Member Article

Yorkshire businesses’ named and shamed by Government for failing to pay minimum wage

There were 8 Yorkshire and Humber businesses named and shamed by the Government today for failing to pay their staff minimum wage.

70 cases overall were named and ‘thoroughly investigated’ by HM Revenue and Customs.

Between them, these 70 employers owed workers a total of over £157k in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £70k.

The scheme was revised in October 2013 to make it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with minimum wage rules.

Businesses in Yorkshire that have not paid their staff minimum wage include:

• Stafforce Personnel Ltd, Rotherham, neglected to pay £3,044.79 to 63 workers
• Seaton Garage & Engineering Co, Hull, neglected to pay £4,840.31 to a worker
• Mancroft Ltd, Leeds, neglected to pay £1,172.97 to 3 workers.
• Cobblers Fine Sandwiches & Pastries, Wakefield, neglected to pay £1,003.83 to a worker.
• Faster Fit Tyres Ltd, Scunthorpe, neglected to pay £719.30 to a worker.
• Alleyways Fish & Chips, Scarborough, neglected to pay £601.59 to a worker.
• General Tarleton Ltd, Knaresborough, neglected to pay £300.62 to 6 workers.
• Willowbank Builders, Huddersfield, neglected to pay £163.89 to a worker

To support the minimum wage crackdown, the government will also be increasing HMRC’s £9.2 million enforcement budget by a further £3 million, helping to fund more than 70 extra compliance officers.

Business minister Jo Swinson said: “Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal, immoral and completely unacceptable.

“Naming and shaming gives a clear warning to employers who ignore the rules, that they will face reputational consequences as well as financial penalties of up to £20,000 if they don’t pay the minimum wage.

“We are legislating through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill so that this penalty can be applied to each underpaid worker rather than per employer.

“We are helping workers recover the hundreds of thousands of pounds in pay owed to them as well as raising awareness to make sure workers are paid fairly in the first place.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .