More low wage employers named and shamed

GMB trade union calls for guilty directors to be barred

A further 37 employers who failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage – including one in Edinburgh – have been named today by Business Minister Jo Swinson.

Between them they owe workers a total of over £177,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £51,000.

The government has already named 55 employers since the new naming regime came into force in October 2013. They had total arrears of over £139,000 and total penalties of over £60,000. One of the previous offenders was private school Cargilfield in Cramond, who were fined last June for underpaying a member of staff by over £3700.

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) National Minimum Wage enforcement budget will be increased by a further £3 million in financial year 2015 to 2016 – taking the total to £12.2 million. The extra money will go towards increasing the number of HMRC compliance officers to identify businesses that exploit their workers by paying them below the National Minimum Wage.

Business Minister Jo Swinson said: “Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal, immoral and completely unacceptable. If employers break this law they need to know that we will take tough action by naming, shaming and fining them as well as helping workers recover the hundreds of thousands of pounds in pay owed to them.

“We are also looking at what more we can do to make sure workers are paid fairly in the first place. As well as being publicly named and shamed, employers that fail to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage face penalties of up to £20,000. 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.”

Employers who are unsure of National Minimum Wage rules can also get free advice via the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368.

The 37 employers are:

• Kings Group LLP, Hertfordshire, neglected to pay £53,808.91 to 53 workers
• Kings Group Lettings LLP, Hertfordshire, neglected to pay £26,893.43 to 49 workers
• Chi Yip Group Ltd, Middleton, neglected to pay £15,566.78 to 13 workers
• Kingsclere Nurseries Ltd trading as Abacus Day Nursery, Newbury, neglected to pay £12,904.19 to 8 workers.
• Ms Thap Thi Ly trading as Sweet N Sour, Fleetwood, neglected to pay £11,039.14 to 2 workers
• Michael Kearney trading as Electrical Estimates, Ceredigion, neglected to pay £5,557.91 to 4 workers
• ABC Early Learning and Childcare Centre UK Ltd, Wolverhampton, neglected to pay £5,329.25 to 68 workers
• C J Hartley Ltd trading as Headwork, Sheffield, neglected to pay £4,762.64 to 4 workers
• Mrs Kelly Jayne Lockley trading as Diva Hair Design, Walsall, neglected to pay £4,103.65 to a worker
• Browncow Tanning Ltd trading as Fake Bake Hair & Beauty Boutique, Glasgow, neglected to pay £3,406.66 to 2 workers
• J Wood Joiners & Builders Ltd, Edinburgh, neglected to pay £3,373.19 to 4 workers
• Louise Ross Trading as Luxe Salon, Leeds, neglected to pay £3,368.13 to a worker
• H&M Hennes & Mauritz UK Ltd, London, neglected to pay £2,604.87 to 540 workers
• Building Projects Ltd, Dundee, neglected to pay £2,345.85 to 3 workers
• David A Farrer Ltd, Morecambe, neglected to pay £2,261.00 to a worker
• Julian’s Hair Salon Ltd, Newbury, neglected to pay £2,131.35 to a worker
• Motorists Discount Store Ltd trading as TMS Autoparts, Manchester, neglected to pay £2,025.19 to a worker
• Ms Dawn Platts trading as Level 2 Hair Studio, Barnsley, neglected to pay £1,186.89 to a worker
• Myers and Family Ltd, Wakefield, neglected to pay £1.598.82 to a worker
• Welcome Break Holdings Ltd, Newport Pagnell, neglected to pay £1,318.70 to 19 workers
• Callum Austin Ltd trading as Jason Austin Hairdressers, Kettering, neglected to pay £1,899.66 to 2 workers
• Mrs Karen Riley Trading as Crave, Preston, neglected to pay £1,179.09 to 7 workers
• RPM Performance Rally World Ltd, Maldon, neglected to pay £998.71 to a worker
• Ego Hair & Beauty (Anglia) Ltd, Colchester, neglected to pay £985.55 to a worker
• Mr Jinit Shah trading as Crystal Financial Solutions, Middlesex, neglected to pay £941.65 to a worker
• Counted4 Community Interest Company, Sunderland, neglected to pay £930.73 to a worker
• HAE Automotive Services Ltd, Harrogate (ceased trading), neglected to pay £798.16 to a worker
• Vision on Digital Ltd, Ossett, neglected to pay £683.86 to a worker
• Ultimate Care UK Ltd, Ipswich, neglected to pay £613.79 to 7 workers
• Century Motors (Sheffield) Ltd, Sheffield, neglected to pay £571.72 to a worker
• Mr D Eastwell & Mr G Brinkler trading as The Salon, Letchworth Garden City, neglected to pay £409.85 to a worker
• Rumble (Bedworth) Ltd, Nuneaton, neglected to pay £404.41 to a worker
• Shannons Ltd, Worthing neglected to pay £313.76 to a worker
• Holmes Cleaning Company, Worksop neglected to pay £240.48 to a worker
• Learnplay Foundation Ltd, West Bromwich, neglected to pay £224.73 to a worker
• Adrien Mackenzie trading as Maverick Models, Manchester, neglected to pay £205.52 to a worker
• QW Security Ltd, Hartlepool, neglected to pay £126.20 to a worker

The 37 cases named today were thoroughly investigated by HM Revenue and Customs after workers made complaints to the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline.

The scheme was revised in October 2013 to make it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with minimum wage rules, but the GMB trade union  says the enforcement rules should also be changed so that trade unions can make complaints to HMRC on behalf of members.

Commenting on the latest announcement Martin Smith, GMB National Organizer, said: “Far too few wage-dodging employers not paying the national minimum wage have been bought to justice. Government needs to make a real commitment to making work pay by more aggressively seeking out offenders to prosecute them. The enforcement rules should also be changed so that trade unions can make complaints to HMRC on behalf of members.

“As part of the public disgracing for the firms named GMB is calling for the directors of these companies to be placed on a “wage offenders register” at Companies House and be deemed an unfit person to hold any further directorships.

“There needs to be a recognition that a national minimum wage of £6.50 is near impossible to live on as it is without relying on state benefits. There are bucket loads of evidence that an uplift of at least 50p per hour would help the low paid and start to stimulate the economy and that all the big firms including the retailers can afford it.

“There is no justification for the national minimum wage not keeping up with inflation. The Low Pay Commission should recommend a rate of at least £7 per hour from October 2014 to make up the ground lost since 2006.

“It is time for the Low Pay Commission to do what it says on the tin – fight for the low paid.”