UK Government Names and Shames 25 Minimum Wage Underpayers

The UK government has named and shamed 25 employers who failed to pay their workers the minimum wage.

The employers owe more than £43,000 to their staff and are the latest to be publicly named under rules that came into effect last October.

Among the offending employers include a garage in Bradford that failed to pay a worker £6,426 and a school in Edinburgh which underpaid an employee by £3,739.

The companies were investigated by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) after employees called a free helpline to report that they were being underpaid.

HMRC said more than £4.6m had been paid out to 22,000 people, including staff at a Premier League club who had been paid below the £6.31 per hour minimum wage.

The football club, which HMRC did not name, made staff pay for their own uniforms and also made deductions for travelling time. The club was made to pay arrears of more than £27,500 to 3,000 hospitality workers.

In another case, a recruitment agency was made to pay more than £167,000 after classifying some workers as unpaid interns.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady told the BBC: "It is shocking that some employers - including those who pay certain star staff millions of pounds a year - are cheating low-paid workers out of the minimum wage.

"The penalties won by HMRC - which the government are rightly making even bigger - should be a clear deterrent to any bad bosses thinking about short-changing their staff."

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said companies that underpay their staff face penalties of up to £20,000. Plans are currently underway to fine companies £20,000 per underpaid employee. The national minimum wage is also expected to rise to £6.50 in October.

The full list of offending employers

• Christine Cadden and Nicola Banks of Renaissance, Wirral, who failed to pay £7,310.65 to three workers.
• Alan King and John King of Arthur Simpson & Co, Bradford, who failed to pay £6,426.12 to a worker
• Central Heating Services Ltd, Hampshire, which failed to pay £6,200.28 to four workers
• Cargilfield School Ltd, Edinburgh, which failed to pay £3,739.58 to a worker
• A2ZEE Constriction Ltd, Cramlington, which failed to pay £3,375.51 to 14 workers
• Mr and Mrs Balasco of Eugenio, Bristol, who failed to pay £3,037.53 to two workers
• Mr and Mrs Hampton of The Wheatsheaf Inn, Cheshire, who failed to pay £2,057.88 to five workers
• Steven Stainton of Steven Stainton Joinery, Cumbria, who failed to pay £1,415.82 to a worker
• Runbaro Ltd, Swindon, which failed to pay £1,413.88 to a worker
• Satwinder Singh Khatter and Tejinder Singh Khatter of The Bath Hotel, Reading, who failed to pay £1,237.79 to two workers
• Richard Last of Classic Carpentry, Godalming, who failed to pay £1,236.72 to a worker
• We are Mop! Ltd, London, which failed to pay £1,018.05 to two workers
• Sue English of Legends Hairdressers, Colchester, who failed to pay £823.40 to a worker.
• Saftdwin Ltd, Hampshire, which failed to pay £806.37 to two workers.
• Master Distribution Ltd, Essex, which to pay £718.62 to a worker.
• Perth Hotels Ltd, Perth, which failed to pay £556.80 to a worker.
• Bryants Nurseries Ltd, Hertfordshire, which failed to pay £494.07 to a worker.
• Dove Mill Retail Outlet Ltd, Bolton, which failed to pay £461.84 to a worker.
• Luigi's Little Italy Ltd, Yorkshire, which failed to pay £281.04 to five workers.
• CPS SW Ltd, Exmouth, which failed to pay £261.29 to a worker.
• Gary Calder, Richard Calder and Neil Calder of Avenue Agricultural, Northamptonshire, who failed to pay £256.55 to a worker.
• Dakal Ltd, Northampton, which failed to pay £252.00 to two workers.
• Zoom Ltd, Havant, which failed to pay £242.28 to three workers.
• HSS Hire Service Group Ltd, Manchester, which failed to pay £149.00 to 15 workers.
• Sun Shack Ltd, Hamilton, which failed to pay £134.35 to eight workers.