Over 200 companies found not paying minimum wage

Over 200 companies have been named by HMRC after its inspectors found they had failed to pay the minimum wage.

According to HMRC, the employers were found to have failed to pay their workers almost £5 million, leaving around 63,000 workers out of pocket.

The businesses have since paid back what they owe to their staff and have also faced financial penalties, it said. The investigations concluded between 2017 and 2019.

The employers had underpaid workers in the following ways:

• 39% of employers deducted pay from workers’ wages;

• 39% of employers failed to pay workers correctly for their working time; and

• 21% of employers paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate.

Bryan Sanderson, chair of the Low Pay Commission commented: “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.”