A total of £7 million in fines have been imposed on over 200 companies for violations affecting 63,000 employees, including non-payment of minimum wages.
Prominent retailers such as Marks and Spencer, WHSmith, and Argos are among the 200+ companies that the UK government has publicly criticized for not paying their employees the minimum wage.
On Wednesday, the Department of Business and Trade disclosed information about 202 companies that shortchanged 63,000 low-wage workers by £5 million.
Investigations conducted by HM Revenue & Customs between 2017 and 2019 into violations of UK minimum wage laws resulted in approximately £7 million in total fines. The companies found guilty also reimbursed their employees for the wages they were owed.
WHSmith, which posted pre-tax profits of £63 million in the most recent fiscal year, was the most egregious offender, underpaying 17,607 employees by over £1 million.
Lloyds Pharmacy neglected to pay over £900,000 to 7,916 workers. Marks and Spencer and Argos, a subsidiary of Sainsbury’s, left thousands of workers short by £578,000 and £480,000, respectively.
Oxford United Football Club and Warrington Wolves rugby league team were also named among the offending businesses.
Kevin Hollinrake, a junior business minister, stated that paying the legal minimum wage is mandatory and that all businesses, regardless of size, should not shortchange their hardworking employees.
He added that the government is sending a clear message to the minority who disregard the law: pay your employees.
The disclosure of case details coincides with the escalating struggle of low-income workers amidst the cost of living crisis, exacerbated by months of high inflation. In April, the government increased the national minimum and living wages by 9.7%, a step that it claimed would enhance the earnings of 2.9 million workers.
Marks and Spencer acknowledged its inclusion on the list, attributing it to an unintentional technical glitch from over four years ago. Temporary staff were not compensated within the mandated timeframes, but the error was promptly corrected once the company became aware of it.
The company further clarified, “Our minimum hourly wage has always met or exceeded the national minimum wage.”
WHSmith attributed its underpayments to a misunderstanding of how minimum wage regulations apply to its staff uniform policy, a challenge it claimed other employers have also encountered. “This was an honest mistake and was immediately corrected,” the company stated.
Lloyds Pharmacy admitted to unintentionally breaching the rules, which were related to staff uniforms. The company stated that workers were compensated when the issue was discovered, and emphasized that all its employees receive wages above the national minimum wage.
Sainsbury’s, the owner of Argos, confirmed that its underpayments, which were linked to an error identified in 2018 and traced back to 2012 (prior to its acquisition of the business), had been corrected.
