Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

The Body Shop among 191 businesses 'named and shamed' for breaking wage laws

The Body Shop among 191 businesses 'named and shamed' for breaking wage laws

JOHN LEWIS, One Stop Stores and The Body Shop are “named and shamed” among nearly 200 companies for breaking minimum wage laws after their bosses withheld over £2 million, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said on Thursday (5).

Following investigations by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, a total of £2.1m was found to be owed to over 34,000 workers,  the department said, adding that the breaches took place between 2011 and 2018. 


Named employers have since been made to pay back what they owed, and were fined an additional £3.2m, "showing it is never acceptable to underpay workers", said the department.

Other businesses which appeared on the government list are Millenium Care Ltd, The Sheffield United Football Club Limited, Amna Care Domiciliary Ltd, Worcestershire County Cricket Trading Limited, 7 to 10 Food & Wine Ltd, Aire Valley Frozen Foods and Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, Wolverhampton, among others. 

Among the 191 names businesses, about 47 per cent wrongly deducted pay from workers’ wages, including for uniform and expenses, 30 per cent failed to pay workers for all the time they had worked and 19 per cent paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate.

Named employers have to pay back arrears of wages to the worker at current minimum wage rates, the department said, adding that will also be levied with hefty financial penalties of up to 200 per cent of arrears - capped at £20,000 per worker - which are paid to the government. 

As per the new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates updated by the UK government in April 2021, every single UK worker, despite age or profession, is entitled to the National Minimum Wage and will be taking home £5,400 or more annually than they were in 2010. 

While not all minimum wage underpayments are intentional, it has always been the responsibility of all employers to abide by the law, the department said. 

Warning the employers on the list to pay their workers properly, UK business minister Paul Scully said: “Our minimum wage laws are there to ensure a fair day’s work gets a fair day’s pay – it is unacceptable for any company to come up short.

 “This government will continue to protect workers’ rights vigilantly, and employers that short-change workers won’t get off lightly,” Scully said.

 Chair of the Low Pay Commission Bryan Sanderson said: “These are very difficult times for all workers, particularly those on low pay who are often undertaking critical tasks in a variety of key sectors including care. The minimum wage provides a crucial level of support and compliance is essential for the benefit of both the recipients and our society as a whole.”

John Lewis said it was “surprised and disappointed” to be on the list released by the department on Thursday (5), adding that this was a “technical breach that happened four years ago and has been fixed”.

The government regularly names companies under rules brought in under the coalition government. A total of 2,300 employers have been named since the current scheme was introduced in 2014.

More For You

Deliveroo posts first annual profit after 12 years

A Deliveroo rider near Victoria station in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Deliveroo posts first annual profit after 12 years

FOOD DELIVERY app Deliveroo announced on Thursday (13) its first annual profit as orders and revenue rose, while the 12-year old company sees further growth despite exiting Hong Kong.

The milestone follows sizeable full-year losses owing to high investment costs since American Will Shu founded the company in 2013 and made Deliveroo's first delivery in London.

Keep ReadingShow less
JLR-Tata-Getty

JLR had initially planned to manufacture more than 70,000 electric vehicles at the facility. (Photo: Getty Images)

JLR halts plan to build EVs at Tata’s India plant: Report

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) has put on hold plans to manufacture electric vehicles at Tata Motors’ upcoming £775 million factory in southern India, according to a news report.

The decision was influenced by challenges in balancing price and quality for locally sourced EV components, three of the sources said. They added that slowing demand for electric vehicles was also a factor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Government to abolish payments regulator to boost growth

Keir Starmer (R) and Rachel Reeves host an investment roundtable discussion with members of the BlackRock executive board at 10 Downing Street on November 21, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Frank Augstein - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Government to abolish payments regulator to boost growth

PAYMENTS REGULATOR will be abolished and its remit absorbed by another financial regulator, the government said on Tuesday (11), as it aims to cut red tape in favour of growth.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which oversees systems including MasterCard and bank transfers, tackles problems such as fraud, excessive fees and lack of competition among banks and payment providers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Boohoo

Boohoo’s shares, which have fallen by about 20 per cent this year, dropped 4 per cent on Tuesday. (Photo: Getty Images)

Boohoo rebrands as Debenhams after 21 per cent sales drop

BOOHOO has rebranded itself as Debenhams Group after sales from its young fashion brands, including Boohoo, MAN, and PrettyLittleThing, declined by 21 per cent to £947 million.

The move comes amid strong competition from Shein and a shift towards second-hand clothing among younger shoppers, The Guardian reported.

Keep ReadingShow less