16th Feb 2017 06:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - The UK government has named and shamed 360 businesses for underpaying thousands of workers a total of almost GBP1 million.
The biggest ever list of offenders included employers in hairdressing, retail, hospitality and care homes.
Excuses for underpaying workers included using tips to top up pay, docking wages to pay for Christmas parties, and making staff pay for their own uniforms.
UK-listed department store operator Debenhams PLC was accused of failing to pay almost GBP135,000 to just under 12,000 workers.
The company said it made a technical error in its payroll calculations, which resulted in an average underpayment of around GBP10 per person to affected workers in 2015.
The Business Department said more than 1,500 cases are being worked on by HM Revenue & Customs, the UK's tax authority, with more firms set to be named.
The new announcement means that more than 1,000 employers have been identified since the policy started in 2013.
The new list includes 84 employers in the hospitality industry, 51 in retail, 39 hairdressers and 24 in social care.
Business minister Margot James said: "Every worker in the UK is entitled to at least the national minimum or living wage and this government will ensure they get it."
"That is why we have named and shamed more than 350 employers who failed to pay the legal minimum, sending the clear message to employers that minimum wage abuses will not go unpunished."
Unions welcomed the announcement, but called for more prosecutions - there have been 13 since 2007.
By Alan Jones, Press Association Industrial Correspondent
Source: Press Association
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