Argos, M&S and WH Smith are among some 200 companies that have been collectively fined £7m for failing to pay staff the minimum wage.
Retailers WH Smith, M&S and Argos have been “named and shamed” by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) for not paying some 63,000 staff members the legal minimum wage in a 2019 review conducted by HMRC.
Inspectors from HMRC found that those on the list had made multiple breaches, including by deducting pay from staff for new uniforms and paying the wrong apprenticeship wage.
For those aged 23 and over, the legal minimum wage is £10.42, which rose from £9.50 in April. The legal minimum hourly wage, which includes apprentices and under-18s, is £5.28.
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The firms who failed to pay their staff adequately will be made to reimburse their staff and have also been issued fines.
The government said those on the list will “face the consequences” of failing to properly pays staff.
Although it is uncertain how much M&S, Argos and WH Smith have been fined, the government said it is up to 200% of the arrears they owed, the BBC reported.
WH Smith failed to pay more than £1.2m to over 17,600 of its workers, working out at about £58 each, making it the worst offender among those listed.
In this instance staff were forced to pay out of their own pocket when the company issued a new uniform policy, instead of covering the cost itself.
Staff were instructed to wear black trousers, skirts or shoes with the accompanying WH Smith uniform.
A spokesman for WH Smith said it was a “genuine error” and that they had reimbursed staff since.
They said: “Following a review with HMRC in 2019, and in common with a number of retailers, it was brought to our attention that we had misinterpreted how the statutory wage regulations were applied to our uniform policy for staff working in our stores.
"This was a genuine error and it was rectified immediately with all colleagues reimbursed in 2019.”
Also on the list was Lloyds Pharmacy, second from the top, for making the same mistake with uniforms, as it underpaid staff by a total of £903,307.
A spokesman for the pharmacy said: “As soon as we were made aware, we acted quickly to notify affected colleagues and reimburse them.
“We also updated our policy to ensure it did not recur.”
Supermarket retailer M&S left 5,363 out of pocket by £578,391, at over £100 each, as it said the error developed after failing to pay temporary staff fast enough.
An M&S spokesman said: “Like many other organisations, M&S is only named in the NMW list because of an unintentional technical issue from over four years ago.
"This happened simply because temporary colleagues were not paid within the strict time periods specified in the NMW Regulations and was remedied as soon as we became aware of the issue.
"Our minimum hourly pay has never been below the national minimum wage, it is currently above it and no colleagues were ever underpaid because of this.”
Bryan Sanderson, chair of the Low Pay Commission said: "The minimum wage acts as a guarantee to ensure all workers without exception receive a decent minimum standard of pay.
"Where employers break the law, they not only do a disservice to their staff but also undermine fair competition between businesses.
"Regular naming rounds should be a useful tool in raising awareness of underpayment and helping to protect minimum wage workers."
The DBT found that 39% of 200 companies had deducted pay from workers’ pay, 39% did not pay workers correctly for the time worked, and 21% had paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate.
Kevin Hollinrake, the minister for enterprise, markets and small business acknowledged that some of the underpayments were down to genuine error, but added that “there is no excuse for underpaying workers”.
He said: “Most businesses do the right thing and look after their employees, but we’re sending a clear message to the minority who ignore the law: pay your staff properly or you’ll face the consequences.”
Heavenly desserts, who was also on the list for failing to pay £594.62 to 3 workers, said: “We can confirm that Heavenly Desserts, as outlined in the latest announcement from the government yesterday, has paid what it owes to its staff and apologises profusely to all those that were impacted due to this regrettable error made by Al-Haqq UK Ltd, trading as Heavenly Desserts.
“We take these situations very seriously and have a strict policy with regards to statutory pay requirements which must be adhered to in conjunction with the franchise agreement. We are committed to the welfare of our entire team which includes all franchises within the Heavenly Desserts network, and we continue to dedicate time and effort to our people which has been supported by our recent appointment of a head of learning and development, Mimi Elias, who will contribute to staff training and education opportunities cross all stores and regions.”
Companies fined for pay breaches
WH Smith failed to pay £1,017,693.36 to 17,607 workers
Lloyds Pharmacy failed to pay £903,307.47 to 7,916 workers
Marks and Spencer (M&S) failed to pay £578,390.79 to 5,363 workers
Argos failed to pay £480,093.58 to 10,399 workers
Buzz Group Limited failed to pay £319,297.21 to 3,448 workers
Baxterstorey Limited failed to pay £185,242.24 to 2,166 workers
McNicholas Construction Services Limited failed to pay £170,517.57 to 704 workers
Showsec International Limited failed to pay £107,835.49 to 5,574 workers
Brunning and Price Limited failed to pay £98,675.37 to 1,500 workers
Chanel Limited failed to pay £70,413.59 to 250 workers
AAH Limited failed to pay £42,359.39 to 201 workers
Mr John Bowden & Mr Gary Bowden, trading as Dulhorn Farm Holiday Park failed to pay £37,880.77 to 13 workers
4 Site Security Services Limited failed to pay £36,388.31 to 170 workers
UK Pharmaservices Ltd failed to pay £35,094.66 to 13 workers
Victor Foster Poultry Services Limited failed to pay £33,045.17 to 284 workers
Loganair Limited failed to pay £24,367 to 43 workers
Tudor Employment Agency Limited failed to pay £22,606.96 to 930 workers
Wellingstone Ltd, trading as East Orient Buffet Restaurant failed to pay £21,127.65 to 8 workers
Dune Group Limited failed to pay £21,088.48 to 339 workers
OMI Facilities Limited failed to pay £20,622.77 to 9 workers
The Lion Hotel (Criccieth) Limited, trading as The Lion Hotel failed to pay £20,322.27 to 9 workers
Executive Sport Limited failed to pay £20,200.34 to 8 workers
Lemon Tree Manchester Ltd failed to pay £18,976.19 to 17 workers
TFL Service Centre Limited - Liquidation 13/12/21, traded as Wimbledon Service Centre failed to pay £18,377.98 to 7 workers
ALG Cognita Limited failed to pay £17,364.51 to 318 workers
Twenty Four Seven Recruitment Services Limited failed to pay £17,049.34 to 213 workers
Macdonald Hotels (Management) Limited failed to pay £16,111.76 to 64 workers
Kuehne + Nagel Limited failed to pay £14,589.92 to 173 workers
Hall & Woodhouse Limited failed to pay £14,354.5 to 23 workers
Hickory’s (ROS) Limited, trading as Hickory’s Smokehouse failed to pay £14,141.12 to 157 workers
Baxterstorey Scotland Limited failed to pay £13,618.29 to 186 workers
Oulton Hall Hotel Trading Limited failed to pay £13,326.97 to 66 workers
Momentum Instore Limited failed to pay £12,501.51 to 434 workers
Arnold Clark Automobiles Limited failed to pay £12,215.56 to 48 workers
Park View Health Clubs Limited failed to pay £12,191.87 to 4 workers
Morleys Stores Limited failed to pay £11,640.77 to 78 workers
Lex Legal (UK) Ltd failed to pay £11,559.42 to 10 workers
Oasis and Warehouse Limited failed to pay £10,963.70 to 996 workers
Oxford United Football Club Limited failed to pay £10,826.74 to 31 workers
Elite Recruitment Agency Limited failed to pay £10,554.39 to 1 worker
Holroyd Howe Limited failed to pay £10,302.15 to 129 workers
Mr Paul Wright, trading as Baccarat Hair Design failed to pay £10,178.71 to 9 workers
Verve Personnel Limited failed to pay £10,124.04 to 794 workers
Contemplation Homes Limited failed to pay £10,095.23 to 87 workers
The Park Hotel Ayrshire Limited failed to pay £10,088.99 to 129 workers
Portway Crown Limited failed to pay £9,809.24 to 3 workers
Thomas Commercial Cleaning Limited failed to pay £9,762.56 to 6 workers
Delta Crewe Hall Op Co Limited failed to pay £9,626.89 to 29 workers
Top Nails Livingston Ltd failed to pay £9,266.40 to 5 workers.
Acropolis Corporate Limited failed to pay £9,150.60 to 56 workers
Avondale Foods (Craigavon) Limited, Craigavon, BT66, failed to pay £9,007.35 to 149 workers.
Delta Telford Op Co Limited failed to pay £8,871.76 to 12 workers
M1 Valet Centre Ltd failed to pay £7,807.71 to 3 workers
Warrington Football Club Limited (The), trading as Warrington Wolves failed to pay £7,720.61 to 34 workers
Mr Faried Khan, trading as The News Shop failed to pay £7,393.47 to 1 worker
Hudsons 23 Limited, trading as 23 Taxis failed to pay £7,190.46 to 83 workers
Dazzle Pristine Car Wash & Vehicle Servicing Ltd failed to pay £7,051.08 to 5 workers
Lucknam Park Hotels Limited failed to pay £6,990.12 to 33 workers
PFF Packaging (Sedgefield) Limited failed to pay £6,115.36 to 99 workers
Mr Harbhajan Singh Walia, trading as Parkside International Hotel failed to pay £5,936.40 to 2 workers
D & F Trading Ltd failed to pay £5,920.22 to 7 workers
Elvis Car Wash Ltd failed to pay £5,768.98 to 3 workers
Roka Mayfair Limited failed to pay £5,741.87 to 16 workers
Mr Jangi Ismail Hamid failed to pay £5,714.27 to 6 workers
The House of Bruar Limited failed to pay £5,543.80 to 57 workers
Thanet Early Years Project failed to pay £5,487.97 to 27 workers
Delta Forest Pines Op Co Limited, trading as DoubleTree by Hilton Forest Pines Spa & Golf Resortfailed to pay £5,471.81 to 17 workers
Nurse 365 Limited failed to pay £5,238.01 to 8 workers
Ross Labels Limited failed to pay £5,221.27 to 106 workers
Little Poppets Nurseries Limited failed to pay £5,214.88 to 19 workers
Tenpin (Scotland) Limited, trading as Pro Bowl Glenrothes failed to pay £5,174.65 to 1 worker
Virgin Active Limited failed to pay £5,074.96 to 80 workers
Dr Tyrone Castles, trading as The Royal Hotel failed to pay £4,974.72 to 9 workers
All Day Recruitment Limited failed to pay £4,896.57 to 25 workers
Casual Dining Restaurants Group Limited failed to pay £4,647.70 to 20 workers
Hatch Brothers Limited, trading as Genesis Crafty failed to pay £4,439.53 to 7 workers
Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club failed to pay £4,426.73 to 1 worker
Express Valeting Limited failed to pay £4,338.3 to 3 workers
Cater Link Limited failed to pay £4,285.35 to 61 workers
Day of Sunshine (UK) Ltd failed to pay £4,275.19 to 2 workers
Tot Stop Pre School & Early Years Centre Ltd failed to pay £4,213.77 to 10 workers
H.S. Walia Limited, trading as Lawn & Parkside International Hotels failed to pay £4,198.85 to 1 worker
Velocity Interactive failed to pay £3,868.40 to 2 workers
B H Live failed to pay £3,757.43 to 130 workers
Few Inns Limited failed to pay £3,756.10 to 6 workers
Hunter’s Moon UK Limited, trading as Margaret Kimber failed to pay £3,653.22 to 8 workers
The Organic Hair Company Limited failed to pay £3,590.83 to 4 workers
Ms Dimitroulla Antoniou, trading as Montage failed to pay £3,579.72 to 2 workers
Little Sunbeams Pre-School failed to pay £3,561.97 to 9 workers
Reahs Restaurant Ltd, trading as The Portmor failed to pay £3,292 to 8 workers
Delta Park Op Co Limited failed to pay £3,242.59 to 26 workers
Landlet Limited failed to pay £3,224.06 to 9 workers
Toolstation Limited failed to pay £3,090.18 to 79 workers
USA Car Wash (Derby) Limited failed to pay £3,005.10 to 9 workers
The Inveraray Inn Limited, trading as The George Hotel failed to pay £2,933.93 to 25 workers
Blackpool Pleasure Beach Limited failed to pay £2,866.95 to 12 workers
Eunoia Enterprises Limited failed to pay £2,798.84 to 31 workers
Mrs Pauline Butfield, trading as Pauline’s Hair & Beauty failed to pay £2,791.84 to 1 worker
Bubbles Sussex Services Limited failed to pay £2,654.37 to 9 workers
Ridgeway Private Day Nursery Limited failed to pay £2,600 to 3 workers
K&R Blue Bakery Limited failed to pay £2,574.87 to 4 workers
Integra Accounting Limited failed to pay £2,566.42 to 5 workers
Crofton Park Cars Ltd failed to pay £2,549.48 to 1 worker
The Young Explorers Day Nursery Limited failed to pay £2,521.93 to 14 workers
Mr Kristopher George Shenton, trading as KGS Gas Services failed to pay £2,428.96 to 1 worker
O’Connor’s Restaurant Ltd, trading as O’Connor’s Bar and Restaurant failed to pay £2,413.89 to 1 worker
WGAB Limited, trading as Excel Clothing failed to pay £2,369.12 to 18 workers
ITL (North East) Limited failed to pay £2,346.53 to 2 workers
Mer Manor Operations Limited failed to pay £2,332.78 to 98 workers
Arcadia Group Limited failed to pay £2,233.19 to 109 workers
Curran Court Hotel 2017 Limited failed to pay £2,003.07 to 63 workers
Copona Limited failed to pay £1,994.61 to 1 worker
OMI Management Ltd failed to pay £1,983.23 to 2 workers
MJ Services East Limited failed to pay £1,977.97 to 2 workers
Careers Advice & Learning Centre Limited failed to pay £1,972.73 to 6 workers
Disha (Newcastle) Ltd, trading as Subway failed to pay £1,948.98 to 2 workers
Core Assetz Ltd failed to pay £1,928.61 to 3 workers
Phoenix Eye Ltd failed to pay £1,917.07 to 301 workers
Arla Foods Limited failed to pay £1,916.60 to 14 workers.
Calmac Services Limited, trading as Riverside Vets Canvey failed to pay £1,912.81 to 1 worker
Central Fitness Limited failed to pay £1,909.17 to 1 worker
Jettco Plastering Limited failed to pay £1,905.95 to 1 worker
Mr Makudur Rahman, trading as Ghandi Indian Restaurant failed to pay £1,896.70 to 2 workers
Mack Daddys Gloucester Road Limited failed to pay £1,863.80 to 2 workers
Mr Vinodrai Pranjivanbhai Tanna, trading as Tanna Pharmacy failed to pay £1,815.53 to 1 worker
Grimethorpe Hand Car Wash Ltd failed to pay £1,793.29 to 1 worker
George Day Nurseries Limited, trading as Orpington Day Nursery failed to pay £1,776.75 to 4 workers
Mrs Karen Wells, trading as Cream Hair Design failed to pay £1,776.15 to 2 workers
Mrs Patricia Jervis, trading as Bumble Beez failed to pay £1,768.87 to 7 workers
Wren Kitchens Limited failed to pay £1,675.73 to 16 workers
Bendart Limited, trading as Blackwell Print failed to pay £1,585.08 to 2 workers
Uppal Convenience Stores Limited, trading as Spar, Runcorn failed to pay £1,574.02 to 1 worker
Mrs Zara Emma Mason, trading as The Lamb Inn failed to pay £1,567.39 to 3 workers
Checkpoint Car Care Ltd failed to pay £1,532.25 to 2 workers
Mr Richard Woodland, trading as Woodland Autos failed to pay £1,530.42 to 1 worker
Westbourne Leisure Limited, trading as The Strawberry Bank Hotel failed to pay £1,513.44 to 31 workers
The Pit Stop (Colchester) Limited failed to pay £1,474.69 to 1 worker
Mrs Helen Wilson, trading as The Hygiene Machine failed to pay £1,462.26 to 2 workers
Delta Ashford Op Co Limited, trading as Ashford International Hotel failed to pay £1,435.91 to 12 workers
Version Limited, trading as La Coupe Studio failed to pay £1,428.01 to 1 worker
M R Academy Limited traded as Sugarcoat Nails failed to pay £1,391.42 to 3 workers
Ms Joanne Sarabia, trading as Secrets Hair & Beauty failed to pay £1,373.90 to 1 worker
Springvale Leather Limited failed to pay £1,373.23 to 1 worker
The Trading Mill Limited failed to pay £1,336.33 to 4 workers
Dudley Taylor Pharmacies Limited failed to pay £1,276.45 to 174 workers
St. Nicholas House Ltd failed to pay £1,178.53 to 2 workers
Whitbread Group PLC failed to pay £1,118.37 to 1 worker
Glowing Global Advertising Limited failed to pay £1,116.99 to 4 workers
Sahara Global Ltd, trading as A1 Hand Car Wash failed to pay £1,087.87 to 4 workers
Delta Chesford Grange OP CO Limited, trading as Chesford Grange Hotel failed to pay £1,066.21 to 6 workers
Vue Cinemas (UK) Limited failed to pay £1,029.13 to 8 workers
Heritage Hotels Blackpool Limited traded as Melville Hotel failed to pay £1,027.65 to 2 workers
Nail Retreat London Limited failed to pay £1,015.23 to 2 workers
D&M Middleton Limited failed to pay £960.64 to 4 workers
Bar Lounge Limited failed to pay £951.17 to 23 workers
BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory & Property Management UK Limited failed to pay £933.12 to 3 workers
Portal Security Ltd failed to pay £927.61 to 55 workers
North Norfolk Hospitality Limited, trading as The Cliftonville Hotel failed to pay £908.56 to 3 workers
Serenity Health Care (Team) Ltd failed to pay £904.09 to 2 workers
The Rides Motor Services Limited failed to pay £877.42 to 3 workers
St. Mark’s Pre-School failed to pay £870.55 to 6 workers
Little Treasures Nurseries Kirton Ltd failed to pay £866.01 to 2 workers
Mr Rassul Kadir, trading as Talbot Road Car Wash failed to pay £864.80 to 5 workers
Mr Thomas O’Brien & Mr Lee Taylor, trading as Chambers Hair Design failed to pay £858.90 to 1 worker
Elmhurst School Limited failed to pay £829.32 to 1 worker
Amira G Foods Limited failed to pay £796.43 to 1 worker
Mr R.E. Blair and Mrs June Victoria Blair, trading as Higher Trenoweth Farm failed to pay £776.76 to 1 worker
Comptons 2000 Limited failed to pay £772.36 to 3 workers
LDH Hotels Limited, trading as The Tongue Hotel failed to pay £771.48 to 11 workers
Pizza & Co West Road Limited failed to pay £757.62 to 1 worker
Tangerine Properties Ltd failed to pay £743.21 to 5 workers
Ms Claire Frances, trading as Claire Frances Hairdressing failed to pay £739.02 to 1 worker
Delta Hampshire Court Op Co Limited, trading as Hampshire Court Hotel failed to pay £737.96 to 10 workers
Delta Stratford Manor Op Co Limited failed to pay £728.77 to 8 workers
Fintax UK Limited failed to pay £727.79 to 3 workers
Forza GB (Great Britain) Ltd failed to pay £721.34 to 2 workers
Benugo Limited failed to pay £717.80 to 12 workers
AMYU Limited traded as Golden Spice Kebab House failed to pay £710.20 to 4 workers
Old Plaza Ltd failed to pay £692.60 to 15 workers
The Governors, trading as Pheasey Park Farm Primary School and Children’s Centre failed to pay £683.58 to 8 workers
You Me Thai Ltd failed to pay £667.70 to 2 workers
The Network (Field Marketing & Promotions) Company Limited, trading as JYL Hand to Hand failed to pay £661.37 to 14 workers
Ripon Spa Hotel Limited failed to pay £654.85 to 8 workers
Social Care Alba Ltd failed to pay £650.38 to 8 workers
The H Room Limited failed to pay £639.67 to 4 workers
Eurotherm Limited failed to pay £639.67 to 7 workers
Mr Henry Gornall, Mrs Joesphine Gornall, Mrs Lisa Gornall and Mr Richard Gornall, trading as The Hideaway at Windermere failed to pay £620.75 to 3 workers
Anthony John Salons Limited failed to pay £615.46 to 1 worker
The Learning Mill Ltd failed to pay £612.69 to 1 worker
Moses Basket Ltd, trading as Happi Feet failed to pay £610.65 to 10 workers
Super Noodles Catering Limited failed to pay £601.24 to 1 worker
Al-Haqq UK Ltd, trading as Heavenly Desserts failed to pay £594.62 to 3 workers
Delta Belton Woods Op Co Limited failed to pay £587.56 to 3 workers
727 Your Store Limited failed to pay £580.37 to 1 worker
The Green Courier Limited, trading as Churchill Express failed to pay £576.08 to 1 worker
Tyre Torque Doncaster Limited failed to pay £566.16 to 6 workers
United Church Schools Trust failed to pay £554.82 to 2 workers
Global Education Management Systems Limited failed to pay £530.42 to 1 worker
Mr Shobuz Ali, trading as Khalisa Indian Restaurant L16, failed to pay £526.07 to 2 workers
JJJ-D Corporation Ltd failed to pay £509.20 to 10 workers
Edenmore Golf & Country Club Ltd failed to pay £506.52 to 11 workers
Mr Patrick Ginnelly failed to pay £502.37 to 1 worker