Exclusive Edinburgh prep school named and shamed

Cargilfield fails to pay minimum wage

Employers who owe their workers thousands of pounds for failing to pay them the correct National Minimum Wage have been named and shamed. Among them is exclusive Edinburgh prep school Cargilfield, who underpaid a worker by over £3,700.

Today (8 June 2014), a further 25 employers who failed to pay their employees the minimum wage have been named under the new regime introduced last October, which makes it easier to name and shame wrongdoers. Between them they owe workers more than £43,000 in arrears and in addition have to pay financial penalties totalling over £21,000.

Business Minister Jenny Willott said: “Paying less than the minimum wage is not only wrong, it’s illegal. If employers break the law they need to know that they will face tough consequences.

“Any worker who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. If anyone suspects they are not being paid the wage they are legally entitled to they should call the Pay and Work Rights helpline on 0800 917 2368”.

The government has introduced a series of tougher measures to crack down on employers that break National Minimum Wage law. As well as being publicly named and shamed, employers that fail to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage also face new penalties of up to £20,000 – 4 times higher than before.

The government also plans to legislate in the new parliamentary session so that employers can also be given penalties of up to £20,000 for each individual worker they have underpaid, rather than the maximum penalty applying to each employer. This will mean if an employer underpays 10 workers, they could face penalties of up to £200,000.

The 25 employers are:

• Christine Cadden and Nicola Banks of Renaissance, Wirral, neglected to pay £7,310.65 to 3 workers
• Alan King and John King of Arthur Simpson & Co, Bradford, neglected to pay £6,426.12 to a worker
• Central Heating Services Ltd, Hampshire, neglected to pay £6,200.28 to 4 workers
• Cargilfield School Ltd, Edinburgh, neglected to pay £3,739.58 to a worker
• A2ZEE Construction Ltd, Cramlington, neglected to pay £3,375.51 to 14 workers
• Mr and Mrs Balasco of Eugenio, Bristol, neglected to pay £3,037.53 to 2 workers
• Mr and Mrs Hampton of The Wheatsheaf Inn, Cheshire, neglected to pay £2,057.88 to 4 workers
• Steven Stainton of Steven Stainton Joinery, Cumbria, neglected to pay £1,415.82 to a worker
• Runbaro Ltd, Swindon, neglected to pay £1,413.88 to a worker
• Satwinder Singh Khatter and Tejinder Singh Khatter of The Bath Hotel, Reading, neglected to pay £1,237.79 to 2 workers
• Richard Last of Classic Carpentry, Godalming, neglected to pay £1,236.72 to a worker
• We are Mop! Ltd, London, neglected to pay £1,018.05 to 2 workers
• Mrs Sue English of Legends Hairdressers, Colchester, neglected to pay £823.40 to a worker
• Saftdwin Ltd, Hampshire, neglected to pay £806.37 to 2 workers
• Master Distribution Ltd, Essex, neglected to pay £718.62 to a worker
• Perth Hotels Ltd, Perth, neglected to pay £556.80 to a worker
• Bryants Nurseries Ltd, Hertfordshire, neglected to pay £494.07 to a worker
• Dove Mill Retail Outlet Ltd, Bolton, neglected to pay £461.84 to a worker
• Luigi’s Little Italy Ltd, Yorkshire, neglected to pay £281.04 to 5 workers
• CPS SW Ltd, Exmouth, neglected to pay £261.29 to a worker
• Mr Gary Calder, Mr Richard Calder and Mr Neil Calder of Avenue Agricultural, Northamptonshire, neglected to pay £256.55 to a worker
• Dakal Ltd, Northampton, neglected to pay £252.00 to 2 workers
• Zoom Ltd, Havant, neglected to pay £242.28 to 3 workers
• HSS Hire Service Group Ltd, Manchester, neglected to pay £149.00 to 15 workers
• Sun Shack Ltd, Hamilton, neglected to pay £134.35 to 8 workers

The 25 cases named today were thoroughly investigated by HM Revenue & Customs after workers made complaints to the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights helpline.

Employers who are unsure of National Minimum Wage rules can also get free advice and information from the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368 or by visiting www.gov.uk.

Cargilfield, founded in 1873, was the first prep school to be established in Scotland. It moved from Trinity in Edinburgh to its current location in Barnton in 1898. A Pre-prep and Nursery Department were added to the prep school campus during the early 1980’s in response to the changing nature of the parental body and the introduction of girls.

School fees range from £1665 per term for nursery children up to almost £6000 per term for Upper School boarding pupils.

The school’s website says: ‘The school was founded by the Reverend Charles Darnell, who’s aim was “to provide a liberal education and teach the merits of hard work and honesty under conditions of happiness and well-being”. This remains at the core of our ethos today’.