 1 worker
- Glowing Global Advertising Limited failed to pay £1,116.99 to 4 workers
- Sahara Global Ltd, trading as A1 Hand Car Wash failed to pay £1,087.87 to 4 workers
- Delta Chesford Grange OP CO Limited, trading as Chesford Grange Hotel failed to pay £1,066.21 to 6 workers
- Vue Cinemas (UK) Limited failed to pay £1,029.13 to 8 workers
- Heritage Hotels Blackpool Limited traded as Melville Hotel failed to pay £1,027.65 to 2 workers
- Nail Retreat London Limited failed to pay £1,015.23 to 2 workers
- D&M Middleton Limited failed to pay £960.64 to 4 workers
- Bar Lounge Limited failed to pay £951.17 to 23 workers
- BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory & Property Management UK Limited failed to pay £933.12 to 3 workers
- Portal Security Ltd failed to pay £927.61 to 55 workers
- North Norfolk Hospitality Limited, trading as The Cliftonville Hotel failed to pay £908.56 to 3 workers
- Serenity Health Care (Team) Ltd failed to pay £904.09 to 2 workers
- The Rides Motor Services Limited failed to pay £877.42 to 3 workers
- St. Mark’s Pre-School failed to pay £870.55 to 6 workers
- Little Treasures Nurseries Kirton Ltd failed to pay £866.01 to 2 workers
- Mr Rassul Kadir, trading as Talbot Road Car Wash failed to pay £864.80 to 5 workers
- Mr Thomas O’Brien & Mr Lee Taylor, trading as Chambers Hair Design failed to pay £858.90 to 1 worker
- Elmhurst School Limited failed to pay £829.32 to 1 worker
- Amira G Foods Limited failed to pay £796.43 to 1 worker
- Mr R.E. Blair and Mrs June Victoria Blair, trading as Higher Trenoweth Farm failed to pay £776.76 to 1 worker
- Comptons 2000 Limited failed to pay £772.36 to 3 workers
- LDH Hotels Limited, trading as The Tongue Hotel failed to pay £771.48 to 11 workers
- Pizza & Co West Road Limited failed to pay £757.62 to 1 worker
- Tangerine Properties Ltd failed to pay £743.21 to 5 workers
- Ms Claire Frances, trading as Claire Frances Hairdressing failed to pay £739.02 to 1 worker
- Delta Hampshire Court Op Co Limited, trading as Hampshire Court Hotel failed to pay £737.96 to 10 workers
- Delta Stratford Manor Op Co Limited failed to pay £728.77 to 8 workers
- Fintax UK Limited failed to pay £727.79 to 3 workers
- Forza GB (Great Britain) Ltd failed to pay £721.34 to 2 workers
- Benugo Limited failed to pay £717.80 to 12 workers
- AMYU Limited traded as Golden Spice Kebab House failed to pay £710.20 to 4 workers
- Old Plaza Ltd failed to pay £692.60 to 15 workers
- The Governors, trading as Pheasey Park Farm Primary School and Children’s Centre failed to pay £683.58 to 8 workers
- You Me Thai Ltd failed to pay £667.70 to 2 workers
- The Network (Field Marketing & Promotions) Company Limited, trading as JYL Hand to Hand failed to pay £661.37 to 14 workers
- Ripon Spa Hotel Limited failed to pay £654.85 to 8 workers
- Social Care Alba Ltd failed to pay £650.38 to 8 workers
- The H Room Limited failed to pay £639.67 to 4 workers
- Eurotherm Limited failed to pay £639.67 to 7 workers
- Mr Henry Gornall, Mrs Joesphine Gornall, Mrs Lisa Gornall and Mr Richard Gornall, trading as The Hideaway at Windermere failed to pay £620.75 to 3 workers
- Anthony John Salons Limited failed to pay £615.46 to 1 worker
- The Learning Mill Ltd failed to pay £612.69 to 1 worker
- Moses Basket Ltd, trading as Happi Feet failed to pay £610.65 to 10 workers
- Super Noodles Catering Limited failed to pay £601.24 to 1 worker
- Al-Haqq UK Ltd, trading as Heavenly Desserts failed to pay £594.62 to 3 workers
- Delta Belton Woods Op Co Limited failed to pay £587.56 to 3 workers
- 727 Your Store Limited failed to pay £580.37 to 1 worker
- The Green Courier Limited, trading as Churchill Express failed to pay £576.08 to 1 worker
- Tyre Torque Doncaster Limited failed to pay £566.16 to 6 workers
- United Church Schools Trust failed to pay £554.82 to 2 workers
- Global Education Management Systems Limited failed to pay £530.42 to 1 worker
- Mr Shobuz Ali, trading as Khalisa Indian Restaurant L16, failed to pay £526.07 to 2 workers
- JJJ-D Corporation Ltd failed to pay £509.20 to 10 workers
- Edenmore Golf & Country Club Ltd failed to pay £506.52 to 11 workers
- Mr Patrick Ginnelly failed to pay £502.37 to 1 worker
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